"Knot" Your Average Wednesday! • MUSICFESTNEWS

“Knot” Your Average Wednesday!

Slipknot‘s Knotfest Roadshow is currently finishing up the first leg of their North American tour. Leg one features Wage War (who took the place of Jinjer, who opted to stay in Ukraine to help raise funds for the war-torn country) and In This Moment opening the show. Playing to a packed crowd, all three bands brought a hard metal edge to an otherwise average Wednesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center (April 6).

WAGE WAR

This band took the stage, and from the moment they started to the moment they ended it was straight rock, no skips, and lots of head-banging. This metalcore band is from Ocala, Florida, and has been around since 2010. I had never heard of this band despite them having four albums and one EP. They blew me away; the energy they brought was a great way to start the show. Their powerful stage presence speaks volumes about their ability as performers.

Check out their website for tour information, links to music, and their store: http://wagewarband.com/

IN THIS MOMENT

While we were not allowed to take photos of the band, they put on a spectacle of a show. They had multiple stage costumes for the different songs plus different looking sets, which was a nice way to switch up the scenery and give a feel of a “show” rather than just a concert. Opening with “Burn,” they played such hits as “Sick Like Me,” “Blood,” and “Big Bad Wolf,” ending with “Whore” while singer Maria Brink stood on a pulpit like a school teacher. In This Moment‘s stage presence with all the changes has a Pink Floyd “The Wall” feel.

Check their website for upcoming tour info: https://inthismomentofficial.com/

SLIPKNOT

The last time Slipknot came to Green Bay was in 2005 during their Subliminal Verses World Tour, coincidentally almost 17 years to the day of the Knotfest show. Looking at photos and videos of what the 2005 stage looked like in other arenas compared to Knotfest, you can see the monumental changes in production along the way. Times change, technology changes, band members change, but what didn’t change was the energy from the band.

Donning the most current masks and dress, they took to the stage, dropped the curtain, queued the pyrotechnics, and hit the crowd hard with “Disasterpiece.” From there, they went into the classic “Wait and Bleed.” By this point the pit was half the size of the available standing room, the pyrotechnics were in full bore, and the crowd knew what they were in for over the next 90 minutes.

At one point even the bassist was blowing fire from an attachment to his instrument, and the kegs were being hit with baseball bats of fire. This begs the question: was this a Slipknot show or a Rammstein show? In any case, throughout the show the pyro got better and better, and the fire became more and more prevalent. On several occasions, the stage had mini-blasts of fireworks come out. When we reached “Spit it Out” many knew to get to the floor; those who didn’t know found out quickly what happens at a Slipknot show during that song.

Rounding out the metal-filled night with their encore set, we got two more chances to enjoy the fire canons and small firework blasts during the infamous “People = Sh*t,” followed up by two from their self-titled album, “Sic” and, as Corey Taylor states, “Your new national anthem…’Surfacing’.” A great way to top off the night.

MY OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE NIGHT

All night long, despite the loud music, you could hear fans singing and screaming along to music. What I noticed quite a bit was many younger people who had never seen such a band perform get into the music. Seeing parents bringing their kids, teens and younger, shows that metal music isn’t just for adults or angsty angry teens and 20-year-olds. Seeing a lot of kids donning the different band’s merch was a nice and healthy sign that music, no matter what your age, can speak to your soul. That in light of your age, a three-hour metal and rock show can be everything you need to experience to make an average Wednesday into an awesome Wednesday.

For a show near you, and to find more information about Knotfest on their website, https://knotfest.com/roadshow/

Knotfest Roadshow 2022
LEG 1

Slipknot w/ In This Moment & Jinjer

04/14 Saskatoon SK | SaskTel Centre
04/15 Edmonton AB | Rogers Place
04/17 Vancouver BC | Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena

LEG 2

Slipknot w/ Cypress Hill and Ho99o9

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“Knot” Your Average Wednesday!