
Montebello Rockfest has much to offer in terms of headlining acts and this year’s lineup was pretty stellar with top acts such as Rammstein, Queen of the Stone Age, Iggy Pop, Alexisonfire, The Offspring, Wu tang Clan, to name a few.
The festival runs from Thrus night with the majority of the lineup playing on Fri and Sat, and an afterparty Sun night for those who survive the endless partying during the weekend. I drove up Thrus night missing the apparently long drive into Montebello, as it only has 1 lane into and out of the city, but caught torrential rainfall overnight. I arrived at my camp grounds just outside of the festival grounds. It kept raining early Friday morning but soon dissipated, just in time for the opening of the festival.
I finally arrived into town, but not knowing where to pick up my credentials, headed down the main street. Rue Notre Dame felt very claustrophobic, it was rampant with people trying to get find their way, stragglers, people drinking, eating, smoking, and just plain people watching. After some questions with the ticket attendant, I finally figured out that my media check-in was at the Chateau Fairmount, which was way back at the entrance of town, and more into the secluded wooded area. Media, VIP and talent were escorted by boat to the backstage area of the festival. I arrived at the festival just before All That Remains hit the side stage. I was so relieved I had bought rain boots in advance as the grounds were muddy, slippery, and with some areas filled with pools of water.
Despite all the mud, Day 1 turned out to be a great day, overcast and bit on the cooler side made things much more tolerable than if it were blistering hot and sunny. The festival had a total of five stages, alternating between bands. Some highlights from Day 1: Pennywise played the main stage and invited a guy dressed up as a hot dog onstage. The hot dog man proceeded to parade on stage, get the lead singer’s autograph, spill beer on himself, and finally escorted off by security. Thrusday’s lead singer, Geoff Rickly got all heartfelt and political for a second, mentioning to the crowd about the importance of accepting refugees and supporting immigrant communities, in between playing their set. It was great to finally see Wu Tang Clan and all their members on stage, but it felt like a battle trying to get half the crowd into their music being the only rap group at a hard rock festival. One of the biggest crowds gather at the 2nd smallest stage for Killswitch Engage, apparently the band wasn’t taking themselves too seriously from the last time I saw them, with a tiki bar theme and outfitted in all Hawaiian shirts, but still blistering through their music to the onslaught of fans. The night got better as Bad Religion, Bullet for my Valentine and The Offspring closed the night before Rammstein hit the stage.
Rammstein’s production is worth every damn penny. It is an extravagant pyrotechnic show with flames throwers, pyro guitars, a pyro bow and arrow, pyro liquid, firecrackers, great bellows of flames, and ending with Till Lindemann resurrecting as an wing messenger with his steel wings igniting with flames, all choreographed to their industrial metal music. The stage and music may have felt a bit cold and industrial, but the creativeness that Rammstein puts into their production makes up for it tenfold. A true spectacle with all the weirdness and a feast for the eyes and ears.