Power Trip
October 6, 7 and 8
Empire Polo Club
By DAN MACINTOSH
INDIO, CA — Although some of the acts on the three-day Power Trip bill have played have Coachella (held annually on these same grounds), others — particularly the heavy metal icons, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest) have not. This meant this event might have felt a little bit like justice for fans of metal music. Whether it righted an injustice or not, Power Trip delivered one enjoyably loud desert music festival.
Although there wasn’t a true dud in this six-act bunch, Guns N’ Roses was the clear highlight. While taking the stage a little late (anyone even slightly shocked by that?), Guns N’ Roses proceeded to put in a full three-hour show, which was filled with hit songs and also a few surprises.
Axl Rose appeared fully engaged, animated and in fine form. Most of the hits were saved for last, which included “Patience,” “November Rain” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” “Welcome to the Jungle” came early on (seven songs in), and featured Slash playing a bit of Link Wray’s “Rumble” during its intro. A few inclusions were covers Guns N’ Roses has made its own, including “Live and Let Die” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
Fun surprises included bassist Duff McKagan taking a vocal turn on The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye” and Rose singing Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman” ever so soulfully. One was also left with a new appreciation for Slash’s lead guitar skills, as he demonstrated a wide variety of ways to make his lead lines sing. If this was anyone’s first time seeing Guns N’ Roses, they sure picked a great night to catch the band live.
Before the group even took the stage, it was obvious AC/DC would be playing this night. Light-up, blinking devil horns were sold before the show, filling the large field with a sea of red. Although it’s still early October, some of the scantily clad women wearing these horns looked like they already had their slutty Halloween costumes ready. The band didn’t disappoint this devilish gathering by playing one riff-tastic song after another.
This may have been referred to as a heavy metal festival, but fans don’t dance to typical heavy metal music the way so many patrons were moving to AC/DC’s set. Granted, many times AC/DC songs are little more than catchphrase song titles,sung repeatedly over stomping grooves. However, AC/DC has mastered this formula extremely well. Vocalist Brian Johnson started to sound like his voice was going when he struggled to hit the notes on “You Shook Me All Night Long,” about two-thirds in, but then sounded perfectly fine with the very next song, “Dog Eat Dog.”
The only other minor complaint involved how long the group would take between some songs. This was, at times, a real momentum killer. There are so many radio favorites in the group’s repertoire, it makes it difficult to pick any highlights. Even songs not already familiar to many, sounded fantastic because of AC/DC’s magic touch. The group started off on fire with “Back in Black” as its second song, and just went on to do what this act does so well to the crowd’s delight.
Metallica vocalist James Hetfield said at the outset that the group was proud to be at this event. In fact, the group was onsite all three days to see the five preceding acts. Except for a pointless instrumental jam by guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo, the veteran quartet mostly stuck to giving this crowd speedy rockers, like opener “Whiplash,” which kept the throng head-bobbing and singing right along. The hits “Enter Sandman” and “Nothing Else Matters” also made the setlist, which created a fully satisfying set.
Judas Priest’s set was preceded a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” presumably out of appreciation for Ozzy Osbourne, who had to drop out of the festival. The band was at its best whenever performing metal songs at punk rock high speed, as on “Painkiller. Disappointingly, the group only played a short bit of “Breaking the Law” during its encore. Three of these last four encore songs featured Glenn Tipton, the group’s original guitarist. It was obvious at the outset that Rob Halford is the only remaining original member, as this bald, grey-bearded lead vocalist looked old enough to be the other members’ father. Nevertheless, these younger guys know how to play Judas Priest songs well, which made for an entertaining appearance.
Tool brought an entirely different flavor to the event,performing songs with shifting time signatures, as well as exotic, world music sounds on many selections. Led by vocalist Maynard James Keenan, the band members were not shown up on the venue’s big screens, which made it difficult for the audience to connect with the band. It ended up feeling a little bit like headphone music, only in a live setting.
Iron Maiden is a talented group of musicians, but it seemed as though, if you were not already in tune with the group’s legacy and sound, it may have felt like you were looking from the outside in. Unlike most all the other acts on the bill, the group didn’t sprinkle too many familiar radio songs into its set. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s near constant cheerleading didn’t help much, either. This may have been a great show for Iron Maiden fans, but the rest of us were (honestly) a little glad when it ended.
In addition to the fine lineup, kudos also out go out to whomever programmed the pre-concert DJ sets each night. Yes, there were metal standards played, but also Beatles, Patti Smith and Cheap Trick tracks, which rocked.
So, will Power Trip become a one-off, like the classic rock Desert Trip in 2016 has seemingly become, or might the creators give us another one, only with a different lineup? Who knows? Judging by the audience response to this gathering, though, one imagines most of those who attended are very much up for another one.