From the outside, this summer’s four big heavy metal shows might just look like a bunch of scary names (Godsmack! Slipknot! Incubus! Agggh!). But to the seasoned heavy metal aficionado, they represent a variety of shows that cater to different factions of the metal community. Chicago-based metal manager, promoter and all around connoisseur Rodney Pawlak gave us some insight into these head-banging hoedowns.
Rockfest
Saturday at Sportsman’s Park/Chicago Motor Speedway,
3301 S. Laramie Ave., Cicero
TICKETS: $65
LINEUP: Metallica, Kid Rock, Barenaked Ladies, Stone Temple Pilots, Third Eye Blind, Nine Days, Tonic, Tragically Hip, Veruca Salt and others.
ASSESSMENT: Despite Metallica’s presence, Pawlak thinks this concert demonstrates just how much the band is “trying to get away from the metal audience. They were once one of metal’s greatest bands and now they are just a great band.” Though the band has moved away from the metal scene for years, he says, the final straw came in the mid-’90s: “When they cut their hair, it was surely the end.”
PREDICTION: Expect a big Q101 element (“and that’s fine but not pure metal”), but also some kids into heavier stuff because, Pawlak says, “Kid Rock can (head) bang out as hard as anybody on these tours.”
FRIGHT FACTOR: low
HAIR LENGTH: short
Tattoo the Earth
Wednesday at the World Golf Dome, 87th Street and 78th Avenue, Bridgeview
TICKETS: $31.50
LINEUP: Slipknot, Sevendust, Sepultura, Slayer and (hed) p.e.
ASSESSMENT: With the ultrahot Iowa-grown Slipknot headlining this tour, it will attract a younger metal crowd. Pawlak notes that these masked men are on the genre’s cutting edge, and will introduce young Korn and Limp Bizkit fans to elements of “death metal like growling undertones” (i.e. low, scary, unintelligible singing). But don’t forget Slayer; “they’re great and the closest thing to real death metal on these tours.”
PREDICTION: Dicey sound (hey, it’s in a building made for golf) and a possible appearance by Satan: “Where Slayer goes, Satan goes,” says Pawlak.
FRIGHT FACTOR: high
HAIR LENGTH: medium (accompanied by at least two piercings and one tattoo per attendee)
Ozzfest 2000
Aug. 4 at the New World Music Theatre, I-80 and Harlem Avenue, Tinley Park
TICKETS: $30.25-$50.25
LINEUP: Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Godsmack, Static X, Incubus, Methods of Mayhem, P.O.D., Queens of the Stone Age.
ASSESSMENT: “This is a classic metal show. Osbourne represents metal in its purest form and Pantera is big, but then Osbourne’s wife/manager Sharon is smart enough to bring in some new bands like the local metal band Disturbed, which is a big deal for the Chicago scene. And Soulfly, which has a new drummer from Chicago, Joe Nunez.”
PREDICTION: Osbourne will not bite off the head of any living creature. He’s too old for that stuff; heck, he’s even trying to quit smoking.
FRIGHT FACTOR: moderate
HAIR LENGTH: long (“These are old-school fans who might not have suit-and-tie jobs.”)
Maximum Rock 2000
Aug. 20 at the New World Music Theatre
TICKETS: $16.50-$36.50
LINEUP: Motley Crue, Megadeth, Anthrax
ASSESSMENT: “Everyone who grew up during (the late ’80s) has records by these bands and enjoys them. Motley Crue was raw and mean; they weren’t a happy hair metal band like Poison or something. It is more of a classic metal show. It’s a fun show. I don’t know how well the tour is doing but it is a cool package.”
PREDICTION: “You’ll probably see the oldest crowd here of any of the four shows.”
FRIGHT FACTOR: moderate
HAIR LENGTH: medium to long
