Slipknot brought their Knotfest Roadshow to Las Vegas featuring Cypress Hill and Ho99o9 for a festival that mixed genres spanning decades of music.
Slipknot has been a mainstay in the heavy metal music scene since 1999 so it is always exciting to get a chance to see them but it is even better when they bring a mini version of their festival Knotfest on the road. This is the must-see show of the year so far and the crowd is definitely ready. Fans are lined up early because not only do they want to see Slipknot but the openers as well. Up first is a relatively new band to this crowd Ho99o9 (pronounced horror). This hip-hop group has been around for a while but since it is a different genre, not a lot of fans are aware of them. They open the night perfectly. Eaddy has a clown-like costume on that commands attention while theOGM jumps around the stage. They blend the horror and hip-hop perfectly and open the night off with a bang.
Up next is one of the mainstays of west coast hip-hop Cypress Hill. The set opens with Mix Master Mike doing a 5-minute DJ mashup of hip-hop and metal songs. The crowd goes crazy and sings along. Then the coverings are dropped and you can see the marijuana-themed set which is no surprise if you are familiar with this band. They open the set strong with “I Wanna Get High” and “Hits from the Bong.” Louis B-Real Freese walks around the stage smoking and delivering the vocal exactly as the crowd wants to hear. They are short one member tonight but that doesn’t affect the performance at all. They close their set strong with fan favorites like “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That,” “How I Could Just Kill a Man,” “Insane in the Brain,” and a cover of House of Pain’s “Jump Around.” The crowd has been on their feet and they are definitely pumped up and ready for Slipknot. At 9:00 pm, Slipknot takes the stage after a couple of songs are played to warm up the crowd. A firework goes off and the curtain flies up. If you have seen Slipknot before, you know there is so much going on during their performance that it is hard to know where to look. Singer Corey Taylor commands the center of the stage but there are percussionists and Sid the DJ climbing all over the stage. The guitarists are front and center, menacing in their appearance. It is a bit like a carnival in all the good ways.They open with “Disasterpiece” and “Wait and Bleed” before launching into one of their newer songs “All Out Life.” With a discography that spans six albums, there is no shortage of songs for them to choose from to please the crowd. The set also includes “Before I Forget,” “The Devil and I,” and fan favorites “Snuff” and “The Heretic Anthem.” Corey spends a good amount of time speaking to the crowd, emphasizing their history and that we are all family. This is his hometown crowd as he puts it and they have shown up for him. He also teases the possibility of new Slipknot music coming soon.
As expected from a Slipknot show, there is lots of video, pyro, and loud, fast music. No one is sitting all night. The set is closed out perfectly with “Duality” and “Spit it Out” which includes the staple moment of a Slipknot show where all the fans get down on the ground to jump up when commanded by Corey and the song. This might be the only moment all night that the crowd actually stopped moving.
When leaving the fans were still pumped up. If it is their first time seeing Slipknot, it is a memory they won’t soon forget. If they have been seeing Slipknot since 1999, this will go down as another amazing performance. People could be overheard saying this was the best they had ever seen Slipknot. While the lineup on the surface looked a bit strange to some like these bands don’t go together, they blended perfectly and the diversity of the acts really added to the overall experience. If any of these bands come to your town, do not miss them.
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