X-Fest marks 10th year on down note

SOMERSET, WIS. -- When the 93X-Fest started 10 years ago, rock music was still riding a wave of new bands and bombastic energy that was nothing short of revolutionary.

This year at the two-day festival -- held, as always, at Float-Rite Park amphitheater on Friday and Saturday -- the most revolutionary thing was the field-size slab of concrete newly laid in front of the stage. That no skulls were broken on it by moshing fans tells you the lackluster pace of the event.

In lieu of some of rock's most exciting new noisemakers (White Stripes, the Hives, the D4, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), X Fest organizer 93.7 FM currently spews the kind of one-formula, easy-to-pigeonhole, chest-beating testosterone cases that were all over this X Fest.

From Anger 'R' Us bands such as Cold, Saliva, Trapt, Stone Sour (even their names are drab) to two punk acts thrown in for good measure, Sum 41 and the Ataris, the lineup had the edginess and diversity of a golf tournament.

On Saturday, Cold's singer Scooter Ward yelled at bored fans who were sitting down. "What are you waiting for, that punk-rock [expletive]?" Ward said, in reference to the next band, Sum 41 -- as if it didn't belong.

For the record, Sum 41 had far fewer squatters during its high-energy set.

Other signs of too much sameness? Not one female musician performed out of 29 acts. Even more tellingly, this year's two headliners -- Audioslave on Friday night and Ministry on Saturday -- were holdovers from rock's high-water mark a decade ago.

Audioslave was the best act. However, even that band's best moments could hardly be termed groundbreaking, as it mostly just echoed its members' former groups, Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine.

Industrial-rock pioneer Ministry -- on tour for the first time in about five years -- made a riveting comeback appearance, complete with new hi-fi video imagery and old popular songs.

The only other standouts were local bands who got on the bill and didn't fit the mold, including Flipp and American Head Charge -- who had the stage show that so many other acts lacked.

As always, X-Fest was met with mixed feelings from local residents. However, sheriff's representatives reported only minor, "expected" problems. Attendance was down from previous years, under 14,000 each day.

Winners

Audioslave: No surprise, the new all-star powerhouse is ready to take over the summer amphitheater circuit.

Flipp: Even before it took its feather-spilling stunt to new heights (in a helicopter), the eight-time X-Fest vet reminded fans that rock is meant to be fun.

Stone Sour: Corey Taylor's new band can rock just as hard as his old one, Slipknot, but his solo version of "Bother" was the fest's singalong moment.

Second-stage bands: Systematic, Seether and Twin Cities metal band Skywind got more in fans' faces.

Losers

Saliva: From a sour Tears for Fears singalong to its singer's Lakers jersey, the band came off as plain ol' dumb.

Trapt: An emo-rock/metal mess.

St. Croix County Sheriff's Department: Thanks to closures on two county roads and confusing detours, they had fans driving all over farm country.