Halloween 2009, in Vegas, will go down as one of the coolest Halloween weekends ever in Sin City!! WE got to start out Thursday night with the new horror themed Rob Zombie show and next we had the Fangoria Trinity of Terrors convention hosted at the Palms. Then, to top it all off, we got a killer Slipknot show. They ended their tour for “All Hope Is Gone” in Support of their new CD of the same name, on Halloween night, and ended the tour with a bang!
Slipknot, which features DJ Sid Wilson (0), drummer Joey Jordison (1), Paul Gray (2), percussionist Chris Fehn (3), Jim Root (4), sampler Craig Jones 133 (5), percussionist M. Shawn Crahan /Clown(6), guitarist Mick Thomson(7), and Corey Taylor(8), tore the Pearl apart with an approximately one hour and forty five minute set!
If you haven’t been to a Slipknot show you are missing an incredibly intense, sonically astounding show. I had the pleasure of seeing them ten years ago at Ozz-Fest in Phoenix, AZ. When we saw this new twisted band from De Moines Iowa, we were struck with a “what the hell did we just witness?” look on our faces. When we left we bought the CD on the way home. These guys were just fresh and new… and freakin’ insane!
This time was my fourth time seeing them and I kind of knew what to expect. But this time it was Halloween and the freaks were out in full force at The Pearl! I was lucky enough to get into the photo pit and was worried that I would never get a good shot, because these guys move around like maniacs on the prowl. When the lights finally came down, nine came out and just kind of stood there glaring at the crowd, but that didn’t last long as they blasted into “Sic.”
We got to shoot two songs and then I was escorted back into the insane crowd which was scary as I kept getting closer to the mosh pit and I did not want to be there. I found myself a good spot way in the back and watched with excitement as the show went into a frenzy with fans and band in sync with each other. Slipknot loves their fans and they show it with all the energy they put into a show.
The only problem I saw, was that they have a couple of new songs that are pretty slow and I thought that they didn’t flow with the other heavier songs, but who am I to judge? It was still a sick-ass show that was full of intense energy that you could feel no matter where you sat or stood. The swirling mosh pit was huge and off the hook and the kids were jumping up and down with hate and glee. This is a good way to vent your anger and frustration with the world, especially with songs like “People=Shit” and “Wait and Bleed!” The most insane part of the show was on the last song “Spit” when Corey Taylor(8) gets the crowd to settle down and kneel on the floor. He tells them to wait for it …wait for it….then, JUMP!!! Everyone on the floor explodes with jumping and leaping about in pure unadulterated angst!!! This is something they do at every show and it always blows me away. To have that kind of control of a crowd is amazing. At the same time, the band is going nuts onstage and all of a sudden, Joey Jordison’s (1) drum kit rises up, in a Tommy Lee move, and abruptly tilts sideways and you see him drumming upside down! Not completely upside down, but on a tilt. It was just amazing to see that as I haven’t seen anyone do that since the 80’s. Killer move! The crowd went wild at that point! The strobes and red lights were flashing like crazy and I thought I would freak out! It was such a cool moment and a great ending to an fantastic show!!! I walked out shaking like a leaf from the intense energy! What a sick Halloween show!
Set List:
Intro/Sic
Sic
Eyeless
Wait & Bleed
Get This
Before I forget
Sulfur
Blister
Dead Memories
Disaster Piece
Vermillion
Psychsocial
Duality
People = Shit
Encores:
Snuff
Surfacing
Spit
We would like to thank Alissa Kelly of PR Plus in Las Vegas for allowing us to cover the show. For more information on Slipknot, please visit: http://www.slipknot1.com/
