Stone Sour

Stone Sour/Korn 6/20/17

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Back down to the amphitheater in Chula Vista that I had been to only four days prior. It was a smaller turnout of just Bob and I this time and smaller turnout in general as the whole lawn section had been closed off. This meant a free upgrade for us into the 300 level but probably some bitterness for the people that actually paid a little more for 300 level seats. We promptly found our way down to the front of the section dead center which was essentially the same view as the back of the 200 level. Score!

Stone Sour is one of my favorite bands but I am still sour about the departure of Jim Root. This appearance was for the new album Hydrograd that is set to drop on June 30th and is the first album without Root. Coincidentally or not the three songs from the new album they have already “released” and ended up playing tonight are not my favorite Stone Sour songs. The last time I saw Stone Sour over three years ago was the first time I saw them with Root’s replacement Christian Martucci and the songs just did not quite feel the same. Christian’s virtuosity cannot go unappreciated because he played all the old stuff note for note but again the songs just had a slightly different feel. I think part of it was also Corey Taylor who seemed to be doing the lazy thing of just not singing certain parts and kept doing this weird thing with his voice during screaming parts. To be fair maybe he was just trying to preserve his voice. Overall they still rocked and sounded tighter this time. The highlight for me was “Absolute Zero” which killed. Hopefully the other songs on the new album will make me feel like a big fat fuckface for some of the words I have just written…

SETLIST: Taipei Person/Allah Tea, Made of Scars, Say You’ll Haunt Me, 30/30-150, Tired, Do Me a Favor, Song #3, Through Glass, Absolute Zero, Fabuless

Stone Sour sounded good, Korn sounded GREAT. I am talking strictly on a sound quality level and feel bad for the opening bands because I am convinced this amphitheater dials everything back if you are not the headliner. It was going to be pretty hard for Korn to top the last time I saw them at Epicenter in 2015 when they played the entire first album, but I am not one to miss an opportunity to see my favorite bands when given the chance. Korn was touring for their 12th album The Serenity of Suffering that was released 10/21/16 but I somehow just learned about it. Save for three songs off this album everything they played was from the first six albums. Head and Munky kept doing these badass call and response type things between songs that make them the best guitar duo in the biz. “Here to Stay” was as heavy as ever, “Somebody Someone” sounded thicker than the album version, Jonathan’s scat on “Twist” gave me flashbacks of the first time I had ever heard “Ball Tongue,” and “4U” was beautiful in every way. The visuals being projected onto a couple walls of white amps was a nice touch too.

SETLIST: Rotting in Vain, Falling Away From Me, Here to Stay, Did My Time, Somebody Someone, Clown, Black Is the Soul, Shoots and Ladders, Twist, Got the Life, Coming Undone, Insane, Make Me Bad, Y’All Want a Single, 4U, Blind, It’s On!, Freak on a Leash

Korn The Serenity of Suffering

Stone Sour 2/6/14

Stone Sour 14

Stone Sour cemented their place as one of my favorite bands with the release of the double album House of Gold & Bones Parts 1 and 2. These albums were released roughly five months apart and by this point Part 2 had been out for about 10 months. I had not seen Stone Sour for almost three and a half years so a little trip to the closest tour stop at the House of Blues Disneyland in Anaheim was not about to stop me from seeing these new songs live.

The excitement soon turned into actual sourness when suddenly not long before this show for no exact reason given Jim Root was kicked out of Stone Sour. This was really strange since they were touring an album that he had a large hand in writing and he was still in Slipknot with Corey Taylor. Due to this unexpected twist this was my first time seeing the band with Christian Martucci.

I convinced Bob to go and Ken to not only go, but drive us in his Toyota Yaris hatchback aka “the Rollerskate.” Being six foot one cramped in the backseat of that thing, eating Del Taco for dinner (I hate Del Taco) and not being able to drink a whole lot due to having to work the next day kind of drew a parallel to the show we were about to watch – it was passable but not ideal. Don’t get me wrong the show was very enjoyable but it just seemed to be missing a certain something or in this case a certain somebody. Christian Martucci filled in nicely for Jim Root but there were little nuances that were just different which made for a slightly different vibe. The “Crreping Death” cover was unexpectedly awesome and the new songs passed the live test, especially “Gravesend” and the one/two punch of “Gone Sovereign” and “Absolute Zero” to end the show.

SETLIST: The House of Gold & Bones, RU486, Say You’ll Haunt Me, Black John, Inhale, Made of Scars, Mission Statement, The Travelers, Pt. 1, Tired, Through Glass, Gravesend, 30/30-150, Nutshell, Bother, Do Me A Favor, Creeping Death, Gone Sovereign, Absolute Zero

 

 

Uproar Festival 9/18/10

Uproar Festival 10It had been nearly three and half years to the day since I had last seen Stone Sour at the House of Blues. This time I thought I was going to go by myself too but Bob showed interest and Tom committed. Bob dropped out. Tom brought me some requested pot and picked me up in a borrowed Saleen Mustang. We arrived to the venue with just enough time to drink two beers each in the parking lot. Once inside we made our way to the 2nd Stage where the band Hellyeah was to play. The only thing I knew about this band was that the drummer was none other than Vinnie Paul of Pantera and that it also featured the singer from Mudvayne Chad Gray. The funny part is that the only reason I wanted to go to this all day concert was Stone Sour. I had not been able to stop playing their new album, Audio Secrecy.

Anyways Stone Sour happened to be signing autographs in a Best Buy tent that we walked right by. I’m not about the autographs but thought it might be cool to shake their hand and thank them for rocking. The employee/rule makers had other plans. Employee said, “Where is your wristband?” I replied something to the effect of not being aware of the wristband requirement and inquired as to where or how I could get one. Employee was of no assistance whatsoever.

We proceeded to watch HELLYEAH who proceeded to rock. They are heavy-as-fuck. Maybe a little too heavy for not previously knowing their music. After their set we went into the vendor area of the amphitheater in search of food and a beer. We ended up running into Tom’s friend Matt who heads up the beverages and food department at the facility. He hooked up a Corona tallboy and a Shock Top draft and shot the shit with us until Stone Sour was about to go on.

Stone Sour fucking rocked and did not disappoint. The rocked from the opening notes of “Mission Statement” to the closing notes of “30/30 150.” They rocked so hard that I blew my voice out from screaming so loudly. Very tight as a band, virtuoso guitarist(s) with taste, singer with an amazing voice and song writing capabilities. Oh yeah the rhythm section is pretty badass too. The hardest rocking songs for me were “Reborn,” “Get Inside,” and “30/30 150.”

Somehow Stone Sour were not the headliners. After them came Disturbed which I always enjoy and had not seen for a couple years. Closing the show was Avenged Sevenfold. I don’t know why but I just cannot bring myself to like their music.

Audio Secrecy Stone Sour

Stone Sour 4/22/07

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My cousin Earl gave me a copy of Stone Sour’s eponymous album not long after it came out in 2002. I knew about them because I had seen Slipknot three times by this point, but I did not really get into Stone Sour until I came around to Slipknot once they released Volume 3: The Subliminal Verses. This made me revisit Stone Sour’s debut album but they didn’t really get their hooks in me until I heard “30/30-150” from the album Come What(ever) May that was released in August of 2006. I loved the soft/heavy balance they struck versus the straight brutality of Slipknot. Needless to say I remember being particularly excited about this show since I had never seen them before. I cannot remember everything that was played but I did know all the songs forwards and backwards which generally makes a great concert that much better. This was the first time I had seen Corey Taylor “unmasked” and I remember him being a giant ham that seemed to be truly enjoying himself. The massive crowd response he got when he took off his shirt surely did not hurt. I was very impressed when he came out by himself with an acoustic guitar and played a medley of songs that included a solid version of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”

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