A near-capacity crowd at the Cain’s Ballroom was treated to an exciting evening of country music Thursday night as Rodney Atkins came to town with a bag full of hits and a few friends. A long line formed outside the front door nearly one hour before the doors opened to the public. Once the crowd made it’s way out of the heat and into the cozy confines of the Cain’s, they were met with three solid sets of music lasting late into the night.

Steel Magnolia started things off with an entertaining abbreviated set that featured the vocal talents of Meghan Linsey and Joshua Scott Jones. Linsey and Jones sang their songs duet style and played well off of each other throughout the set. 

Danny Gokey, who got his start from American Idol, was up next. Gokey energized the crowd with a cover-heavy set that included Bon Jovi’s "Livin’ on a Prayer" and Rascal Flats’ cover of Tom Cochrane’s "Life is a Highway."

After a short intermission the stage was set for Atkins. Two LED screens flanked the drum kit that was screened in front by three glass panels. Atkins hit the stage and immediately launched into his most recent number one hit "It’s America."

He followed with "About the South" before he took a moment to great the crowd. "There’s no place like Oklahoma," he said. "The home of Toby Keith, Garth Brooks, Micky Mantle and Johnny Bench!"

He then professed his love for Major League Baseball by removing his button up shirt to reveal a blue t-shirt with an over-sized MLB logo. Continuing with his set, Atkins danced around the stage, moving from one side to the other slapping hands in the front row. He promised a high-energy show, and it was clear at this point that he would deliver.

Atkins’ current single, "Farmer’s Daughter" was met with a loud roar from the crowd who sang along with each word. His set also included "Cleaning This Gun" and "Friends With Tractors," along with a few covers.

Slowing down and grabbing his acoustic guitar, Atkins asked the crowd if they wanted to hear the first song he ever sang on stage. The crowd, which responded with applause, broke into laughter when Atkins started into the opening verse of "Low" by Flo Rida. Atkins laughed along with them, saying "no, that wasn’t the song."

The crowd went wild when Atkins began to sing "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" by Garth Brooks. Atkins continued with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" and nearly brought the house down when Joshua Scott Jones of Steel Magnolia made his way back on stage to help Atkins sing Charlie Daniels’ "Long Haired Country Boy."

The giant LED screens flashed images of Daniels, Brooks, Chris LeDoux, Dale Earnhardt, Bear Bryant and several other Southern legends while Atkins sang "Tell A Country Boy." He then finished up his set with "Watching You," which sent him off the stage to wild cheering from the audience.

Atkins returned to play "If You’re Going Through Hell" for an encore, once again working the crowd throughout the song. He went from one side of the stage to the other, tossing the microphone into the crowd several times and asking audience members to sing along.

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Photos by: Casey Hanson

Once the music stopped and the house lights came up, Atkins remained on stage to greet fans and sign autographs. It was a scene that unfortunately has become way too rare in the world of entertainment. At that point it became clear that Atkins is a rare class act. But then again, would one expect any less from a country boy?

Rodney Atkins is a country boy, and he’s not afraid to do back-breaking work. "I absolutely love to weed-eat, it’s like therapy to me," he said in a recent interview. Atkins also likes to sing, and judging by his platinum-selling 2006 album, If You’re Going Through Hell, people love to listen to him sing.  Born and raised in Tennessee, Atkins is a rising star on the country music circuit and he will be bringing his songs about country life to the historic Cain’s Ballroom, located at 423 North Main Street on Thursday night. 

Atkins, who said some of his musical influences include the likes of Charlie Daniels, Alabama and Lynyrd Skynyrd charted four-consecutive number one hits off of his 2006 album, picking up the Academy of County Music award for Top New Male Vocalist. "If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)", "Watching You", "These are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)"  all hit the top spot on the charts, making Atkins a household name. "It’s been pretty unbelievable. When you put a song out, you hope it connects, and that you’re saying something that people need to hear," he said.

After such an unbelievable response to that album, does he feel any added pressure when recording? "Sure," said Atkins. "You always feel pressure to make the best album you can and make the best songs that you can. My goal has always been to not waste the listener’s time. Whether it (purpose of the song) is to make you laugh or cry…I hope that when people listen to an album they can tell that."

Atkins handled that pressure well, and in 2008 reached number one with "It’s America," his first single from his album of the same name. His latest single, "Farmer’s Daughter," currently sits at number 20 on the Billboard Country charts. 

Atkins says that his songs draw their inspiration from real life. "It’s hard for me to write a song or be drawn to something that I can’t relate to on some level. I think that the stuff that I sing about is for regular folks out there. It’s about celebrating the simple things in life."

Atkins promises fans a show that they won’t soon forget. "Our show is full of energy and we have a great time, we’ll play a little bit of everything," he said. Some surprises are possible as well, he added. "We’re always trying to make the show better every night so you never know what kind of things we’ll throw in. I’m looking forward to having everyone come out."

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with openers Danny Gokey and Steel Magnolia. Tickets are available at the Cain’s Ballroom door, or online at cainsballroom.com. 

If you have been around rock music for any length of time then there a few a names that you automatically know when you talk about the genre.  Metallica, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and unless you have been living under a rock, under a bridge in the middle of Idaho you have to throw Deftones in there also. 

Deftones is one of those groups that came upon the scene and became like a snowball.  Gaining momentum as they went and building into a massive rock group.  From the beginnings in 1988 as buddies who liked skateboarding in Sacramento, CA to the evolution of one of the most influential and beloved rock bands, it has been a steady ride that has had its ups and downs.

From cult following to major player in the industry, Deftones have been through most rock cliche’s and lived to tell about it.  Original bassist Chi Cheng had a serious car accident leaving him in a minimally conscious state ever since, causing them to scrap the Eros album and rethink their musical direction in light of their thoughts about Cheng and his accident.

After 6 albums and over 20 years of history, including winning a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2001 for the song "Elite" from the White Pony album.  Deftones are as strong and vital to music history as ever.

They bring their latest offering, Diamond Eyes, out to play for this tour and are sure to have all the energy and charisma that have helped to sustain them for all these years.  You will not want to miss this show.

Deftones with special guest Baroness:  Thursday, August 19

Brady Theater, 105 West Brady, Tulsa OK

Doos open at 7:00 pm, show starts at 8:00 pm

Tickets available at Brady box office or at ProTix as will as area Reasor’s stores and Starship Records

It was mayhem in Oklahoma City Saturday, as thousands braved the triple-digit temperatures for the final show of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheater. Shade, ice and bottled water were hot commodities as the diehards that arrived during the heat of the day settled in and rocked out to the likes of Hatebreed, Chimaira, Shadows Fall and In This Moment along with several others. The second stage, perched in the tree line to the right of the massive main stage shut down and the spotlight focused on main stage with Five Finger Death Punch.

Death Punch provided a solid set, including their popular cover of “Bad Company,” as the crowd emerged from the shadows and continued to fill the hillside. Lamb of God took to the stage next and pumped the energy level even higher with a very heavy, impressive set that set off numerous mosh pits and put the crowd’s collective fist in the air, bouncing with the beat. The band was without the services of lead guitarist Mark Morton, who has been seen playing other shows around the globe sporting a Cain’s Ballroom t-shirt.

Lamb Of God photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

As the sun finally began to set, the crowd reached maximum capacity as stage preparation for Rob Zombie was underway behind a solid black curtain. Moments later the curtain dropped to reveal a massive set, with vats of fire back-lit by a large lcd screen displaying the name Zombie in white. Zombie later emerged from within a dark looking metal figure at center stage clad in a leather jacket standing behind a microphone stand fashioned into a skeleton with six arms reaching upward.

Zombie launched into his first song and from there it was clear that the party was officially underway. He then powered through an unbelievable set that included his hits “Superbeast,” “Scum of the Earth,” “Living Dead Girl,” “Never Gonna Stop,” and “House of 1000 Corpses.” Zombie also included hits “More Human Than Human” and “Thunder Kiss ‘65” from his days with White Zombie as the giant screens behind the stage and below the drum platform displayed lyrics and scenes from various horror movies and fireballs seemed to reach into the sky.

Taking a break to interact with the crowd before launching into “Sick Bubble-Gum” off of Hellbilly Deluxe 2, Zombie told the crowd that the song was going to hit him in the pocket book. “I was told there would be a two-thousand dollar fine for each curse word,” he said before coaching the crowd to help him sing the corus line. “It’s okay though, I can afford it,” he continued. In the studio version of the song, Zombie drops the F-bomb 18 times. It’s safe to say that he probably racked up about $40,000 in fines during that song alone.

Zombie closed out the show with Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” after mingling through the crowd during an awesome, extended guitar solo by John 5. He answered the crowd’s chant of “Zombie, Zombie, Zombie”, returning to the stage high atop a tall platform wearing a full red cloke-like jacket to sing his wildly popular “Dragula.” 

Rob Zombie photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

“It will be hard for Korn to top that,” said one observer of Zombie’s hour-long set that mixed the music with the type of theatrics that the majority of rock shows nowadays do not even come close to matching.

Nevertheless, Korn arrived on stage, set to do their best. Frontman Jonathan Davis had a strong stage presence, moving around energetically across the stage that had two nearly full sized oil pumps at either side. Korn kept their faithful fans in the crowd enthralled in the show, and sounded great while doing a good job of interacting with fans up close.

While the diehard Korn fans remained, many others began to find their way towards the exits. It could have been that those leaving were ready to get out of the heat, or maybe they were just there to see Zombie. Only those fans could say for themselves, but it puzzles this reviewer as to why Zombie was not the final act of the night. Either way, it was a great day of music in the city. 

Korn photo gallery.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle

For fans of the gone, but not forgotten 80’s metal scene, Friday night was a trip down memory lane at Cain’s 2nd Stage, aka Bob’s Place. 

Dirty Penny, a band that is from Santa Cruz, CA, but for all intents and purposes is more at home in and around the Tulsa area, having played within 150 miles of the area numerous times in the last 4 months.  (Rocklahoma, Rock N America, and 2 shows at Cain’s to name a few)  Telling the small, but energetic crowd on this night that "Tulsa fans are by far their best fans."  A statement that was eaten up by those in attendance.

The night started out with a couple of local bands, Beyond What’s Given from Fort Smith and Firstryke from Tulsa. 

BWG is a hardcore band that looked way crowded on the tiny stage that is offered at Bob’s.  But when you try to stuff 5 big guys into a very small area it will get tight, especially when one of the guys is in a wheel chair.  (Yeah, you read that right, a wheelchair.)  They did a fair job, but struggled to connect with the audience until they played set closer, "Jenny (867-5309)" again, you read that right, the hardcore version of the 80’s song that will get in your head and not leave.  This was well received by the crowd, but left this writer shaking my head and kind of laughing at the same time.

Firstryke is up next and bring an interesting look and feel to the stage.  The band dates back almost 30 years, but doesn’t really have a lot to show for it.  1 album and lots of shows.  Stating that they opened for Metallica in 1986 in Cain’s Main Ballroom.  Which was confirmed by their Facebook page.  My question is what happened to these guys?  If you have that kind of shot and network base ability, how can you not make it big?

All that aside, Firstryke does a good job of getting the crowd into their set and keeping their interest.  Lead singer Ric Adams most definitely channels an inner Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot, a little over-the-top and showy, but with good showmanship.  One wonders what if?  Playing storyline metal the likes of Ronnie James Dio, with images of darkness and fantasy.  From set opener, "Just a Nightmare" to closer and Fleetwood Mac/Judas Priest cover ""The Green Manalishi" they kept the fans wanting more.

Dirty Penny owns the night though.  With more energy than can really be contained on the tiny stage and enough sex-fueled rock to light up the Sunset Strip.  These guys kill it from the word go.  I was not able to see them at Rocklahoma or Rock N America and also missed out on their previous shows at Cain’s, so I was glad that I got to see this one.  Having heard about them and listened to them through YouTube and Pandora radio they live up to the hype and take their music to another level live.  It is a gritty, dirty throwback to 80’s heyday music.  Lots of movement and theatrics on stage with a youthful spirit, but polished enough to hang with the big boys.  Their riffs, chants and onstage antics grab you by the hair and make you bang along with them.  It is infectious and appealing.

If you have not seen Dirty Penny, and are a fan of the 1980’s and very early 90’s metal sound, you owe it yourself to give them your time.  I would suggest a bigger venue where you can take in a full stage experience, but for the beginner DP fan, this worked very well.

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Photos by: Kevin Pyle