FESTIVAL REVIEW: Welcome To Rockville 2018 Live at Metropolitan Park, Jacksonville, FL – Day 3 (Sunday)

Day 3 or as it was nick named by the fans “Foo Sunday” began with another clear blue sky and temperatures climbing into the mid-eighties.  The buzz in the air started early as word spread about this band called The Fever 333. Having attended numerous festivals over my career, I’ve often been let down by this early buzz when the band is clearly not able to live up to it’s reputation.  As I approached the stage, I saw a lone male figure dressed in a black KKK outfit standing in front of a white sheet and my mind began to race about what this gimmick was all about. However, this was clearly NOT the case as the sheet came down and lead singer Jason Aalon Butler ( ex of Letlive ) ripped off the hood and began a thunderous assault  on the crowd of fans. With lyrics based around the message of Community, Charity, and Change, the band is a combination of Rage Against the Machine, NWA, and a little Yelawolf thrown in for fun.

Even more buzz was being circulated about Greta Van Fleet, who have exploded over the past year. Guitarist Jake Kiszka, who is featured on the cover of the June issue of Guitar Player, and his merry band of brothers had the crowd hooked from note one.  Although their set seemed short at only 6 songs, the long drawn out riffs played by Jake extended the set to just over 30 minutes. Clearly, these guys have the hearts of the many young ladies in the crowd, but the hardcore lyrics and savage licks have won over the men too.

Britain’s hottest new Indie band Wolf Alice touring in support of their latest effort “Visions of a Life’, took the crowd by surprise.  I was expecting a softer set, but instead I was treated to hard core punk with a twist of pop. Lead vocalist, Ellie Rowsell showed a stunning vocal range while the entire crowd of fans sang along.

Glam rocker Billy Idol and longtime guitarist Steve Stevens tore through a 10 song set that included “Dancing With Myself”, “Flesh for Fantasy”, “Rebel Yell”, and the classic “White Wedding”. The latter done with Idol stripping down shirtless and showing that he can still compete with the young guns on the marquee.

In true Queens of the Stone Age fashion, the beautiful sunny mid-afternoon stage was completely engulfed in smoky fog by the band leaving the crowd barely able to see Josh Homme or his band mates, but on the flip side no photographers were hurt during the set.  The set was boring and mundane and I’m sure the crowd was dulled knowing they had to sit through this before witnessing the act of the weekend.

David Grohl and the Foo Fighters have been known to share the stage with many surprise guests, some like “KISS GUY” Rick Astley and today’s show was no different where the famous Danny Zuko aka John Travolta showed up.

Travolta, who recently wrapped up filming the new Fred Durst movie Moose, apparently was watching the band from the side of the stage. About mid-way through the performance, Grohl broke into the  Grease hit, “You’re the One That I Want”, and Travolta responded by walking out on stage to give Grohl a hug, but refused the invite to sing along.

Also, during their set, the Foo Fighters brought out Billy Idol to cover John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth”.  Playing for over 2 hours, their set was the highlight of the festival and was the crowning glory of 3 days of music madness. I give Danny Wimmer and his crew 5 thumbs up as this weekend with it’s massive line-up and bucket loads of logistical items went off without a hitch and everyone has already begun talking about what 2019 will bring to Jacksonville. See you there !!!