Digital Diversion

While it was to be expected that a few people would start trickling out of the venue after Disturbed’s set, the vast majority of the Sacramento die-hards stuck around to see nu metal pioneers, Korn, once again prove their relevance. As 10 pm rolled around, the stage crew quietly peeled the dark wrapper off of Jonathan Davis’ signature H.R. Giger mic stand … the darkness not fooling the crowd for an instant that they were about to be unleashed upon.

First on stage, Ray Luzier began to beat the snot out of his drums as only a single spot lit him and his kit. The lights raised to reveal Davis prowling in with a snarl … taking the crowd back to the beginning with Blind from Korn’s self-titled debut. Munky, sporting his tribal face paint, seemed in his own world as he flailed to the music, dreads in all direction. In sharp contrast, Fieldy smiled and interacted with the crowd from the edge of the stage … probably still pumped from his opening stint with Stillwell.

Davis’ voice was in top form as he spat out the words to Freak on a Leash while hanging tight to his spring-loaded mic stand … looking like it was about to launch into the upper seats of the arena every time he let the thing go and it snapped back into place, impervious to the further abuse that was sure to come. The crowd in Sacramento got handed what Korn does best, down tuned guitars and bass-heavy beats served up on a platter. It’s a shame that with the co-headlining format that they only had an hour with which to shake the fillings loose from my head.

Setlist:

• Blind
• Here To Stay
• Pop A Pill
• Freak On A Leash
• Jam
• Shoots And Ladders
• Got The Life
• Alone I Break
• Oildale
• Falling Away From Me
• Coming Undone
• Twisted Transistor
• Make Me Bad
• Thoughtless
• Did My Time
• Clown
• Ya’ll Want A Single

© 2011 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts. You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

By the time Music As A Weapon co-headliners, Disturbed, took the stage hell had already broken loose in Sacramento. Neither getting gipped out of an hour of sleep the night before nor the rainy Sunday night tempered the enthusiasm of the Sacramento crowd. With a stripped down stage set featuring LED screens at the back, Disturbed focused on substance over form.

Back in fine form after a canceled show last month, David Draiman (vocals) prowled the stage and sneered at the fans with his signature intensity as the bodies started flying through the air in the direction of the barrier. Dan Donegan (guitar, birthday boy) and John Moyer (bass) echoed Draiman’s forcefulness. There’s something to be said for leaving the stage antics at home and just rocking the f*** out; with a decade since their breakthrough, The Sickness, that’s all that Disturbed needed to do. Despite several solid follow-ups, the original material still got the biggest audience reaction.

© 2011 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts. You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

Atlanta, Georgia based Sevendust brought their A-game to Sacramento, intent on winning over the local crowd. What does that mean, you ask?  Let me break it down for you …

• shower the audience with guitar picks and drumsticks from the moment you hit the stage,
• remind the audience who you are and get them to chant “Sevendust” repeatedly,
• throw in a couple classic cover tunes … Sacramento got Master of Puppets and Pantera’s Walk, both excellent choices,
• and most importantly bring more energy to the stage than the rest of the night’s line-up combined!

Boom, there you have it …. that’s how you win over a few thousand new fans. It also provides a perfectly rationale explanation for the hordes of metal-heads without GA tickets bum-rushing security to get access to the floor … not to mention the steady stream of wheel chair and stretcher-bound fans with various afflictions that found their way back stage to the medical team.

© 2011 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts. You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

Poised on top of a pile of rubble and bones and bathed in cool blue light, In This Moment front-woman Maria Brink roared through a set including their recent breakthrough, The Gun Show from A Star-Crossed Wasteland. Compared to their performance at last year’s Mayhem Festival, In This Moment has certainly developed their stage presence, bringing piles of energy and attitude to the stage that not surprisingly got the unruly crowd sideways for Brink’s blond locks and tattered dress … but when you’re opening for tried and true metal legends Korn and Disturbed, what other choice is there?

© 2011 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts. You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

Stillwell was the surprise (at least to me) opener on the Music As A Weapon touring festival. Never heard of them? Me neither. But I did immediately recognize a man named Fieldy from Korn who was switching it up on guitar and doing double-duty as they warmed up the crowd with some funked-up metal.

© 2011 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts. You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.