Sleaze Roxx ranks the M3 Rock Festival 2019 performances from first to last

Sleaze Roxx ranks the M3 Rock Festival 2019 performances from first to last

This is the first year that Sleaze Roxx had not one, not two, not three, but four representatives attending the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, USA. The four Sleaze Roxx representatives in question were IT guru Ed DeGagne, professional photographer Christopher Carroll, seasoned writer Tyson Briden (who is writing former Slik Toxik guitarist Kevin Gale‘s autobiography) and new writer and cartoonist Jeff Onorato.

I asked each Sleaze Roxx representative to rank the M3 Rock Festival performances from first to last. Everyone participated except for Mr. Carroll who had a great time but wasn’t quite as focused on every performance to be able to rank them. Accordingly, you have below the combined overall ranking results along with the individual rankings from Ed, Tyson and Jeff. In terms of the point scoring for the overall ranking results, the lower the point score, the better, since a #1 ranking from Ed, Tyson or Jeff equates to one point, a #2 ranking equates to two points, etc. Of note, Kip Winger does not figure in the overall rankings since Ed didn’t catch his performance.

Comprehensive reviews of the M3 Rock Festival will be posted soon but for now, enjoy Sleaze Roxx‘s rankings of the M3 Rock Festival performances from first to last.

Olivier

SLEAZE ROXX’S OVERALL RANKINGS (May 3, 4 and 5, 2019):
01. Kix (6 pts) — The hometown heroes continue to dominate M3. Why not just call it the Kix Rock Festival?
02. Whitesnake (12 pts) — Finally, a headliner other than Kix who delivers a great set at M3!
02. Warrant (12 pts) — Robert Mason and company put on a great performance after a lacklustre Rocklanta show.
04. Extreme (16 pts) — An energetic live performance and some fantastic songs is a winning combination.
05. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels) (19 pts) — Impressive first gig! Looks like we now have two L.A. Guns again!
06. Skid Row (22 pts) — Bach was awesome last year at M3. Skid Row were awesome this year. Imagine them together!
07. Quiet Riot (27 pts) — Looks like Quiet Riot have finally found the right replacement for the departed Kevin DuBrow.
08. Danger Danger (28 pts) — Nothing seems to stop Ted Poley from going int0 the audience when performing.
09. Black ‘N Blue (29 pts) — Black ‘N Blue put on great performance with replacement drummer Jimmy D’Anda.
10. Tora Tora (31 pts) — Memphis rockers score highest finish out of daily opening acts at M3.
11. Steven Adler (33 pts) — Adler with talented cast play most of the Guns N’ Roses classics.
11. Vain (33 pts) — Vain kick Day Three off in style with solid set.
13. Vixen (34 pts) — Lorraine Lewis proves once again that she is an excellent replacement for Janet Gardner.
14. XYZ (35 pts) — Terry Ilous played last year as the Great White frontman and returns this time with XYZ.
15. FireHouse (36 pts) — The band led by the amazing singer CJ Snare continues to put on flawless performances.
16. Enuff Z’Nuff (40 pts) — Last minute addition to M3 deliver a solid set.
17. Vince Neil (55 pts) — Vince can hardly sing anymore but he’s the only Mötley Crüe member playing those songs live.
18. Kingdom Come (56 pts) — A reunion that apparently did not live up to the hype at M3.
19. Autograph (57 pts) — By all accounts, it seems that Autograph put on a bit of a flat performance.
20. Dokken (60 pts) — The 3/4 classic line-up falls apart just before M3 leaving Don Dokken as the lone man standing.
21. Bang Tango (64 pts) — Sound issues and an early time slot means a dreadful set for Bang Tango!

ED DEGAGNE’S RANKINGS:

Ed’s Day One rankings (May 3, 2019):
01. Kix
02. Black ‘N Blue
03. Enuff Z’Nuff

Ed’s Day Two rankings (May 4, 2019):
01. Whitesnake
02. Warrant
03. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels)
04. FireHouse
05. Steven Adler
06. Tora Tora
07. Danger Danger

08. Autograph
09. Kingdom Come

Ed’s Day Three rankings (May 5, 2019):
01. Extreme
02. Quiet Riot
03. Skid Row
04. Vixen
05. XYZ
06. Vain
07. Dokken
08. Vince Neil
09. Bang Tango

Ed’s overall rankings (May 3, 4 and 5, 2019):
01. Kix — Super strong performance and one of the few performances that had the entire audience engaged.
02. Whitesnake — Fantastic performance and showed the audience that they’re still a super group.
03. Extreme — The MOST energetic band of the entire weekend.
04. Warrant — Band was very tight, high energy, and Robert Mason’s stage presence could not be ignored.
05. Quiet Riot — James Durbin has the pipes to make this work…. if he could stop “American Idol-izing” it.
06. Skid Row — Not quite Sebastian Bach good (in his heyday), but damn close…. almost.
07. Black ‘N Blue —  Surprise performance of the weekend. They were solid and tight and had a great performance.
08. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels) — Wanted to hate them but just couldn’t. These guys were very tight.
09. Vixen — Strong performance with Lorraine Lewis’ very impressive singing, and band was extremely tight.
10. FireHouse — Always a great performance and they did not disappoint this year.
11. Steven Adler — Very surprising strong performance. Would have been higher with more Adler stuff and less GNR.
12. XYZ — Terry Ilous’s voice hasn’t lost a lick, and the rest of the band didn’t miss a beat. Solid performance.
13. Vain — Very good performance and energy. Did not disappoint.
14. Tora Tora — Solid performance.
15. Enuff Z’Nuff — Solid performance as always.
16. Danger Danger — Pretty good performance but too much time spent in the audience by Ted Poley.
17. Autograph — Okay performance. Had no expectations. They lacked energy.
18. Kingdom Come — I’d be surprised if they even practiced before the show. Simply awful!
19. Dokken — Billed as a “3/4 reunion” to get the headline spot but then Don Dokken is the only one that shows up.
20. Vince Neil — Only “slightly” better than Bang Tango. “Singing” is just something Vince Neil doesn’t do anymore.
21. Bang Tango — Worst “performance” of the weekend. It may be the worst performance I’ve ever experienced.

TYSON BRIDEN’S RANKINGS:

Tyson’s Day One rankings (May 3, 2019):
01. Kix
02. Black ‘N Blue
03. Enuff Z’Nuff
04. Kip Winger

Tyson’s Day Two rankings (May 4, 2019):
01. Warrant
02. Danger Danger
03. Tora Tora
04. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels)
05. Whitesnake
06. FireHouse

07. Steven Adler
08. Kingdom Come
09. Autograph

Tyson’s Day Three rankings (May 5, 2019):
01. XYZ
02. Vain
03. Vixen
04. Skid Row
05. Extreme
06. Quiet Riot
07. Vince Neil
08. Bang Tango
09. Dokken

Tyson’s Overall rankings (May 3, 4 and 5, 2019):
01. Warrant — It wasn’t all big talk, just all action.
02. Kix — Blew my fuse.
03. Danger Danger — That’s what I’m talking about.
04. Tora Tora — The bastards of Beale.
05. XYZ — Turned me inside out.
06. Vain — They still get no respect.
07. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels) — It was like a slap in the face.
08. Vixen — Rev’d it up.
09. Whitesnake — Ready n’ willing.
10. Skid Row — This was no monkey business.
11. Extreme — It was a monster.
12. Black ‘N Blue — Still holding on to 18.
13. Enuff Z’ Nuff — I got high on a new thing.
14. Quiet Riot — Wild, older and still crazy.
15. FireHouse — That was all she wrote.
16. Kip Winger — Acoustically still seventeen at heart.
17. Steven Adler — Still riding the nightrain.
18. Kingdom Come — They could have got it on more.
19. Autograph — That ‘s not the stuff I remember.
20. Vince Neil — Singer used to kill.
21. Bang Tango — Maybe they should stop.
22. Dokken — It’s not love.

JEFF ONORATO’S RANKINGS:

Jeff’s Day One rankings (May 3, 2019):
01. Kix
02. Black ‘N Blue
03. Enuff Z’Nuff
04. Kip Winger

Jeff’s Day Two rankings (May 4, 2019):
01. Whitesnake
02. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels)
03. Steven Adler
04. Warrant
05. Quiet Riot
06. FireHouse
07. Tora Tora
08. Kingdom Come
09. Autograph

Jeff’s Day Three rankings (May 5, 2019):
01. Extreme
02. Skid Row
03. Quiet Riot
04. Vain
05. Vince Neil
06. Vixen
07. XYZ
08. Dokken
09. Bang Tango

Jeff’s Overall rankings (May 3, 4 and 5, 2019):
01. Whitesnake — Legendary frontman David Coverdale and company deliver to jam packed house.
02. Extreme — One of my most anticipated performances at M3 this year lived up to expectations.
03. Kix — Playing to a packed house in your hometown must be a catalyst for a great performance.
04. L.A. Guns (feat. Riley and Nickels) — Came into set with open mind and blown away by how great they sounded.
05. Steven Adler — Adler assembles brilliant roster of musicians for rocking trip down Guns N’ Roses memory lane.
06. Skid Row — The Skids sounded heavy, energized and seemed to have a blast with new singer ZP Theart.
07. Warrant — Band plays Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin’ Rich almost in its entirety to celebrate album’s 30th year.
08. Quiet Riot — James Durbin knows how to work the stage and performs with an abundant amount of charisma.
09. Danger Danger — Ted Poley ventures into audience to high five attendees and snap selfies but never misses a beat.
10. Black ‘N Blue — Late additions to M3 looked thrilled to be there and deliver high octane run through classic tracks.
11. FireHouse — Band delivers flawless set with singer CJ Snare still in top form vocally.
12. Enuff Z’Nuff — Chip and the boys did not disappoint with Kip Winger and Paul Taylor on background vocals.
13. Tora Tora — I was really impressed with how tight that the band sounded.
14. Vain — The band was superb and if I closed my eyes, I could have sworn it was 1989.
15. Vince Neil — Neil sticks to mostly faithful renditions of Mötley Crüe songs while “working” the stage quite well.
16. Kip Winger — Kip delivers mostly acoustic set along w/ percussionist + Winger guitarist / keyboardist Paul Taylor.
17. Vixen — New singer Lorraine Lewis really knows how to work a crowd and it would be great if band had a longer set.
18. XYZ — Band plays wonderfully and Terry Ilous still has a flawless voice.
19. Dokken — Great setlist but Don Dokken’s vocals were low in the mix and he seemed lethargic talking to the crowd.
20. Kingdom Come — Drummer James Kottak reminisces on playing Merriweather with Scorpions and the late Jani Lane.
21. Autograph — New frontman Simon Daniels does respectable job of filling in for original singer Steve Plunkett.
22. Bang Tango — Frontman Joe Leste seemed to be battling some minor vocal issues during band’s early time slot.