Stone Sour were back in town for a couple of smaller dates after their recent arena tour – we caught them in Birmingham on that earlier leg. Tonight it was Sean’s turn, heading to the infamous Nottingham Rock City to soak up Corey Taylor’s little side project…
On arrival, the queues extended quite some distance as the gig had sold out, and of course everyone there wanted to get close to the front. The number of people – and the cartoon animals on some of the VIP passes – indicated a fun night was ahead.
Support act Blood Youth failed to click for me, though I’d say that judging from the crowd reaction I was in the minority. The Harrogate band thundered through a set of adrenaline fueled hardcore music of which I know fellow reporter MarkW is a fan, but it’s just not my kind of thing.
Stone Sour, though… the band came on to “I Can’t Turn You Loose”, made famous by The Blues Brothers, and played a great collection of tracks over the course of around ninety minutes. Opening tracks “Whiplash Pants”, “Absolute Zero” and “Knievel Has Landed”, with added sparks and confetti cannon, got the crowd jumping and singing along. A loud and lively start, and no less than you’d expect from this particular band.
Through all the bounce, metal and shouting, I have to point out the highlight of the set… and it was one of the quietest songs of the evening. With the stage population amounting to just a single Corey Taylor and a lone guitar, we were treated to a version of “Bother” that got the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. It wasn’t just Corey’s performance, but the voices of the crowd singing every word along with him, sometimes to the point where they were drowning him out. If anyone was recording this for a live album, they couldn’t have hoped for a more perfect rendition to capture.
The furore wasn’t over though. As the main set ended, Corey asked the crowd in his usual demure fashion (not) if they would like “one fucking more”. You may be staggered to read this, but they actually did. No, really. “Fabuless”, accompanied by sparks and huge wavy, smiley tube things (you know, the ones you used to get outside used car lots), saw the event draw to a loud, sweaty close. To put icing on the cake, The Hoff’s “True Survivor” played the band off stage. I mean, anyone who uses David Hasselhoff in their set scores bonus points, even if they don’t need them.
Another great performance from a band who can entertain in venues both large and small.
Photos by Sean Larkin Photography
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