A half hour or so East of Columbus, Ohio lies the sleepy little town of Thornville. It was sleepy until the latest punk rock festival rolled into town at Legend Valley. The inaugural weekend festival of Camp Anarchy took central Ohio by storm! How can one go wrong with great music, beer tasting, games, and oh yeah, CAMPING!
DAY 1
The first day started a bit shaky weather-wise. Those who braved the rain were treated to a couple of great bands opening the show. Starting things off was the Dominican hardcore band, La Armada. They knew they played a big role in starting off the weekend and they handled the task with great fury! Following them was Orange County punk from Death by Stereo. These guys have been dishing out great music since 1998 and this evening was no exception. Finally, the rain stopped and Fat Wreck Records artists, Strung Out entertained the wet crowd. Also from California, Strung Out has been dishing out their hardcore punk / metal since 1990.
Brothers Lou & Pete Koller led their band on the stage next. Sick Of It All is one of several “old dogs” to have graced the stage this evening and they proved that age is a state of mind. Their minds tell them they are back to when they started playing punk back in 1986. They played like teenagers who are out to prove themselves to the music world even though no such proof is needed.
Fear was up next on the bill. Lee Ving showed the crowd that he still has the chops that he started with back in 1977 in L.A. Apart from a couple of false starts, their set was strong and it brought the old timers in the crowd back to the glorious days of their misspent youth.
Veteran punkers, X bowled over the crowd. Their sets, while always powerful, sometimes slow down. X packed the set list with energetic fast paced songs. One could tell they were feeding off both the size of the crowd and the energy it projected.
The Offspring ended the first day of the festival and the crowd responded. They played a healthy dose of their hits as well as some new music to the delight of their fans. Front man Dexter Holland showed that he’s still punk but he’s shed the “snotty kid” attitude of his youth. While having aged gracefully, they haven’t lost their edge that had them climbing the charts bringing punk to the masses.
Day 2
The second day of the festival was a glorious day musically and weather-wise. Kicking the day off were the Voodoo Glow Skulls. Nothing gets a crowd up and moving like a fast paced ska band! Starting in 1988, these veterans of the festival circuit lived up to expectations and then some.
Following VGS were Massachusetts based punk rockers, A Wilhelm Scream. They continued to bring the crowd up and get the hardcore vibe going. The Suicide Machines followed them and got the mosh pit going in earnest. Despite the heat, these bands came out and played hard and fast giving the early comers some fantastic sets of music.
Up next was punk “super group” Off! Consisting of members of several big name hardcore bands from the early days, they started their set off strong. Front man Keith Morris, formerly of the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, slowed the intensity down after awhile. He seemed dispirited as he began to speak of the ills of corporate America and his disdain of performing in sunlight. Throughout, the band continued on their course.
The last of the great early UK punk bands, The Damned took over and performed their classic album Machine Gun Etiquette. Dave Vanian sounded every bit as good as he did 40 years ago. Captain Sensible, donning his traditional red beret, prowled the stage while delivering his familiar hard driving guitar riffs. One might think that after 43 years, they might just go through the motions to collect a paycheck however, this is not the case!
Fronted by the only remaining original member, Suicidal Tendencies has not lost any of their gritty edge. Lead singer, Mike Muir, commanded the stage as he moved about like a caged animal. His energy was projected to the other band members as no one, save the drummer, stayed in one spot. The same could be said about the center of the audience as they circled and wheeled about. One could see that this was one of the bands that people were really excited to see.
Following them was SoCal punk legends, Pennywise. Singer Jim Lindberg worked the crowd with his engaging personality. He frequently came to the edge of the stage to get closer to the fans. At one point he asked for a camera from the photo pit and he took random shots of the crowd. With Pennywise, it’s not just the music, it’s the experience that one enjoys.
Closing out night two was another California punk favorite, Rancid. Rancid tore up central Ohio this night with their brand of high energy punk. Singer / guitarist Tim Armstrong leaped his way across the stage as he infused his ska punk influences into the California punk sound while delivering fan favorites. The band played well into the night and their fans remained firmly rooted to the festival grounds. Saturday was a long and hot day but the crowd couldn’t control themselves. Fans danced and moshed wildly throughout the set as all good punk festival crowds do.
Day 3
The last day kicked off with Indi punk rockers, Spanish Love Songs. Their more melodious, less hardcore, style of punk rock was well received. This LA band fit in quite well with their energetic delivery and music filled with catchy hooks. The Bombpops from LA took the stage next and their dual female vocal attack took the crowd by storm. They are a band that will no doubt be higher on bills in future festivals. They came out onto the festival grounds after their set to meet and greet their fans much to the delight of all.
Iron Chic was up next and this was the only band that seemed out of place at Camp Anarchy. Their music was good for its genre. Their slower paced melodic punk didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the bands in the lineup. The Bronx took the stage and picked up the pace immediately. Lead singer Matt Caughthran’s feet seemed off the stage more than they were on it as he was constantly jumping around. The rest of the band was equally spirited. Caugthran called for the mosh pit to get going and the crowd responded with a dizzying almost non-stop circle pit.
TSOL took over the festival next. TSOL stands for True Sounds Of Liberty and their music over the years reflects that freedom oriented attitude. These old school California punkers have remained punk through the years; however, they’ve wandered through various styles of punk with their releases. They were dynamic throughout their set. The band played hard and fast and Jack Grisham’s voice was as strong as it ever was. Less than Jake from Gainesville, Florida kept things going with a healthy dose of ska punk. Formed in 1992, these guys know how to keep a crowd in top form. Their infectious music and on stage antics bring up the mood and then keeps it up there.
The festival was taken back to the West Coast once again. Bad Religion from California took the stage and delighted the crowd with a lengthy set. They wowed the crowd with their playing of their 30 year old release “No Control” in its entirety. They preceded that with songs from their entire catalog including their newest release, “Age of Unreason”. Bad Religion showed that even though they have been around for just short of 40 years, their music is still relevant.
Festival headliners NOFX took the stage to close out the show. They were playing their first show in the US in over a year due to remarks made by lead singer Fat Mike. They made comments and joked about their hiatus between songs in true NOFX fashion. It was good to see that they were not jaded and were the same old band that everyone had come to see.
Festival Highlights
The beer tasting area of the festival was quite popular. Many Midwestern breweries were represented and they served a wide variety of beer styles. Those who purchased a tasting pass were given a small plastic festival glass with tickets to be used at each brewery tent.
There were two vending areas at the festival grounds. One area was a large tent selling official festival merchandise as well as merchandise of the bands that were playing that day. The other vending area consisted of a number of tents with vendors selling shirts, jewelry, and other items of clothing. This area also contained a tent housing the Love Hope Strength Foundation. This is an organization seeking bone marrow donors to help cure cancer patients. Click here to learn more on how you can help! ….. LHS
There were several gaming areas featuring over-sized beer pong, over-sized corn hole, and an area hosting spirited games of dodge ball.
The festival featured a wide variety of food vendors catering to a wide variety of tastes including those abstaining from meat. From all accounts, the food was very good and it seemed that one of the most popular items was loaded nachos topped with pulled pork from a vendor closest to the stage. I can personally attest to its tasty goodness.
Rockstar Energy Drink was a major sponsor of the event and they were well represented. They handed out full sized cans of various flavors of their drinks which came in quite handy towards the end of the night! There were several areas featuring a variety of drinks ranging from beer to water, to mixed drinks.
Festival Wrap Up
This was the first year of the Camp Anarchy Festival. One would expect there to be some minor glitches. There were glitches, but none were insurmountable! Entrance to the parking area was not well marked as it was away from the festival entrance. The website clearly noted where the parking entrance was. Do yourself a favor and carefully look over the website!
Some folks griped about the cost of showers but how often does one shower when they camp? Security was friendly and courteous. They quickly found answers to questions without getting an attitude. Facilities (port o potties) were plentiful and located not far from the stage area. No long treks were necessary! The crowd area is hard packed dirt. Comfortable footwear is a must for Legend Valley.
The music…well, that is what everyone was there for and with good reason. It was quite an impressive line up of acts and the sound system was a good one. Plan on going to the 2020 edition of Camp Anarchy. You will NOT be disappointed!