After going on a long nature hike searching for Harder Stadium, we arrived at the Extravaganza around 1:30. The show had started at noon, so we missed DJ Pat opening the second stage and some band called Tight Pants that my friends who got there earlier described as "lounge-core" starting on the main stage. Eh, no big deal. On the second stage, 4 Degrees Kelvin was playing to an unenthusiastic crowd on the second stage. They're your typical Family Values type metal band, though they displayed a bit more talent than some of the other Korn-a-bes I've seen. Their stage presence was zilch, however. Their "big boned" singer just stood there and screamed into the mic, with no visible or audible emotion at all. 4dk fell completely flat for me.

Over on the main stage, Del the Funkee Homosapien began his set. All I know about Del is that he's a member of the Hieroglyphics/Souls of Mischief crew and he has a new solo album coming out. His movement on stage is pretty basic of a lot of rap artists, but his lyrical content was top notch, which really matters the most in rap. The freestyle portion between him and his partner KU (I think that was his name) was cool, but his whole sound seemed lost in the size of the stadium. The whole Hiero style fits way better in small, underground clubs. A good chunk of the crowd really dug him, though. The coolest song was an ode to video games. It was neat to listen to Del and his partner rap about all these old school and new school games, and about how hard the final boss in Ninja Gaiden was, how he had to get a map to beat Zelda, etc. etc. Being a video game fanatic in the past and a casual fan today, the song made me smile. All in all, Del displayed nice lyrical ability, but he's not cut out for big stadium shows, compared to other rap groups like the Alkaholiks whose live show fits perfectly into the large festival atmosphere. Del, like most rappers, promoted his new CD and another one by his friend, Casual, then left.

After Del was done, we walked over to the second stage to catch a reggae band called the Cannons. They started off with an instrumental that seemed really hollow and boring to me. When the white singer came out and, in full Jamaican accent, declared his love for Jah and said everything was for Jah, the band's amps went out. Ouch.. doesn't seem like Jah loves you back, Pretty Rasta for a White Guy. When the equipment was restored, they started into a song with the exact same bassline as Sublime's "Caress Me Down." I was hoping they weren't going to do a cover of it, and luckily it was their own tune. Then they went into the token "legalize ganja" song. Did these guys attend Reggae 101 class or something? Big Mountain must've been the teacher. The equipment then went out for a second time. The feds must be controlling the sound board or something. We left at this point to wait for Hepcat on the main stage. I can't really give a rating since they didn't have much of a set, but I wasn't diggin' their vibes too much.

The band I wanted to see most, Hepcat, started on the main stage. I had seen them at the Warped Tour in 1997 and that's what influenced me to get into their music. Now that I was into their music, I couldn't wait to see them again. Alex Desert is apparently no longer in the band as he is now on Ted Danson's CBS series, Decker, so Greg Lee is the only singer. They began with "Come Out" from Scientific, and Greg looked very stoned. It didn't affect them at all, I don't think. Pockets of the crowd were groovin', but my section was relatively still. It didn't really matter all that much to me, but it's always cooler to be amongst people who get into the band. They went into "The Fool", also from Scientific, and continued with a string of slow, rocksteady-ish songs that sounded great but didn't seem to energize the crowd. They picked up the pace with "Can't Wait", their tune that appears in a Heineken commercial, and a cover of a Brenton Wood song that most people knew better than their originals. A lot of their set consisted of stuff from Right On Time, and nothing from their debut, Out of Nowhere. That's not a complaint, just an observation. They ended with the ultra-happy "No Worries" from their latest album that got the biggest crowd reaction of the set, and they finally concluded with an instrumental from their first album, "Clarence". Sound wise, Hepcat was ON -- every instrument just sounded perfect. But I can't help thinking that Hepcat would be ten times better when they're in front of a more appreciative crowd.

I waited over by the main stage after Hepcat. I guess that Jah permanently destroyed the second stage, so Dial 7 was moved over to the main. I liked this development because a) it would expose more people to an awesome live band, and b) I wouldn't have to give up my spot to see both Dial 7 and the Vandals. After a while, Dial 7 exploded on the main stage. From the first song, people were staring at the two insane vocalists in disbelief. It only took a few minutes for the especially nutty singer to jump into the huge gap between the barrier and the stage and go into the crowd. The majority of the audience seemed to enjoy them. The problem with Dial 7 is that although they have wicked stage presence, their music pretty much sucks. They sound like a more in-your-face version of 311, sorta like the Phunk Junkeez but slightly better and not as corny. In short, I love Dial 7 live, but I do not like their music.

So, well, the Vandals were on next. After seeing them five times, I'm starting to feel like I know Dave, Warren, Joe, and Josh personally. They started with their version of "Summer Lovin'," which all the new early-teenage girl fans seemed to enjoy, though they've probably never heard the Vandals rendition. The guys went through a set based primarily on their staple live songs, including "It's A Fact", "Live Fast, Diarrhea", "And Now We Dance", the one Stevo-era tune "Anarchy Burger", and some stuff from Hitler Bad, Vandals Good to please all the newer fans who only own that album. Warren, Dave, and Joe's between-song banter took up almost as much of the set as the songs, but they're funny guys so I'm not complaining. Warren, of course, took the mic for "I Have A Date" and mounted a speaker (not that kind of mounted, though I wouldn't put it past him). They capped off the performance with "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music. Overall, the usual good set from the Vandals, but nothing I haven't seen from them before.

I saved my spot against the main stage barrier for RUN DMC's upcoming set while local rockabilly rednecks Blazin' Haley played on the restored second stage. It didn't sound like I was missing much. After a long wait, DJ Jam Master J (note that I'm not a huge RUN DMC fan, so I may be fucking up the way that his name is written) stepped on onstage and proceeded with DMC and RUN's introductions. The crowd was packed in and heated. DMC came out first, decked out in a full' Adidas wardrobe, of course. Reverend RUN came out next to a large reaction. Although I'm not a big RUN DMC fan, as I wrote above, I was excited to see RUN DMC because they're friggin' legends, and probably the most influential rap group ever. RUN began to scream on par with a lot of crust punk singers, encouraging the crowd to chant something. There was a chant for every song, some with multiple sing-a-longs, so even if you didn't know the songs (like me), you could still get into it. I was glad that they performed mostly their old school 80's material instead of their newer stuff, which is most likely not going to live up to their previous work. To get to the main point, RUN DMC was awesome, running through all of the favorites ("Mary Mary", "Peter Piper", "Sucka' MCs", "Walk This Way", etc.) with just about everyone in the stadium going nuts for 'em. The only semi-low point of the set was a remixed version of "The Way It Is". Everything else whooped ass, though. They all signed a shirt and gave it out to "the person who could make the most noise". Good thing they didn't throw it into the audience, because a riot would've started. Rev. RUN didn't try to force his religion upon everyone, which was a good thing. Before they left, they promoted their new album, running through the list of guests which includes Method Man, Aerosmith (maybe they'll redo "Sweet Emotion" this time), and Sugar Ray (the only named artist that got booed by the crowd), among others. If you're doubting that RUN DMC can still do it after all these years, check 'em out live, because you're bound to be impressed.. until they start doing new material, at least.

Overall, the show lived up to my expectations. The bands steadily got better as the day progressed. I saw my pals the Vandals once again, I saw some rap legends, and I saw the mighty force of Jah Rastafari in full effect. How could I not enjoy this show?