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Family Values is my favorite package tour because the
line-up is usually great and it’s indoors, which means - no port-a-potties, no
heat stroke, and no smelly frat boys puking on you. This year’s tour featured Deadsy,
Static-X, Linkin Park,
Staind, and
Stone
Temple Pilots.
Deadsy kicked off the festivities, but due
to perfect timing the BiteMe! Squad missed them. “Darn!” I knew I shouldn’t have stopped to pose for that photo
for Kid Rock’s website.” [Hey,
did that ever appear? Damn nice website… -J] Luckily, we arrived just
in time to catch another mind-blowing performance by Static-X.
| From the first moment Wayne
Static and his cohorts walked on stage it was sheer pandemonium. Wayne’s
vocals have the power to oscillate nerve endings and shatter pretenses. Ken
Jay’s drum skills are equally powerful.
His jackhammer pounding further sent the audience into frenzy. Tripp
held dominance over his side of the stage – thrashing his six string with a
vengeance while Tony’s thundering
bass lines injected heaps of attitude into the crowd. Static-X’s blistering performance lit the place on fire. They ended with the explosive “Push It” and
were joined one stage by one of the members of Deadsy, who looked like he was
auditioning for Beetlejuice. |
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Static-X’s potent set was followed by an invigorating
performance from
Linkin
Park. If you think Linkin
Park
are pussies you’ll change your mind after catching their live show. They impressed the hell out of me and even
earned J’s respect (and she couldn’t stand them) [Hated them. They made me see the light -J].
Linkin Park blew everyone out of the water. As a whole, the group is a tight, confidant, and
professional. They rock hard with a
power and passion that is genuine. Chester’s
range is amazing, and he CAN hit those notes in a live setting even on
“Crawling.” What you hear on CD is
real, people. The versatile vocalist
possesses the ability to make the transition from a lush croon to an anguished
scream without cracking. His pitch
remained perfect throughout the duration of the set. Chester
and Mike are very dynamic frontmen. The duo’s solid vocals shined
on every song. They work well together
and really know how to incite a crowd.
They maintained a strong and vibrant energy throughout the set and
showed their lover for their fans who showed their love back by cheering,
screaming, and singing along. On
separate occasions the singers were carried into the crowd by bodyguards and
both vocalists were mauled by their adoring fans. Before performing their last song (“One Step Closer”), the group
broke into the intro of Guns ‘n’ Roses’
“Sweet Child O’ Mine.” The voice that
came through the speaker sounded jut like Axl
Rose. I fully expected to see the
bloated one emerge from the shadows but, to my surprise, it wasn’t Mr. Temper
Tantrum, it was Chester. Damn, he’s good. There’s a reason why Linkin
Park have sold 6 million albums, and
the proof lies in their live show.
These guys will have you on your feet and your heart in their hands by
the time their set concludes.
Personally, I don’t think that Staind is an appropriate follow-up to Linkin
Park. They should have come on after Deadsy and before Static-X. Their melancholy tunes put a damper on the
high induced by Static-X and Linkin
Park. We didn’t want to fall asleep before Stone
Temple Pilots so J & I went to the bar across the street because The Pond
doesn’t serve alcohol at hard rock shows.
[Staind = boooooo-ring! -J]
We made it back just minutes before Stone Temple Pilots took over.
This is my second encounter with STP and the jury is still out. The first time I saw them it was like
watching two separate acts on stage. Weiland was off in his own little world
and the rest of the group was off in theirs.
This time Weiland seemed a little off his rocker, which made me wonder
if the Rock ‘n’ Roll doctor had paid him a visit earlier in the day. He kept babbling incoherently between
songs. It was sad. Chester
came out and joined the band for “Dead and Bloated,” and at this point he was a
godsend. Surprisingly, Weiland and
Chester
interacted well with one another. I
don’t know why Weiland has a hard time connecting with his bandmates. Much like The Royal Tenenbaums I’ll probably never get STP’s live show. J wasn’t getting it either, so we left. [And I
love STP live! This performance was
just off -J] On the way home we stopped off at BJ’s and
closed down the bar with this incredibly hot Italian boy, who happened to be a
model for Chanel [Yummy -J]. Talk about an ego boost! -NIN
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