KANSAS CITY, MO., AUG. 22-24–After you left the 73rd annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis this year and, on your way to Harley’s 110th Anniversary in Milwaukee, you needed to take a slight detour to catch this year’s edition of ThrottleFest in Kansas City to fill out your August motorcycle rally dance card.
Michael and Angie Ballard, Jesse James Dupree and other members of the cast from the Full Throttle Saloon came to Kansas City to celebrate 98.9 The Rock’s Johnny Dare’s birthday again. This rock ’n’ roll event was staged in the Berkley Riverfront Park, between downtown Kansas City and the banks of the muddy Missouri River. There were reports of more than 25,000 advance tickets sold so you needed to get there early to stake out your grassy spot in front of the concert stage. Admission was $25 for one night or $40 for the full weekend. Campers arrived on the scene Wednesday to be ready for the fun-filled weekend.
Pop Evil, an American rock band formed by vocalist Leigh Kakaty from Grand Rapids, Michigan, kicked off the party Thursday night. Some of their singles include Last Man Standing, Monster You Made and Boss’s Daughter.
Friday afternoon when the crowds began rolling in they were greeted by a plethora of Rockstar Bartenders under a large tent. In addition to the usual selection of cold alcoholic beverages available to the over-21 crowd, you could sample shots of Full Throttle S’loonshine and Jesse James Dupree’s American Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey. Just outside the tent you could watch kids playing with fire. Actually they were a Kansas City cultural performance troupe calling themselves Sinful Sideshow. Some of the performers included Verona Fink, Living Dead Girl and Chaotic Ali.
High overhead were the daredevil acrobatics of Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show (www.circusuna.com) with Una and Sara performing death-defying stunts with their motorcycle on a high wire with a trapeze suspended from it.
There were long lines waiting patiently for each performance of the Ives Brothers (www.ivesbrothersmx.com), Cody, 21, and Kyle, 19, in their Wall of Death feats. The Ives Brothers thrilled crowds with their skills riding a ’53 Harley Hummer and a ’80 CB125 Honda on the vertical antique wooden wall of their Wall of Death. A few of the performances drew some extra fanfare when the Jesse James American Outlaw Bourbon Girls were inside the wall cheering Cody and Kyle on as they rode their way around the wooden barrel.
Weather was reasonably pleasant despite the daytime high temperatures being in the low 90s. Naturally it cooled off when the sun went down and you had a cold drink in hand. However, the crowd temps rose to fever pitch with the great musical lineups for the nightly concerts.
Jackyl, led by frontman Jesse James Dupree, headlined the Friday night concert belting out their hard, heavy, Southern metal rock standards like We’re an American Band. Canadian rock band Theory of a Deadman played some of their hits such as Bad Girlfriend and Lowlife. Ugly Kid Joe, a band from California, added in their own brand of rock such as their Devil’s Paradise. Aranda from Oklahoma City included their single Undone—four great bands to rock your Friday night on the riverbank.
Saturday night they did you one better—five bands to rock you into the wee hours of the weekend. The lineup included Shinedown, a hard rock band from Florida who have sold more than six million albums worldwide, with Amaryllis being their most recent album; Papa Roach from California with The Connection as their most recent album, having sold more than 20 million albums worldwide; Rev Theory from Massachusetts offered Voices and Hell Yeah in their repertoire; Nigel Dupree, son of Jesse James Dupree, rocked the crowd with Tumbleweed; and In This Moment, a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, featured singer Maria Brink. “When it comes to women who rock, there are few who do it better or rock harder than Maria Brink,” posted James Wood on Technorati.com. “The feisty blonde singer of the band In This Moment is the Queen of Hardcore Metal. Brink is also one of the most charismatic and endearing women in music today.” Believe it.
It was an incredible lineup of entertainment for an incredible weekend in Kansas City, all brought to you by the folks of Full Throttle Saloon fame. Oh, by the way… ThrottleFest Kansas City is where Mike and Angie Ballard got married last August 26. Happy first anniversary to the newlyweds.
