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February 6th, 2009 by Phantasmo SLIPKNOT – ST. PAUL, MN – 01.23.09
People equaled shit on January 23rd in St. Paul, Minnesota when Slipknot kicked off their US ‘All Hope Is Gone’ tour. I was lucky enough to be in St. Paul that weekend for my godson’s baptism, and what better way to celebrate a christening than watching the Unholy Nine unleash hell upon an arena of 17,000 maggots? My brother-in-law Tim and I made it to the show a little late, so we missed the first band, Trivium. From what I heard, they were damn good and as a Trivium fan, I was a bit disappointed to have missed their set because they played some pretty blistering metal.
Krisute Gomen After throwing back some beers outside the arena and buying a tour shirt for my 13 year-old son (“Gee, should I get him the Trivium shirt that says ‘We’ll Tear Your Fucking Head Off!”) we headed back in when the lights went down for the next band, Coheed & Cambria. Beers in hand, we made our way to the floor and got as close as safely possible…I’m too old for that circle pit shit. Coheed kicked it off with a no-holds-barred version of my personal favorite Rock Band set closer ‘Welcome Home’ and followed it up with some of their heavier material, probably trying their best to appease the Slipknot crowd. My brother-in-law, unfamiliar with Coheed’s music, turned to me and said, “They sound like an evil version of Rush!” That’s a pretty accurate quote, I’d say. Welcome Home The Slipknot crowd were pretty rough and ended up throwing shoes and shit at the band before they finished their set. But, despite it all, I thought they put on a damn good performance and the chants of “SLIPKNOT!” didn’t seem to faze them. Claudio was destroying his guitar during IKSOSE:3 and his hair was bigger ever. They ended their set and the lights came on again. Time for more beer… 30 minutes later, the lights went down and from behind a blood red curtain, Slipknot took the stage.
From the second the curtain went up, the entire place went absolutely ape shit. The entire band was obviously ready for battle because each one of them was giving it 110%. Even Mick, who normally doesn’t move, was all over the place.
Clown’s rising drum kit was insane and Sid was climbing and swinging all over it. The set consisted of mostly songs from their first two (and heaviest) albums, which the crowd LOVED, especially when fan favorites like ‘Me Inside’ and ‘Purity’ were played. They even pulled out the very old ‘Frail Limb Nursery’ from the Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat. album. ‘The Blister Exists’ was bad ass to see live, as Clown and Chris each took turns playing their own marching band drums, stomping around the stage like robots. ‘Before I Forget’ sent the crowd into a frenzy as did ‘Duality’ later on, which was also when Joey’s drumset rose up and tilted completely forward while he pounded away the entire song. The set ended with ‘People = Shit’, but they saved the best for last. During the final encore song, ‘Spit It Out’, Corey commanded the entire arena of 17,000 to get down on their hands and knees during the breakdown. As he screamed “Jump the fuck UP!” the entire place erupted in an explosion of bodies jumping up and down. It was nuts, and a perfect ending to a fucking incredible show.
The sound in that place was perfect and you could hear every single member clearly – Sid’s scratching, Clown’s baseball bat beating kegs, all of it sounded amazing. The lights went up as Sid left the stage, bottle of wine in hand, to the tune of The Beatles’ ‘We Can Work It Out’ played over the arena speakers. Intro/(sic)/Intro |
