• View the complete setlists from Static-X, Linkin Park, Staind and STP.
The quasi-annual Family Values tour packed the First Union Center on Monday, Oct. 22 for a concert experience that can only be described as remarkable. A mix of industrial, rap metal, old school and new school rock, this year’s lineup attempted to keep with the traditional amount of diversity that the tour became known for. But with Deadsy, Staind, Linkin Park, Static-X and Stone Temple Pilots on hand, many fans were left asking, “Who in the world put this lineup together and why isn’t Staind headlining?”
The progressive industrial band, Deadsy opened the night off to a grim start with their heavy electronic sound. Sounding like a bad Orgy cover band, Deadsy lacked anything resembling flair. Simply put, the only thing they crushed with their performance was the hope of increasing record sales.
Still hypnotized by the opening act, Static X woke the crowd up with an intense eight-song thrashfest that drew on songs from their two albums. Highlighting their aggressive mile-a-minute set was “This Is Not,” “Push It” and the Korn-like “Black and White.”
After spending the summer months on Ozzfest it was evident when Linkin Park took the stage that same heaviness of the bands on Ozzfest had rubbed off on them. With a clearly refined sound and pumped-up intensity, the stylistic changes were obvious throughout their chaotic 12-song set, which saw noticeably heavier chords and vocals rawer than normal.
Showcasing these best changes were, “Paper Cut,” “In The End” and “Crawling.” Despite their growth, Linkin Park’s vocalist duo proved they were still in touch with their hip-hop roots on “Step Up,” a song the band used to play before they were signed.
After attaining mainstream success from the 1999 tour, Aaron Lewis and his bandmates in Staind were back. Opening with the observational song, “Open Your Eyes,” Staind could have easily stolen the spotlight, but instead kept their intensity in check in order to not take away from the headliners, STP.
“Mudshovel,” their hit single from Dysfunction followed and quickly caught the crowd in Lewis’ web of dark, yet therapeutic lyrics. With his eyes closed throughout the entirety of the ten-song set, Lewis took the audience on a carefully crafted tour of the demons trapped inside his mind.
Proclaiming that he’s no different than the crowd on “Take It,” and that he’s “on the outside looking in” on the hit acoustic track “Outside,” Lewis poured into each and every vocal, regardless of whether it was a raw scream or a soft melody. By the end of the set it looked like he was ready to pass out from exhaustion.
STP frontman Scott Weiland’s description of “Big Empty,” pretty much set the tone for the rest of the wild night. “This next song is a love song,” he said. “Well it’s not really a love song, it’s more about fucking in the back seat of a car.”
On their first tour since the release of Shangri-La Dee Da, STP was out to prove that despite the commercial popularity of Staind and Linkin Park that they were the natural band to be headlining.
Opening their 14-song set with “Crackerman,” STP pulled mainly from Core and Purple and surprisingly only once from the new album (“Coma”).
Intense and theatrical, their set hit all of their radio singles both soft and hard, including “Interstate Love Song,” “Plush,” “Sunday Girl” and “Creep.” With an undeniably catchy hard-rock sound dating back to the early 90s, STP showed that their sound, while good on record is even better in concert, and that with a lineup full of new-school-music standouts, hard rock can still hold its own in today’s music lineup.
In fact, the standout new school vs. old school rock moment of the night occurred during STP’s set when Chester Bennington of Linkin Park joined Weiland to sing “Dead & Bloated.” Feeding off each other’s energy, the two vocalists battled it out, catching the attention of both young and old.
| <div align=”center”Set Lists | |||
| • Static X • – Bled For Days – Permanence – Black and White – We Are… – This is Not – Love Dump – Push It |
• Staind • – Open Your Eyes – Mudshovel – Fade – Take It – Outside (acoustic) – For You – Crawl – Suffer – It’s Been A While (acoustic) – Spleen |
• Linkin Park • – With You – Runaway – Papercut – By Myself – Points of Authority – Step Up – Pushing Me Away – In The End – A Place For My Head – Forgotten – Crawling – One Step Closer |
• Stone Temple Pilots • – Wet My Bed (intro) – Crackerman – Vasoline – Wicked Garden – Big Empty – Dead & Bloated – Sour Girl (acoustic) – Creep (acoustic) – Still Remains (acoustic) – Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart – Coma – Interstate Love Song – Plush – Sunday Girl —– Sex Type Thing |
Be the first to comment