Limp Bizkit

Epicenter 3/14/15

Epicenter 15

Happy early Birthday to me! This year’s Epicenter was moved to the legendary Forum in Inglewood where the Lakers used to play and was to feature Korn playing their eponymous first album in its entirety to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album. This was huge for me since I missed out on seeing Korn back in the day when all they had to play was that album. That in and of itself would have been enough reason to go but on top of that Limp Bizkit was playing along with Everlast, P.O.D. and Suicidal Tendencies AND it was a general admission concert which meant I could go down on the floor without having to sneak down there. The area near the Forum is fairly run down and that is putting it nicely. After Bob, Ken and I drove up from San Diego and checked into our hotel room we walked to a nearby Taco Bell to get some grub. It was the only Taco Bell I have ever been to that had the workers behind glass; bank teller style.

Suicidal Tendencies was up first but at the time that did not seem as important as pouring beer down our gullets so we passed. Once we arrived I realized the Forum architecturally reminded me of a larger version of the Sports Arena in San Diego which made perfect sense because they were both built in the mid-sixties.

I had seen P.O.D. for the first time exactly a year and a half before this at Aftershock and this performance was about the same. Not great but not bad. Their newest offering was SoCal Sessions, which was essentially an album of stripped down versions of their popular tracks and that shit was not about to fly at a show like this.

Next up was Everlast from House of Pain fame that legitimized himself as a solo artist after the release of Whitey Ford Sings the Blues back in 1998 after House of Pain disbanded. I grew up with “Jump Around” and it was pretty cool to see it live with DJ Lethal who just happened to be on hand for the upcoming Limp Bizkit set. He was good but I was very disappointed that he did not give “Shamrocks and Shenanigans” the rock treatment and “Hot To Death” was left out of his set. He had an opportunity to capitalize on the rock crowd at hand and just basically ignored that but good for him playing what he felt like playing.

I had not seen Limp Bizkit since their heyday back in the year 2000 but here they were playing with Korn just like back in the day. I knew what to expect since this was my fourth time seeing them but it had been so long that I really went into it with no expectations so resting on that laurel they fucking blew me away. Say what you will about Fred Durst but the dude has charisma and Wes Borland is not only an amazing guitarist but also a freak that likes to dress up in freaky outfits when the Bizkit plays. Their last album Gold Cobra was released almost a full four years before this but they wisely avoided the album altogether with their limited stage time. The setlist was not exactly what I would have hoped for but they did do a fantastic job of warming us up for the almighty Korn.

SETLIST: Thieves Intro, Hot Dog, My Generation, Livin’ It Up, My Way, Re-Arranged, Killing in the Name, Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle), Take a Look Around, Break Stuff

Korn’s self-titled album will always have a special place in my heart because I randomly discovered it back when the music chain Sam Goody used to have listening towers. Due to this I can claim responsibility for spreading the gospel of Korn throughout my group of friends. At the time and still to this day I have never really heard anything quite like it. It would be an understatement to say I was beside myself that I finally got the opportunity to see the whole thing live in concert, especially after how long I had to wait just to see Korn live at all. This was the sixth time I had seen them and the last time before this was at Aftershock a year and a half before this. The stage setup was a simple backdrop of the creepy album cover and Jonathan Davis was in full regalia with his signature early days Adidas track suit. One by one they played each of the songs on the album in order but my favorite section of the album are tracks eight, nine and ten, better known as “ Predictable,” “ Fake” and “Lies.” I would have paid whatever I paid just to see those three songs live. A-maze-ing.

SETLIST: Blind, Ball Tongue, Need To, Clown, Divine, Faget, Shoots and Ladders, Predictable, Fake, Lies, Helmet in the Bush, Daddy, Falling Away From Me, Freak on a Leash

 

Limp Bizkit/Eminem 11/14/00

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I didn’t really start listening to Eminem until after I got with Lucinda. There are very few artists of this kind that I’m into but he’s definitely one of them. It’s like comedy hour set to phat beats. He was touring for The Marshall Mathers LP that had just been released in May. I remember him coming out in a Jason mask from Friday the 13th with a chainsaw and overalls. He lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest rappers to ever be. Papa Roach played before Eminem and they were alright but not as good as the first time I saw them. Then to close the show was Limp Bizkit. This was the third time I was able to see them. One of the big draws of Limp Bizkit for me is Wes Borland. I love the style in which he plays the guitar and he has an affinity for putting himself into costume for their performances. They had just released Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water about a month earlier. It has moments but I don’t like it as much as the previous two albums. One particularly memorable moment in this show was when I got into a scuffle. I was getting rowdy down on the floor in front of Wes and apparently a few people around me didn’t like that I was having a better time than them. There was pushing, which I thought was just friendly moshing, but at one point I turned around and there was a fist coming at my face. I ducked and laid a punch square in the face of my attacker. It was like slow motion after that for a second as the guy flew through the air. I turned back around to watch the show and tried to move out of the area a little bit but the next thing I knew I had about three people punching the back of my head. This time I was a little more successful at leaving the area and that was the end of it. Angry people at the Anger Management tour after people have been drinking? I know. Weird…

The Family Values Tour 10/16/99

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I know there were other bands at this show but the only ones I remember or probably cared about were Staind, Primus, Filter and Limp Bizkit. They all performed great sets but I was especially stoked to see Filter for the third time because they had just released Title of Record a few months prior. It had also been a few years since I had seen Filter, as compared to the other bands that I saw earlier in the year. It was still a nice treat and good bang for the buck. The only person who went with me was Roscoe and this was one of the first concerts that I didn’t have to drive three hours to get to because on October 1st I decided to move to Portland, OR (even after I had promised myself years earlier I would not) with the assistance of my sister and Roscoe.

Portland was a funny choice for me because I knew people in Seattle and I was already a Washington resident. I didn’t know a soul in Portland, which was part of the appeal, and it was only an hour and a half to Corvallis where Rose was (we were still talking). I also got a callback from John Casablancas. They basically told me that I won a scholarship to attend 10 weeks of “modeling classes.” Looking back on it now makes me laugh my head off but I figured it was something in a place where I had nothing. I somehow fit all my stuff in a bedroom that I rented out of a house. The owner lived downstairs and rented out the entire upstairs that consisted of 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The problem was that the actual refrigerator portion of the fridge/freezer combo didn’t work and there was no oven or stove in the kitchen. This lead to me eat many a meal from the nearby Jack In The Box, which to this day I can’t eat very often. Beyond this the guy that I shared a wall with would buy a five pound bucket of pork chitterlings and boil them on a hotplate. I had never even heard of pork chitterlings but I now know that they have one of the most awful aromas I have ever smelled.

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Limp Bizkit 6/23/99

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By the time of this concert three pretty major things happened in my life: I graduated from Columbia Basin Community College with my AA, the transmission in my Mustang blew up, and Rose decided to move back to Corvallis for good, which ultimately made it an easier decision to end our relationship for good. After receiving my AA the plan was to pursue a Bachelor’s degree at one of the state schools in Washington, Oregon, or California. The problem was that I didn’t yet know what I wanted to pursue and didn’t want to waste time and money until I figured it out. This was probably the one thing I would change if I could go back in time. The only thing that I was remotely interested in was film school but for some reason convinced myself that it was not realistic. School would’ve pretty much been paid for by Financial Aid due to my mother being deceased and my father working under the table. Rose moved out in June and I was only working part time at UPS , which was not really enough to live on but I had saved a little money and used my credit card to get me through the summer. The place was a loft that was set up really well. After my Mustang blew up, my cousin helped me get a Geo Metro. It was the worst possible chick magnet and teal in color but was cheap, had low mileage, got good gas mileage, and was a 2-door.

Roscoe drove Earl and I to this show. The opener was Staind. We liked them a lot at the time based on their album Dysfunction, which is what they were on tour for. They rocked. Next up was Kid Rock who was touring for his breakthrough album Devil Without a Cause. I was never a fan of his but he does have some decent stuff in pieces and I respect him as a musician. He was on his first major tour and Jo C was with him. I remember thinking it was pretty funny to have this midget walking around the stage saying “show me ya titties!” in a funny voice. R.I.P. Then Limp Bizkit was up. Their star was on the rise due to the new album Significant Other. This was the second stop on this tour but the bass player Sam Rivers had already managed to mess up his hand in Seattle on opening night. He played through the pain and the show was great. They played all the songs I wanted to hear. The highlight though was a moment with Roscoe. He was wearing a neck brace and made his way to the front of the stage. Fred Durst said “and you with neckbrace, you need to get the fuck out of the mosh pit.” Classic.

The Family Values Tour 10/13/98

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The Family Values tour was created and headlined by Korn and 1998 was the first edition. That year it also featured Rammstein, Ice Cube, Incubus, Limp Bizkit and Orgy. The reason why I included this show is because it never happened. This tour didn’t run through Seattle or Portland so we decided on Boise, Idaho since that was the closest the tour came. Instead of getting to finally see Korn (see Lollapalooza 1997) the curse continued and the concert was cancelled. The really shitty thing was they didn’t cancel the show until four days beforehand. I was so upset that I ended up writing Korn a letter (super funny to read now). Needless to say, I never got a response. They did end up releasing an album of material that was recorded live on that tour. Unrelated but I had also started a job at UPS working in the warehouse.

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