What’s Summer without fun outdoor rawk shows right? Here are a few we saw that kept is rocking all month.
Korn & Alice In Chains – July 21st – Dos Equis Pavillion (StarPlex) – Dallas, TX
Let’s unpack this a bit:
I’m currently in production on a documentary as you might know on the band King’s X. Korn’s current drummer Ray Luzier is an excellent band KXM with King’s X Dug Pinnick so naturally I wanted to catch up with him while he was in town to get him on camera for the film.
As a former touring personnel myself I know how it’s nearly impossible to deviate from your routine while on tour, so while it may appear to be convenient to have “them come to me” the really only way to get their contributions on camera is when they are not on tour. They are here for one reason & that’s to play to the masses that’s paid to see them. Everything else is academic & understandably so.
With that in mind, I’d been going back & forth with Ray hoping to meet up and setup a future date & that’s what I did & shit I thought “Well, since I’m here, let’s check out a kick ass rawk show!”.
I was busy with Ray during the two opening bands but man I LOVED Alice In Chains back in the day with Layne Staley & saw them in this very building on every tour they did while he was still alive & fronting the band all three times (& would have been a 4th as they were set to open for Metallica’s tour in 1994 that played here before having to drop off with Staley’s condition worsening. I’ve seen the lineup with William Duvall a few times already thinking I was gonna hate it, but actually loved it & was really impressed with him, his stage presence and how he handles himself.
Korn I’ve had a long history with, still them every year or so and most recently Brian Welch got together to do our TrickyKid Radio Podcast to discuss the film Loud Krazy Love about him & his daughter. We filmed it and I made a reaction video of him seeing some rare footage of a Korn show I was at where he & I first met way back in 1995 that you can see here.
Ok on to the show:
Alice In Chains is out on the road in support of their 2018 release and sixth studio album Rainier Fog, who ignited the crowd with a few familiar elements like the massive bulb wall of lights behind them. Duvall continues to impress & his chemistry with Jerry Cantrell is visible throughout the performance.
The 75-minute set was a reminder just how good Alice In Chains was and still is. William Duvall’s voice is powerful & eerily reminiscent of Staley;s
The band capped off the set with the fan favorite and classic track “Rooster” to wit Cantell brought out his father, the subject of the song: “Hey, it’s his song so he should be here” in a touching moment of them embracing. Great show.
Setlist:
We Die Young
The One You Know
Check My Brain
Again
Them Bones
Dam That River
Hollow
Rainier Fog
No Excuses
Nutshell
Bleed the Freak
Angry Chair
Man in the Box
Would?
Rooster
Korn who has influenced an entire generation for nearly 25 years has returned heavier than ever. The band is out on the road as they prepare to release their 13th studio album The Nothing .
According to vocalist Jonathan Davis it”s the band’s darkest album yet (which is really saying something) detailing the emotions surrounding the tragedy Davis has experienced over the past year. .
A massive curtain covering the stage suddenly drops & the thunderous Here to Stay sets the pace.
The band’s production on this run is a massive step up from previous years with an insane amount of light coming from all angles and the stage covered in screens. The band feels whole again, motivated & this performance was one of their best I’ve seen & the setlist does a great job of including songs for Korn fans of any era.
Setlist:
Here to Stay
Blind
Divine
Somebody Someone
You’ll Never Find Me
Twisted Transistor
Shoots and Ladders (One snippet at the end)
Got the Life
Make Me Bad
Rotting in Vain
Freak on a Leash
Encore:
4 U
Twist
Coming Undone (We Will Rock You snippet in the middle)
Falling Away From Me
Korn and Alice In Chains touring together and packing venues after all these years is awesome! And it’s no nostalgia trip, just a great rock show.
311 & Dirty Heads – August 8th – Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX
So what’s become an annual tradition since 2010 is August with 311 in Dallas. From my work with Claude Coleman Jr & Ween I became friends with their bass player Aaron (stage name P-Nut) and that friendship has only grown over the years & most recently I paid a visit to Hive Studios in Hollywood where we sat down for an episode of TrickyKid TV that you can enjoy here:
So with that in mind, Aaron & the 311 organization were kind to extend their annual invitation to me and was looking forward to a fun outdoor Summer show with a band whose sound seems to have been invented for such occasion.
This time they were touring in support of the just released Voyager LP – Another notch in their catalog that proves that don’t give two shits about anytime other than being themselves and having a good time. And it always is.
Co-Headlining with Dirty Heads whom I was unfamiliar with, I learned as far as my interests go, we drew the short straw from the Texas dates as this one the only one were 311 wasn’t going on last (meaning longer playing time).
Still a good, brief set heavy on the new songs & filled out by the usual staples & hits. It’s the first time I’m aware of that they have been doing the same set each show on this tour. Also not doing like 200 shows a year like they used to. Their all family men (as I am now too and can totally relate) and are settling in to a more practical business model & bless em for doing so. They’ve been at for 30 years and still kicking ass.
After the show I went to meet up with Aaron but his schedule had to do a runner where he had to depart immediately after.
I had run in to some old friends that came down from the lawn area to enjoy the show with me and I was saying goodbye to them I headed backstage and thought later I should have just brought them with me (& next time I will).
However, because the 311 fans are so nice & social & friendly, I made some new friends backstage who introduced me to one of the singers Doug Martinez who I share a very similar sense of humor with and we had a freaking ball.
I mentioned how P-Nut & I are beer brothers and he was kind to share something fun & gifted me with a bottle. Abilene brewery Grain Theory made a special batch just for the band. Great stuff & be on the lookout for Grain Theory when they open to the public next year. We plan to have them on TrickyKid Radio soon. Good times.
Photos –
Roy Turner
