03-26-06 Blind is best played by surprise.

BANDS:

Korn
Mudvayne
Ten Years

LOCATION:
Mohegan Sun Arena, Sidestage, Row S

PRICE:
$45 (including Ticketbastard charges)


DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
The shirt I was interested in:

was $45 which was about what I paid for the ticket. Thus my interest flew out the window. Other shirts were in the $30 range.

VIEW:
Could see everything when the couple in front of me got the hell out of my way. Seriously. They were two drunkies who would yell in each other's ear, thus creating massive head block in front of me. So I'd move further down my row to see better since the guys next to me left. But then they'd shift positions so they'd be standing in front of me again. I was very close to giving them $1 to get out of my way and go get a room. I hated them.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
I wasn't there before the show. I arrived during Mudvayne. But I didn't know it was Mudvayne. I thought they were 10 Years until they said "Give a round of applause to the Mudvayne crew". Then after a half second wondering why we should, I realized that the Skynyrd looking guy was the weirdo redfaced guy from that first video they put out awhile ago and that this in fact was Mudvayne. Which actually made me happy because I didn't care about 10 Years at all. The only music played during the break that I remember was Queens of the Stone Age songs, which due to their Dave Grohl connection, just furthers my theory that Foo Fighters and Korn are secret best friends. In between Mudvayne and Korn I read my Tucker Max book so I don't even know what was going on most of the time.

ATTENDANCE:
Sold out. Us Southern New Englanders sure do love our Nu-Metal.

AUDIENCE:
Mostly in their early 20s. There were a couple of hos that walked through the crowd and drew a lot of attention right before Korn went onstage. I guess because their boobs and asses were hanging out as they waved and blew kisses to guys. I don't know if I'm supposed to know who they are, or if they were just drunk dime-a-dozen Korn hos. I'll go with the latter.

WARDROBE:
Fieldy had a Raiders jersey on while his long Jesus hair flowed, David was topless for my viewing pleasure still sporting his Tobin hair, Munky wore some kinda Asian-influenced military wear, and Jonathan wore a black tank top and changed from his Adidas pants, to a black kilt, and at one point wore that long black robe dress thingy.

STAGE SET:
Screen that showed computer animated graphics mimicking the style of their album cover. If you go to Korn.com you can get a sense of the art direction. Sorta like F'd Up Alice In Wonderland. Like AIW wasn't f'd up enough already. Also worth noting is that they now have a backup band: A second drummer, a keyboardist, a guitarist, and another dude who plays random percussion/sound effects (like a giant metal sheet wtf). And the guys in the backup band all wear freaky animal masks the whole time. Um... ok.


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

I give it an 8 1/2. Points deducted for the medley.


SETLIST:
(not in order)
It's On (opened with this)
Falling Away From Me
Somebody Someone
Freak on a Leash
Got the Life
Shoots and Ladders (went into a medley including ADIDAS, Thoughtless and Make Me Bad)
Twist
Twisted Transistor
Coming Undone
Counting On Me
Here to Stay
the new songs I don't know
Blind (last song)


HIGHLIGHTS:
My view and seeing them in a small arena, Jonathan and Fieldy going sick headbanging together during one song, the enthusiasm of the crowd (they even showed up for Mudvayne for crying out loud). Also "It's On" was a pleasant surprise.


LOWLIGHTS:
I was already kinda bummed because they did like 4 or 5 new songs I don't know since I really am not into the latest CD. So you can understand my joy when Jonathan came out with the bagpipes and the band went into Shoots and Ladders. The last few times I saw them play this song, they would go right into "Darkness...imprisoning me...all that I see...absolute horror" and finish out the song with "One" which would cause the crowd to go insane. But instead they go into an f'ing MEDLEY. Spread the word please: medleys are totally unacceptable if I am in the attending audience. One song I didn't know, then they threw in Make Me Bad, Thoughtless and A.D.I.D.A.S. WTF. As many times as I've seen them (I've lost count. 8? 9? I don't know.) I still look forward to A.D.I.D.A.S.!! For their last song they did "Blind." But Jonathan announced it in advance ("We have one last song. You know what it is. This is "Blind"). Doing that somehow took away from the excitement I would normally feel hearing David's intro in complete darkness, either as the opening song or the encore. I don't know how to explain my frustration. "Anti-climactic" I guess? As I put it to Shannon "Blind is best played by surprise."


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes if you're a real Korn freak. If you're go looking to hear the older stuff, then no.