Halfway Jam 2012

Last year I attended the 3-day Halfway Jam outdoor classic rock festival in Royalton, MN for the first time, and had a blast! This year I decided to return again after finding out that Queensryche was one of the headliners. I'd enjoyed Queensryche's show at the casino in Walker 3 years earlier so I thought it'd be another fun time. After I'd bought my tickets, however, I learned that their lead singer Geoff Tate was suddenly out of the band in the middle of their 30th anniversary tour. Despite rumors and uncertainty, however, the band pledged to be at Halfway Jam. I wondered how this would affect the overall concert experience.

I got to the first day after a busy day at work just as the first national act, Bang Tango, hit the main stage. Despite a sudden downpour during the set, the band played an impressive set. The same was true of the following act Trixter. They played an energetic set winding down with their hit "Give it To Me Good."

As darkness began to set in, most of the festival attendees swarmed the side stage to catch local favorites Blimp play some classic Led Zeppelin covers. Stacy Bauer channeled her inner Robert Plant perfectly, and the crowd was riled up enough for the evening's headliner, southern rockers Jackyl to hit the stage.

I remember my brother playing Jackyl's debut CD constantly as a youth, and a lot of those hit songs like "When Will It Rain" came back to me instantly when the band played on stage. Despite a recent wrist injury, frontman Jesse James Dupree performed admirably, closing with the hit "Lumberjack," in which Dupree successfully sawed a stool in half with a Stihl chainsaw, one of the rare rock songs where a chainsaw doubles as a musical instrument. Immediately afterwards, Dupree fired off a blank round into the air from a shotgun that happened to be tied to his mike stand. I got to chat with the band afterwards and admit to Dupree that I didn't realize his mike stand was loaded!

The second day, after helping out at the library book sale during the annual Cold Spring summer festival, I returned to Halfway Jam to catch the southern tunes of Blackfoot. The southern rock theme continued with the next act, the distinctive Molly Hatchet. I was impressed by their music, and got to compliment the lead singer after their set.

It was fitting that a local Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band was on the side stage before and after Friday's headliner 38 Special took the stage, because one of their singer/guitarists is Donnie Van Zant, brother of Skynyrd's late member Ronnie Van Zant. 38 Special started rocking into the night and continued the fun for over an hour. In addition to their own hits like "Second Chance" and "Hold on Loosely," the band also covered the Skynyrd classic "Rebel to Rebel," a fitting tribute to Donnie's brother.

The next day I arose, a bit groggily, in time to help out my library book sale on the final, but very successful day. Before I knew it, it was time to catch Enuff Z'Nuff sing "Fly High Michelle" and other hits from their catalog at Halfway Jam on a bright sunny Saturday.

I enjoyed hearing Lynch Mob axeman George Lynch's killer guitar riffs during the next set. His expert playing him reminded me of the skilled playing of Eddie Van Halen that I had witnessed live a couple of months earlier. I wasn't too fond of the next band, Stryper, because of the religious aspect of their band, but they played some great covers of songs like Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" and Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight." They were the only main stage opening act to have an encore, their single "To Hell With the Devil."

As I made my way to the front of the general admission area, I happened to have a long, detailed conversation with a Queensryche 'superfan' who was also disappointed by Tate's departure from the band. She filled me in on some inside information, including the reason why original guitarist Chris DeGarmo left the band years earlier.

After the Jammin' Idol winner performed (she did well, my only complaint was that she sang a pop song during a rock festival), Queensryche with new singer Todd La Torre hit the stage. I was impressed with his vocal range, he really could hit the high notes. I enjoyed watching the band play classics like "Walk In The Shadows," "Take Hold of the Flame," "Warning," and "Jet City Woman," but during certain songs I couldn't help thinking "Where's Geoff?" I later learned that this was the band's first-ever public performance with Todd La Torre behind the mike for Queensryche, so I was witness to a bit of rock & roll history in the making.

As I drove around a few showers on the way home that night, I reflected on another successful Halfway Jam. While I wasn't a big fan of most of the main stage acts, I still had fun nonetheless. I got to hear new music, talk to some friends, fans and a few of the band members, so that alone was worth the ticket price. If the experience is as enjoyable next year, I'll probably be back again. Third time's the charm, right?