Locobazooka Rocks Mansfield

After 14 years of playing in northern Massachusetts, WAAF's Locobazooka comes to the Tweeter Center with a tour de force collection of new and established hard rock and heavy metal bands.

The festival show dominates the summer lineup of concerts around the country and like most of the national tours this one has roots in the area. Originally a concert event to showcase Boston and local area talent, Locobazooka has grown to encompass little known national acts and famous ones.

With the growth of the lineup the show has to grow as well. This is why the show has come to the Tweeter Center. WAAF made good use of the space the venue had to offer Sunday. Three stage area were spread out on the grounds, with a dual stage in the parking lot arena just off of the main campus.

The bigger name acts were the ones to draw the fans at the concert. Bands like, Powerman 5000, Buckcherry, and the newly reformed Alice in Chains brought the energy out in the crowd.

Both bands played with grandeur and performed greatly off the excitement instilled in the crowd.

The all day event is not just about the music, it's about keeping everyone informed and entertained. This show is like the grittier, unpolished version of Ozzfest, the show that came through earlier this month. This is seen in the headlining bands that have been off the musical radar for some time.

Buckcherry and Powerman 5000 have just released their newest albums in at least 3 years. Alice in Chains has been on hiatus since they were sidelined because of lead singer Layne Staley's drug abuse and eventual death. One would think that they should not draw a large crowd, but from the way fans shook the stadium, danced and screamed their hearts out their is no denying that they are still fan favorites.

Shops selling tee-shirts and other paraphernalia were scant, but games, human services booths, and band information tents dominated the walkways.

The show is made for people, and you can tell that in the way the artist's play. The majority of the bill is comprised of little known bands. These minstrels trying to make there mark showcased their best material. Even those local acts that made little way to differentiate themselves from the sounds of bigger acts played as best they could. Playing the main stage, Shavahawk, of Foxboro, drew a faithful crowd of local fans that filled the majority of seats for their quick set.

Even playing the second stage, Lucid Sky, of Mansfield, got people to move to the music.

The stage with the most shuffling was the Harder Faster stage in the annexed section dipping out into the parking lot. To keep things moving smoothly two small stages were placed side by side with one stage being set up while a band played on the other stage. Bands here are emerging heavy metal acts from around the country. The only band here to come out with something different is the band M-16 from the Dominican Republic that sings songs of life and grandeur in Spanish.

The biggest surprise of the night was Wicked Wisdom. The band formed by Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of Will Smith, has come out of the musical gates with something as unexpected as Ice T's "Cop Killa" album, coming from an established black artist.

The band is a heavy metal band with unexpected monster vocals from their diminutive frontwoman.
If you're looking for a more down to Earth version of Ozzfest and still want to be entertained, this is a show for any local hard rock fan.