(September 28, 2006) — “…No guns, no food, no weapons, no ‘fancy’ cameras, no blankets, no more than one sealed water bottle, no backpacks, no…,” droned the Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen in Devore employee as legions of fans waited anxiously Sept. 23 to witness 106.7 KROQ’s sixth annual summer foray into popular music: Inland Invasion. This year’s lineup was less than exciting: Guns ‘n’ Roses was slated to be the headlining act, but with front man Axl Rose’s recent reputation for not showing up to performances, the level of excitement was rather low; perhaps the inability to sell out all tickets could be attested to this fact. Joining GNR were Atreyu, Buckcherry, Rise Against, 30 Seconds to Mars, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Muse, and Alice in Chains. The last minute addition to the lineup was Poets and Pornstars, a local band who won a contest to be the opening act. Poets and Pornstars, Atreyu, Buckcherry and Rise Against failed to impress; their recorded music, however, isn’t much better. No surprises there. Mediocre performances by 30 Seconds to Mars, Papa Roach and Avenged Sevenfold seemed to build up to the magnificence that would follow when Muse took the stage. It was Muse’s turn to play just as darkness set in, creating a silhouette effect of their figures any time one of the members chose to go towards the back of the stage. Their set was decorated primarily in white, complete with a giant Marshall amplifier in white casing. Vocalist Matthew Bellamy lived up to his reputation as a talented performer with his accurate vocals, constant guitar fiddling and trademark switch to play certain parts of songs on his white upright piano. At the end of the flawless set, Bellamy knocked over the white amp, thanked the roaring crowd and walked off the stage. Alice in Chains was the last performance that I witnessed; new vocalist William Duvall exceeded expectations with his renditions of the band’s most popular songs, originally penned and sung by the late Layne Staley. A surprise for the audience was when Chester Bennington of Linkin Park came out to sing “Man in the Box.” I wish I could tell you all about Guns ‘n’ Roses’ performance, but I unfortunately got sick of waiting after the first hour and a half and went home. According to MTV News, they came on a half hour after I left, playing a “19 song set.” Despite the lack of overall quality, trash covering most of the grass, beer flying all over the place during the wait for GNR and that ever-present cloud of special smoke, the experience was still worth it.