M3 – The Fifteenth Anniversary
Day 2: w/ Bret Michaels (and Dee Snider), Night Ranger, Stryper, Y&T, Faster Pussycat, Cold Sweat, Pretty Boy Floyd & Sun Dogs
Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
Sunday, May 5th, 2024
Review and Pictures: Carol Fisher
One thing I would definitely recommend for multiple day festivals is a hotel. I only live about an hour from Merriweather Post Pavilion, but boy do those hours add up when it’s late at night, early in the morning, the weather sucks and you have to drive back and forth. O, yeah, the weather…it was not much better than Saturday’s weather but at least it was supposed to be a tad warmer. Except it didn’t feel like it. And it was still raining.
Sadly, one of the bands, Sun Dogs, had to cancel their performance due to illness. Mark Schenker, formerly of KIX, (and yes it’s painful to write that) posted on social media that he had laryngitis. That opened up the schedule and all the bands adjusted their set times which meant that the evening would be done a little bit earlier than originally planned.
I neglected to mention in my Day 1 coverage that one of the unique things about the Merriweather Pavillion is the revolving stage. While one band is playing the next band is in the back getting set up. This cuts down on the wait time between sets to about 20 minutes, and admittedly it’s pretty cool to watch.
Pretty Boy Floyd
If you know my music taste, you’ll know I am not necessarily a fan of ‘costumes’ or gimmicks, and Pretty Boy Floyd has their own style with their goth-glam makeup and big hair. I feel like the talent should speak for itself, and fortunately, with PBF, there was a whole bunch of talent on that stage.
Despite the rain, cold, and late night that Day 1 provided, Pretty Boy Floyd took the stage, and the seats began to fill up. People were on their feet dancing and singing along with lead singer Steve Summers who would fling jackets or sunglasses to the crowd in front of him. This is my second time seeing them, and each time Steve has gone out into the pavilion after their set to greet and take photos with the fans. He really does seem to appreciate the people that showed up.
–Steve Summers – vocals
–Dizzy Aster – guitar
–Lonnie Paul – bass
–Nick Mason – drums
Cold Sweat
All original members seems to be a hard thing to come by these days. Understandably, shit happens, people grow apart, grow old and sometimes leave this earth. Cold Sweat formed in 1988 but disbanded in 1991 due to lack of support from their label. I am not clear on when they got the band back together, but I feel like bands that have all original members have that little something extra on stage. Roy Cathey’s vocals and stage presence were off the charts and all the band members appeared to be having so much fun and truly enjoying each other’s company, which made me smile and enjoy the performance that much more.
–Roy Cathey – vocals
–Marc Ferrari – guitar
–Erik Gammons – guitar
–Chris McLernon – bass
–Anthony White – drums
Faster Pussycat
I don’t know what was different this time seeing Faster Pussycat, I had seen them previously and admittedly was not impressed, but somehow this time was different. Lead singer Taime Downe’s vocals were dead on and although he moves very little on stage, Sam “Bam” Kolton and Keiran Robertson were both dynamos on stage. Filling in on bass for this show was Johnny Martin from L.A. Guns due to Danny Nordhal suffering an injury. Thanks to Hair Nation on SiriusXM, I knew most of the songs played by Faster Pussycat including “Slip of the Tongue”, “House of Pain” and “Bathroom Wall”.
–Taime Downe – vocals
–Sam “Bam” Koltun – guitar
–Kieran Robertson – guitar
–Johnny Martin – bass
–Chad Stewart – drums
Y&T
Meanwhile, the pavilion was steadily filling up and we got closer and closer to the headliner for the night. By the time Y&T took the stage there were barely any empty seats and the weather had improved slightly. Every time I have seen Y&T they have put on a great show and were a fan favorite, with this night being no different. They always bring their A-game! Dave Meniketti’s vocals are as powerful as ever as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary while out on tour this year. “Mean Streak” and “Summertime Girls” were the hits of the set with the crowd up on their feet singing along to every word. Sadly, Y&T had a mishap with their merch for the show, as in it never showed up! But Dave took it in stride and urged us all to go the band website to purchase some merch.
–Dave Meniketti – lead vocals/lead guitar
–John Nymann – guitar/backing vocals
–Aaron Leigh – bass/backing vocals
–Mike Vanderhule – drums/backing vocals
Stryper
I had no idea what to expect from Stryper (not stripper as singer Michael Sweet joked) as these Christian rockers took the stage. I was only familiar with one song of theirs “To Hell with the Devil”, which would not be on my playlist if I had one. So I was pleasantly surprised that these guys with their black and yellow striped stage attire and matching instruments, can truly rock!
In speaking to the crowd between songs, Michael payed respects to a band that he called “one of the biggest influences” on him growing up, Y&T, and how strange it was to be going on after them. Stryper also paid tribute to recently departed Firehouse vocalist, CJ Snare by performing “All She Wrote”. Bassist, Perry Richardson, who performed with Firehouse until 2000, was wiping tears from his eyes. While they ultimately finished their set with “To Hell with the Devil” I didn’t mind. It sounds much better in person.
–Michael Sweet – lead vocals/lead guitar
–Robert Sweet – drums
–Perry Richardson – bass
–Oz Fox – guitar
Night Ranger
Night Ranger was the party before the Parti-Gras! These guys give it all on stage, every time I have seen them. Until I saw them a few years ago at the Monsters on the Mountain Festival I had no idea how much fun they were and how much they rock out. They started out the set with “(You Can Still) Rock in America”. Jack Blades commented during the set that he just had a birthday and turned 70 years old, but you’d never know it by the energy he summons up on stage; running back and forth like a teenager. I need some of that energy!
Brad Gillis looked at the crowd and exclaimed “I love my job”, and it shows. One of the highlights of a Night Ranger show is the drum solo. It’s quite the feast for the eyes and ears as each member of the band comes out one by one to drum along with Kelly Keagy until they are all banging the night away at the same time before tossing the drumsticks out into the audience.
–Jack Blades – bass/vocals
–Brad Gillis – lead and rhythm guitar
–Eric Levy – keyboards
–Keri Kelli – lead and rhythm guitar
–Kelly Keagy – drums/vocals
Sadly, at the last minute there was a change in the plan for us photographers regarding this portion of the evening. We were not allowed to shoot from the pit as we had for all the other bands, rather we were only allowed to shoot from the soundboard. A huge disappointment for me since I had been looking forward to shooting up close. And even sadder was that I did not have a long lens to get any good pictures of…
Bret Michaels (w Dee Snider)
But the Bret Michaels band delivered on the promised “Party-Gras” theme with Bret, guitarist Pete Evik and the dynamo that is Norman Voss running around on stage laughing and smiling at one another. They performed some of the requisite Poison hits such as “Ride the Wind”, “Unskinny Bop”, and “Every Rose has its Thorn” with some added gems thrown in. “Sweet Home Alabama” saw Night Ranger back on stage to add some extra energy.
Special guest Dee Snider, who rumor has it, was pretty sick and almost did not make the show, took to the stage to sing the Twisted Sister hits “I Wanna Rock “ and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” followed by a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”. Dee nailed the vocals on every song. The whole set had quite the upbeat party vibe with a standing room only crowd. The Bret Michaels Band finished out the night with Poison’s “Nothin’ but a Good Time” with many members from the earlier bands joining Bret on stage and SiriusXM’s Tommy London joining in on vocals.
–Bret Michaels – vocals
–Dee Snider – vocals
–Pete Evik – lead guitar
–Norman Voss – bass
–Dean Cramer – guitar
–Rob Jozwiak – keyboards
–Meri Schaefer – drums
–Becci Clark – backing vocals
Despite the rainy and cold weather, the fans turned out in droves to witness the 15th anniversary weekend of the M3 Rock Festival. If it was not sold out, it must have been pretty darn close. There was something for everyone. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we all missed KIX and there were a sea of KIX t-shirts both days. Who knows how long any of our favorite bands will continue to play, so if M3 happens again next year, make sure you don’t miss it!
M3 – Day 1 Coverage: Here
