Flashwounds Rocks in Rio
By Seth M
If you can handle the logistic issues and are ready to stay up late (and I mean LATE!!!!) to rock and can deal with lines for the Big Festival Four (Buses, Burgers, Bathrooms, Beers ) then start your planning now because Rock in Rio is returning to Rio de Janeiro in 2015…and it is one hell of party from start to finish.
I was lucky enough to cover Rock in Rio 2013 for Flashwounds, so naturally I’m eager to give you a quick overview of the festival and share some of my experiences ~ I might get into some of the logistics later on in my blog, but for now…
Most of us have been to music festivals before, probably in the US, but if you haven’t been to Rock in Rio, you’re missing a true adventure. One of the biggest festivals in the world, which now takes place in multiple countries (Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Chili in 2015), it originated in Rio de Janeiro in 1985. 2013 was the fifth time the festival has been in Rio and from what I am told it was one of the most successful.
Let’s forget about the music for a second and talk about Cidade do Rock (City of Rock), the festival site. City of Rock is a site approximately 20 miles from Ipanema Beach (where I stayed) and the future home of the 2016 Olympic village (currently being built). For the Festival, there were multiple stages, dozens of food stands (“bobs”), a small village, and even a post office. There was a large VIP area that covered most of the back on one side of the grounds while more concessions, clothing stores, official merchandise booths and sponsor VIP pavilions from the likes of Trident, Coke, Itau, Heineken, Club Social and many others were lined up on the other side. Although I had access to the main VIP area as an invited member of the press (access I’m told people can purchase for an insane amount of money), I assume the only way into the sponsor areas is knowing the right person/people who will get you in.
As if having a specially created small town and post office weren’t enough, there were some additional stages in the little village with artists playing, some other shops to peruse, some rides ~ including a roller coaster, ferris wheel, and something that looks like a free fall type contraption, and a DJ station for late night dancing. Of course no festival would be complete without a zip line…that’s right, there’s a Heineken zip line that is about 8 stories high and runs from one side of the grounds to the other. As bands play the main stage, people get strapped up and zip right over the crowd as headliners play. Although I wanted to try it out, I decided my time was better spent checking out the rest of the festival and the bands.
Speaking of bands, how about some of the biggest acts in the world descending on South America for the 7 shows that make up the festival? The shows take place over 10 days and this year included over 40 bands on the two main stages alone. I am sure you will recognize some of the acts from the first weekend ~ Beyonce, Living Colour, Muse , The Offspring, 30 Seconds to Mars, Florence and the Machine, Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake…to name just a few.
Of course if the first weekend didn’t feature your kind of music, there was a hard rocking second weekend ~ and that’s the one I attended.. Those four shows featured Metallica, Ghost B.C., Alice in Chains, Rob Zombie, Sebastian Bach, Helloween, Bon Jovi, Nickleback, Matchbox 20, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Sepultura, Avenged Sevenfold, Slayer and Rock in Rio alums Iron Maiden to close out the festival.
One of the most important elements of a festival is the atmosphere that’s created. Sometimes the music is rivaled by the atmosphere and as you’ve already gathered, there was definitely plenty to do and see at Rock in Rio. Did I mention the beautiful Brazilian people and pageantry and some of the hottest women ever? Well, I just did! Being a stranger in a strange land makes it a little tougher to navigate through the area and get to see all the juicy parts, but luckily I have friends around the world, including in Brazil, who made it easier.
As is true with any event, there is always the good, the bad and the ugly, so let’s run through those categories for Rock in Rio:
The Good (which was very good)
I covered most of the good above ~ there is plenty to see and do, plenty to eat, buy and keep you occupied 24/7. One of the main reasons most people attend, the music, is, as I hope I demonstrated above, top-notch. Each evening there is a show before the main show and that consists of the opening of the main stage with fireworks and it definitely goes in the “good” (read: really cool) category. This visually stunning tradition gets people gathering to the main stage and ready to rock. Check it out here.
I would say most of the artists tried to put together set lists of their biggest hits so as to entertain the most people possible. The highlights for me in terms of bands were Alice in Chains, Matchbox 20, Rob Zombie, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Frejat. Most of you reading this know all of thosebands with one exception, Frejat, so let’s turn to Wikipedia:
“Frejat, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, is considered one of the most important persons in the Brazilian Rock scene. He co-founded the band Barão Vermelho in 1981 playing the guitar and writing songs, then four years later he replaced Cazuza as lead vocalist in the band. He was in Barão Vermelho for 20 years before starting a solo career. He released two solo albums (in 2001 and 2003) before getting back together with Barão Vermelho. In January 2007 he played his last show with Barão Vermelho before they disbanded and is once again pursuing a solo career.”
Frejat opened up the main stage on the night Bon Jovi headlined and outside of Matchbox 20 was definitely the high point of the evening. Thousands of Brazilians flocked to the stage and were singing and dancing during his entire set. Although I couldn’t understand a word he was singing I loved it and apparently I wasn’t the only one. The crowd loved this guy.
The Bad
I’ll get my one “The Bad” band statement out of the way first: the biggest disappointment was without question Bon Jovi who probably had the worse set list in as many years as Jon’s been touring. Now…Did I mention lines? Lines for everything, no matter what you wanted to do, eat, see, or drink. Also, the VIP area was way too big and took up way too much space in the main stage areas. Additionally, some people were complaining about food & beer pricing but coming from the US I didn’t see this as much of an issue. I mean, a Heineken was under $4 ~ and where in the US can you even find a beer for $4, never mind at a concert or festival? Along with those negatives, which actually aren’t that surprising when you think of the scope of the event, I would say dealing with getting to the festival can be a bit of a pain. Even though it’s only about 20 miles from Ipanema, it took over 2 hours to get there. Additionally, the only really viable options are the regular buses ~ which are packed ~ or the VIP buses, for which you need to buy a card in advance for specific times and locations. Let’s just say getting back is a lot easier.
The Ugly
Luckily, I didn’t have to deal with The Ugly too much as I could go to the media area and use a nice clean bathroom, but there was a definite bathroom/sewage issue. There already a dearth of rest rooms for accommodating over 85,000 people per show, and then some had to be shut down and the overwhelming smell was not pleasant ~ yup, you guessed it, it was downright Ugly! I can only imagine how bad this must have been in past years when they allowed well over 100,000 people a day into the festival.
Although I didn’t include it with the bad I should mention that the only other…let’s call is a “drawback” is how late the bands go on. I had been to Brazil before and know promoters there put bands on late but the headliners at Rock in Rio go on L-A-T-E ~ in fact so late that it’s early. They are scheduled for 12:05am each day (morning, really), but Metallica went on at 12:40am and played ‘til 3am, Bon Jovi went on about 12:10am and Iron Maiden about 12:20am. So if you’re going to Rock in Rio, make sure you get your rest (there are gorgeous beaches perfect for that), and you may want to consider going late in the day as the main stage doesn’t open til 6:30pm.
So, if you can handle The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and maybe a bit of a language barrier unless you speak some Portuguese), a long plane ride that will ultimately lead you to some stunning beaches, drop-dead gorgeous scenery and people, and a collection of shows from a variety of big name acts, I suggest you start planning for Rock in Rio 2015 ~ It really is an experience that all music lovers should have at least once ~ and to set your mind at ease, The Good really does outweigh The Bad and The Ugly.
