When the date and the venue was chosen for Buzzfest XVI I’m postive they had no inclination that the Houston Astros would be in the World Series competing for a World Championship during the same week.

Well as it turned out that was exactly the case and the event had to be relocated to the Woodlands Pavilion where it has been previously held for many years. Unfortunately, with the venue change only a few days before the show fans that already had tickets had to return them at their point of sale and purchase new seats for the new location. Even though this may be a bit of an inconvenience, the fans truly stuck by their side and made the event a great success. Concertgoers could not have asked for a better day weather wise for this event. It was nice and breezy all day long which made it very comfortable for the 12 hour long event!

The side stage was jumping all day long and it was definitely a ton louder there than on the main stage. Bands like Coheed & Cambria, Yellowcard & Blood Hound Gang really got the crowd going and it was definitely a sight to see in person. Even with the main stage seating area and lawn filled you could not have imagined how many people were still at the side stage! This “Side Stage” could have definitely passed for a main stage atmosphere at any other music event.

The Main Stage showcased bands such as Institute, 10 Years, Cold, Seether, Nickelback and Audioslave. Institute, which is Gavin Rossdale’s (formerly of Bush) new band put on a great show and even threw in some old school Bush songs for old time’s sake! The band 10 Years has been on a very fast track to the top here in Houston with their popular single “Wasteland” getting a ton of support. This was the second time I have seen this band perform here in Houston and I have a feeling their time as an opening act will be very short lived. I’m positive this band has what it takes to make it big and soon don’t be surprised when they’re headlining on their own!

Nickelback fans in the pit as well as the photographers (myself included) were in for a big surprise once they got on stage and proceeded with a large act of flames and pyrotechnics! With the large flames that shot up from the stage, the heat was definitely a factor for those up front. The first round of flames definitely startled many people and once we all settled back down, I noticed many people (including myself) look down at our arms to see if we still had hair left! Nickelback’s performance and the stage effects really got the crowd fired up and the best part was that the night was not even over yet!

Audioslave came in and picked up right where Nickelback left off. Chris Cornell (formly of Soundgarden) led into the band’s current single “Doesn’t Remind Me” (which is from their second album “Out Of Exile”) and the vast majority of crowd fell right in and sang along. The rest of the night was full of energy on stage as guitarist Tom Morello led in and out of guitar solos as he covered every inch of the stage. These guys put on a great live performance and it was nice to have a little Soundgarden mixed in the setlist as well. Many of the fans had been at the event for 11+ hours and Audioslave’s show was definitely the way to end it in style!

Buzzfest XVI was a great success and I’m sure the other 15,000+ people who attended the event also feel the same way. Everyone involved with this event did an excellent job in handling the circumstances of having the venue change only days before the event was scheduled to happen. So with that being said, here’s to Buzzfest XVI and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us at Buzzfest XVII !!!