M3 – The Fifteenth Anniversary
Day 1: w/ Queensryche, Stephen Pearcy, Last In Line, Quiet Riot, Lynch Mob, Doro, Aldo Nova, Childs Play, Fan Halen & Kill The Darkness
Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
Saturday, May 4th, 2024
Review and Pictures: Carol Fisher
If you’ve never been to Merriweather Post Pavilion, it’s not a huge venue and definitely not hard to get around. Max capacity is just over 19K patrons, and some shows will obviously be more attended than others. I typically enter via the west gate where there is a merch stand to the left and bathrooms/concessions to the right. Straight ahead is the pavilion, which on this rainy and cold day was my primary goal, following the requisite pit stop after driving an hour from home. Across the pavilion is another merch booth/bathrooms/concessions and a VIP bar area. I had VIP tickets on the floor for both days, which made it much easier to pop in and out of the photo pit. One thing to be aware of, for the mobility impaired, the steps to get down to the floor seats are not the easiest. There is a ramp to get down there but it is not well posted.
I have attended M3 previously and knew for the most part what to expect. This was my first time shooting the bands and as concert photography is a serious hobby that I love, I was excited for this year’s festival. I am not a musician and cannot critique the actual musical notes, but I think I can recognize good vs bad sound. Admittedly, I was not a fan of some of the bands previously for various reasons (more on those later), but was excited none-the-less to be attending the 2 day festival and photographing each band.
If you’ve read accounts or attended M3 this ear, you’ll know the weather was NOT kind. But, even the cold wind and rain couldn’t dampen (most) of the spirits for the 15th Anniversary of M3
Soundcheck – Rock Academy Band – Kill the Darkness
The sound check band consisted of students from the local Rock Academy called ‘Kill the Darkness’. They have opened M3 previously, but as they are a screaming thrash metal kind of band, I am mystified that they were chosen again to open this classic rock type of festival. Definitely not my kind of music but I can, however, appreciate the youthful energy and their musicianship.
–Alex Magno – vocals (aka screaming)
–Kevin Taylor – guitar
–Riley Payne – bass
–Roberto Novak – guitar
–Riley Postma – drums
Fan Halen
I generally am not a fan of tribute bands, and (my personal opinion only) dislike when they ‘dress in costume’ and try too hard to impersonate the band members they are performing as. I have only seen one other VH tribute band, Nerd Halen, with their own ‘gimmick’ so I don’t have many to compare. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Fan Halen could actually perform and sounded great, compete with ‘David Lee Roth’ and his high pitched squeaks and jumps. This is one band I would love to see back at M3 again next year.
–Ernie Berru – vocals
–Derek Fuller – lead guitar
–Andy Catt – bass guitar/backing vocals
–Michael Thompson – drums
Childs Play
The first two bands played to a venue that was mostly empty, but once Baltimore native’s Child’s Play hit the stage, the seats started to fill up. Child’s Play were one of the bands I looked forward to most. John Allen’s vocals are crazy good and I was up on my feet bopping to the music the whole set. No small feat at my age, plus I desperately needed to warm up a bit, and Child’s Play helped immensely. Original singer Larry Hinshaw took over on vocals for a few songs while John Allen hit the beats on drums. If you ever have a chance to see them, do it!
–John Allen –lead vocals/drums
–Larry Hinshaw – vocals
–Nicky Kay – lead guitar
–Phil Wiser – bass guitar/backing vocals
–Jason Heiser – drums
–McCauley Kay – guitar
Aldo Nova
I was only familiar with Aldo Nova’s one hit ‘Fantasy’ and had no idea of what the set might bring. Turns out Aldo Nova can actually rock! Dario Sexias and Jack Frost were absolutely magnetic on stage and I found myself wishing I had more than 2 songs to shoot them. I didn’t know the words to their songs, except of course ‘Fantasy’ but that didn’t stop me from bobbing my head to the music, which make it doubly hard to get good photos!
–Aldo Nova – lead vocals/guitar
–Jack Frost – guitar
–Dario Sexias – bass
–Michael T. Ross – keyboards
–Billy Carmassi – drums
Doro
“Metal Queen” says it all! Doro, formerly of Warlock, was one band that I was not sure I was going to like. I saw a portion of her show on the Monsters of Rock Cruise and wasn’t sure it was for me. Even though her band and music are ‘harder’ than what I usually listen to, I completely enjoyed the energy she and her band brought to the set. Crowd participation was at full throttle for the Warlock song “All We Are”. All smiles, hair flying and heads bobbing…I wish I had that energy!
–Doro Pesch – lead vocals
–Nick Douglas – bass
–Chris Caffery – guitar
–Danny Piselli – drums
–Bill Hudson – guitar
Lynch Mob
Of the 7 songs played by Lynch Mob, I knew 3, but I have no argument against George Lynch being referred to as a legendary heavy metal guitarist. Although he doesn’t “emote” on stage very much, I was completely mesmerized watching him play and wondering how anyone’s fingers can do the things he does on his guitar. Pair that with the energy of Jaron Gulino on bass and smiles of drummer Steve Brown (filling in for drummer Jimmy D’Anda), this was a top performance for me and I will be sure to catch them again on their final tour.
–George Lynch – lead guitar
–Gabriel Colon – vocals
–Jaron Gulino – bass guitar
–Steve Brown – drums
Quiet Riot
By this point in the day/evening, the seats under the pavilion were just about full (although the weather still sucked) when Rudy Sarzo and Quiet Riot exploded on to the stage. Rudy is such a charismatic performer and so fun to shoot that I almost forgot about the other guys! But seriously, I have seen Quiet Riot previously and knew pretty much what to expect, although this time they sounded better and had more pep in their collective steps. They played the expected head banging crowd pleasers “Mama Weer All Crazee Now” and “Cum on Feel the Noize”, then finished out the set with the ever popular “Metal Health”.
–Jizzy Pearl – lead vocals
–Alex Grossi – lead guitar
–Rudy Sarzo – bass guitar
–Johnny Kelly – drums
Last in Line
Formed by former members of Dio, Last In Line played a mixed set of Dio songs and originals. Vivian Campbell on guitar is a treat to hear outside of the normal Def Leppard songs he plays while on tour. Vinny Appice gets the award for M3’s coolest drum head. I seriously want that design on a t-shirt! Andrew Freeman is a phenomenal vocalist, who unfortunately caught some social media flack when he urged people to stand up. Yes, it’s a rock show, but also a cold, wet, rainy long-ass day, so I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was being sarcastic and trying to get the crowd riled up. Which apparently he did, but not in the right way. Either way….Last In Line ROCKS!
–Andrew Freeman – lead vocals
–Vivian Campbell – guitar
–Phil Soussan – bass guitar/backing vocals
–Vinnie Appice – drums
Stephen Pearcy of Ratt
Never have I ever been a fan of Ratt, so although I was looking forward to shooting the band, I was not necessarily looking forward to hearing the performance. Boy was I wrong! The sound was great, Stephen Pearcy sounded great, the band was tight, Blas Elias is a beast on the drums. To my shock I found myself singing and bouncing along to the music, even the songs I wasn’t familiar with. I just might have to make them a priority on the next Monsters of Rock Cruise!
–Stephen Pearcy – lead vocals
–Erik Ferentinos – guitar
–Matt Thorne – bass
–Johnny Monaco – guitar, backing vocals
–Blas Elias – drums
Queensryche
What can I say about Queensryche? It seems like they are always out on tour, so I am happy to have had the pleasure of seeing them multiple times over the last few years. Even happier to have another opportunity to shoot some of their performance. I can’t imagine trying to play in the cold damp weather, but Todd La Torre’s vocals were top notch and as far as I could tell, no beats were missed from the band. They were the perfect ending to a very long, cold, wet day. I thought their performance was very good, even among the apparent social media backlash on their decision not to play their ‘hits’ for this music festival. But hey, their choice, right?
–Todd La Torre – lead vocals
–Michael Wilton – lead guitar
–Mike Stone – rhythm guitar
–Eddie Jackson – bass guitar
–Casey Grillo – drums
And that’s a wrap on Day 1 of the 15th anniversary of M3.
M3 Day 2 Coverage: Here
