Korn at The Warfield

Reblogged from Travis_Cook

Korn

        San Francisco, CA        

             Eighteen years ago the members of Korn were playing small gigs in ran down bars, fast forward to 2012 where they are playing for a nearly capacity crowd at The Warfield in San Francisco. The night started out with opening acts that normally are not associated with metal. The marquee read “J Devil,” but no one expected Jonathan Davis would be opening his own show. The lights dimmed and out came the dreadlocked icon with his eyes and teeth blacked out. Right away the people in the crowd started cheering for their long time hero and then the bass dropped. For the next half hour, J Devil played his original dubstep and remixes. Soon after, dubstep artist “Sluggo” took the stage performing his remixes of popular songs in metal.

          The lights dimmed and the opening video started. Images of Korn’s history filled the screen and the crowd is going crazy. They open with songs they haven’t played in years, such as “Helmet in the Bush” and “Predictable.” Instantly, The Warfield went crazy for the classic Korn songs. After a four song series, they cut to a video introducing the crowd to the new Korn music off of their C.D entitled “The Path to Totality.” The new C.D infused Jonathan Davis’ love of dubstep with the original sound of Korn. Once their lead single “Narcissistic Cannibal” hit, you can tell that the diehard fans were accepting of their new sound. Soon after “Chaos lives in Everything” showcases a perfect mix of dubstep and Korn. Another video with tidbits from each hit they have had over the past eighteen years, lead into “Here to Stay.” Every lyric for the next five songs could be heard echoing throughout the venue. Such hits as “Freak on a Leash” and “Falling Away From Me,” blazed through the speakers. The final song of the series, the classic “Another Brick in the Wall” started out with a sense of uneasiness, and it seemed to be a fantastic ending to the set. Everyone in attendance was not fooled and knew that the metal icons were not finished. Before the band was back on the stage, you can hear the sound of Bagpipes, everyone in the crowd knew what song was coming next, the nursery rhyme fuelled “Shoots and Ladders” kicked in. Korn then finished an amazing performance with their first hit, “Blind” and instantly you can see that everyone watching was satisfied by the outstanding performance put on by one of the decade’s most iconic bands.

            After ten years of being a Korn fan I have never seen the band play with such intensity and perfection. The reasoning behind that is the fact that Korn seems to have found their sound that will take them into the next chapter of the illustrious career. As today’s music is constantly changing, it is hard for a band to keep up, but Korn has proved that they have no problem with creating a new sound.  James “Munky” Schaefer finally came into his own as the only guitar player in the band, along with Fieldy showcasing that he is a very talented bass player. Ray Luzier really brought a new life into some of the classic Korn songs by adding some spice in certain spots and of course Jonathan Davis put on a flawless performance, showcasing that Korn is here to stay and is still as relevant as ever. The crowd was highly accepting of the dubstep blend and you could definitely feel that the band puts their heart and soul into their stage performance. Overall the concert was a fun, new take on a band many people thought was dying out. Korn still has their grove and put on a five star performance at The Warfield in San Francisco.