Rock the Resort kicked off on Friday with three great performances, raising the bar very high for those to follow. Day two featured a longer lineup: Adelitas Way, Finger Eleven, Buckcherry, and Hinder.
Adelitas Way started the evening off early, opening with The Collapse from their album Home School Valedictorian. Although they were up first, I would not even consider calling them an opening act. They played for over an hour, gaining new fans with every song. Guitarists Keith Wallen and Rob Zakaryan ran down the stage running through the pit with huge grins on their face, clearly loving every minute of it. They hyped everyone up, partially thanks to a promise by singer Rick DeJesus to jump into the craziest part of the pit at the end of their set.
He kept his promise, finishing off single Invincible before jumping into the audience to crowd surf and high five everyone he could. After an awesome set they headed back to their merch table to meet everyone that wanted to shake their hand or take a picture.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Finger Eleven; I hadn’t heard much from them since the release of Paralyzer. I knew far more of their songs than I’d thought, and they sounded even better live. The talent they have is clear when they are on stage–they are true, talented musicians. Singer Scott Anderson performed their other huge hit, One Thing, solo. With just one man and a guitar, he put on an incredible performance. If you’ve forgotten about them like I did, dig those old CD’s out and check out their new stuff; it is definitely worth a listen.
Following Finger Eleven was Buckcherry. Josh Todd’s dancing around the stage while he sang was almost as entertaining as the set itself. Not surprisingly, every song they played seemed to be centered around sex and drugs, with Wherever I Go off of the Avenger’s soundtrack and ballad Sorry thrown in for good measure. Their energy and passion for the music make their show fly by way too fast. The set closed up with Crazy Bitch, during which the entire resort was dancing along with Todd. After the song they returned for one more song in response to chants for an encore.
After a day that I assumed could not get much better, Hinder came on stage and proved me wrong. They know how to put on a rock show comparable to Motley Crue at their prime; They like to have a good time, and make sure the crowd is doing the same. They played a selection of songs from their three albums, with a fair amount from All American Nightmare. Their feel-good rock & roll was a perfect end to a weekend of music and sun. Their set finished with Get Stoned, with the audience drowning out the band when the first chorus hit. They played no new songs, but did say to expect a new single in September.
