Bands I wanted to see: 3rd Strike, Flaw, Earshot, Union Underground, Disturbed, & Korn.
Bands we actually saw: Flaw, Shock Culture, Union Underground, Drowning Pool, Lokey, Trust Company, Disturbed, & Korn.
This was my first Korn concert ever. I had been wanting to see them since '94, but had missed them more than half a dozen times already. Anyway, I live 2 hrs. from S.A., so my older bro (Jeff), my friend (Necee), & myself were SUPPOSE to take off at 10 a.m., but we ended up not even leaving 'til 1, thanks to my bro. By the time we made it to the show, it was 3:15. It had rained almost the whole way to S.A., but it stopped when we got there, so we thought everything would b kool. Well, once we started walking from where we parked all the way to the opposite end of the venue, it started drizzling. We made it to the side stage about 5 minutes b4 Flaw came on. After a couple songs, I started making my way a lil further up, so I could get some pics (Yes, I got in w/my camera & my chain. Stupid security.). I was kinda far back, but I took pics anyway. Flaw kicked ass. They didn't play any old stuff though, just stuff from "Through The Eyes".
After Flaw, we walked around a bit, waiting for Earshot. At this point, it was raining & probably about 55º & the only area that was covered was the main stage, the floor in front of it, & the seats behind the floor, & they were closed off 'til 5 pm. After standing at the merchandise counter for what seemed forever, Necee & I ran into the guys from 3rd Strike. Some dude was selling 3rd Strike shirts for $10 & 2 of the band members were signing autographs & taking pics w/ppl. I got a shirt & their autographs. We missed their set, so it was kool to meet them. I also got the drummer from Flaw (Chirs Ballinger) to sign the shirt. He signed it upside down & wrote FLAW w/a backwards L on it. Heh. I also got a pic of him. He's kinda cute & really nice. We never did find the singer of Flaw. He said he'd b hangin' out, meeting ppl. Ahh well.
In the meantime, a band was already playing. It was suppose to b Earshot, but didn't sound like them at all. Turned out it was Shock Culture. I didn't see them & didn't pay much attention to the music either, so I dunno whether they were even good or not. 15 or so mins. after they left, one of the 99.5 KISS dj's got on stage & announced that Earshot was out wandering around & they couldn't find them, so Lokey was going to play while they tried to find the Earshot guys. S.A. didn't seem too supportive of their local boys in Lokey. Necee & I made it almost to the front right side of the stage. We probably coulda just walked through to the front w/no problem, but we were checkin' some dude out. I got a couple pics of Lokey & while they were on, one of the guys from Sycamore came over & gave us their promo cd. We missed them too, so that was kool. They kinda sound like old Metallica. Anyway, after that, we went & got our floor wristbands, so we wouldn't have to wait in line later. Then we walked around in the pouring rain, waiting for Earshot, until we noticed the entire side stage area clearing out. One of the security guys told us that there were no more side stage performanances & that Earshot wasn't going to play. That pissed me off, 'cause now that was 2 bands I really wanted to see, that we didn't get to.
Anyway, to get out of the rain, we went back to the floor area in front of the main stage. It was nice & dry, but colder than a motherfucker. The wind had picked up & the temp had dropped to probably about 40º & on top of that, we were soaked from being out in the rain for hrs. Surprisingly, the floor area was not that full & we were pretty close to the stage, not having to fight for space, & bcause there's a slant in the floor, no matter how far or close, u were still able to see - which is a big deal for a shorty like me. We were expecting Saliva to play next, but they never came out, not that I'm complaining or anything. Supposedly, there was some disagreement w/the singer of Saliva & Korn's ppl about David's drum set or some shit. Anyway, Union Underground came out & put on one of the best performances that we saw there. Their sound was fuckin' awesome. I only knew 4 of the songs they played, but they were really kool & they put on a good show. If I'm not mistaken, they're from S.A., hence the song "South Texas Deathride". When they finished their set, the singer of U.U. brought out a few guys that looked familiar, but I had no clue who the hell they were. Then he announced that it was Drowning Pool. So, all the D.P. guys played "Bodies" w/the singer of U.U. singing & the rest of the guys singing back up (or rather screaming back up). That was sweet. I got pics of both bands. After that, we knew Trust Company was going on next, so we decided that was a great time to take a bathroom break & check out the merch. stand again to see if they got the shirts I wanted earlier. We did all of this b4 they even started playing, so we actually stood in the pouring rain & the freezing cold to avoid watching their set. I heard one song that I recognized & then they played "Downfall" & towards the end of that one, we couldn't stand the cold anymore, so we went back & caught the very end of that song... & then they were gone. Their set consisted of 2 songs, which actually sounded like one really long one. They didn't get boo'ed or anything, but they didn't have the crowd moving AT ALL.
Next was Disturbed. I like Disturbed & they put on a good show. The guys actually use the whole stage, which is nice, especially when u're watching from one side & tryin' to take pics. Jeff can't stand them, so he was off getting his 3rd $6 beer, Necee was creaming herself over David (the singer), & I was laughing my ass off, while tryin' to take pics. Forget about the fact that he was wearing baggy leather pants & a shiny (possibly velvet) black shirt, but he dances like he wants to b a Backstreet Boy. I really do like them, but I so couldn't get into it 'cause I was laughing too much. Their set was really good though & made me wanna go buy the cd, so yea. They did their whole "WE R... DISTURBED!... WE ALL R DISTURBED!" thingy at the very end & then they were gone. At this point, I was so cold, I physically could not stand still. My knees were lockin' up & my feet were frozen. Going to this concert was like begging for a case of pneumonia, but it was worth it. Oh yea, between sets on the main stage, they were playing music (Godsmack, AIC, etc.), but b4 & after Disturbed they were playing this horrible rap shit. I asked Jeff if he knew who it was & we laughed & made fun of it & then all of a sudden I hear "smokin' on the ganja.. smokin' on the ganja". LMMFAO!!! It was Fieldy's rap cd they were playin'. AHAHA! That's just plain funny. So, anyway, I told Jeff & Necee that I was definately going in the pit when Korn came on & if they didn't wanna go w/me, I'd catch up w/them after the show.
During the set change, the floor area started filling up, so I made my way as far up as I could w/out shoving ppl & being rude, like some assholes do. I was on the left side of the stage, right about in the middle (depth wise) when they came out. By the time they played "Blind" (which was only like 3 songs into their set), I had made my way up & there were only 3 rows of ppl in front of me. That's as close as I got for the rest of the show. Head was directly in front of me & I could see everybody, except Munky. Jon didn't really move from the middle of the stage, which sucked & Munky didn't come over to our side 'til the very end, when I was completely out of film. Same goes for David & Fieldy. Suck suck suck! Oh well, Head was lookin' good, though. As for the actual performance, it fuckin' rocked! They played from 9:40 - 11 pm. They played one song immediately after another, w/very little talking in between. I'm not sure if the footage they showed was from the "Deuce" dvd, 'cause I haven't seen the dvd, but it was kinda creepy, yet kool. They also played the "Alone I Break" video when they played that song, which was kool, 'cause the video didn't premiere on MTV 'til the next day. Just like all the other dates on this tour, they started the show w/"Here To Stay" & ended it w/"Got The Life". The mix of old & new songs was perfect. Not too much of either, but just right. They ended the show by coming to the edge of the stage to throw out guitar pics & drum sticks. Head actually jumped off the stage & went up to the barracades to shake ppl's hands, while Munky went up to the mic & yelled "Don't fuck w/Texas!", as we all got covered in confetti. Ahh, what a night. Despite the freezing rain & missing 2 bands I wanted to see, this was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Oh yea, b4 Union Underground played, CJ from 99.5 KISS came out & said that Earshot wasn't able to play due to the rain (mmhhmm), so they were going to play at the White Rabbit after the concert & if u showed your ticket stub, u could get in free. Well, that woulda been kool, if the fuckin' White Rabbit wasn't all the way across town. Anyway, on our way out, I bought a 2nd Korn shirt. $85 total for 2 shirts that aren't even for me. Damn, I'm good. I really wanted to buy the $55 grey Korn hoodie, but they were kinda plain looking, so yea. I still shoulda got it. That was my intention b4 I even got there, but I didn't get it & now I regret it. Oh well. My bro & Necee (neither of which, wanted to stay to see Korn's whole set) ended up having a blast. & Necee, who never really liked Korn, said they were fuckin' awesome. I only wish Mike & Julian could have been there w/us. Then the night would have been complete. Maybe next time.
Oh yea, & the pictures sucked! The pics of Flaw came out clearly, but I was too far away & the pics of Union Underground, Drowning Pool, Disturbed, & Korn were way too dark, even though I took them a lot closer. The only really good pic was of Chris B. (Flaw's drummer). Anyway, that's my 1st Korn concert experience. Can't wait 'til next time. \m/ Rock on fuckers!
These r some of the songs Korn played, not in any order. There r more, but yea... bad memory.:
Blind, Shoots & Ladders, Clown, Ball Tongue, Divine, Falling Away From Me, Trash, Make Me Bad, Somebody Someone, No Way, Freak On A Leash, Dead Bodies Everywhere, Got The Life, Twist, A.D.I.D.A.S., Here To Stay, Thoughtless, One More Time, Alone I Break, No One's There
