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New York Overrun by Night of the Living Dreads!

Korn/ Rob Zombie/ In This Moment
Lakeside Amphitheater
Syracuse, NY
August 28, 2016

In This Moment

Rob Zombie

Korn

Review and photos by Johnny Hall

Korn and Rob Zombie teamed up again for another unholy alliance and brought their brand of dreadlock whipping music to the Lakeside Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY with their "Return of the Dreads Tour," on Saturday night.

In This Moment primed the crowd for the evening as show openers with a theatrical and entertaining set. They are a heavy metal band hailing from Los Angeles, and are fronted by Maria Brink. Maria, who has a very commanding stage presence, was flanked by her two female dancers and changed her elaborate outfits, props, and small stage sets often. Her band is made of Chris Howorth (lead guitar, backing vocals) Travis Johnson (bass, backing vocals) Randy Weitzel (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Kent Diimmel (drums). Playing hit songs including "Whore," "Sex Metal Barbie." and "Sick Like Me" they worked the large crowd into a heated state on an already sunny and hot day.

Rob Zombie co-headlined adding his spooky sideshow flair to the dreadlocked bill. Zombie bounded onto the funhouse styled stage, which featured sculptured faces and a giant Satan-o-phonic boom box, singing "Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown" followed by crowd favorite "Superbeast." Zombie moved on stage like a monster on a mission, and often times his dreads and fringed leather jacket blurred into a chaotic mass Medusa herself would envy. Piggy D, (bass) dressed as a vampire and wearing a hard vampire mask, alongside Ginger Fish, (drums) in his signature face paint, held down the solid rhythm section while John 5 played his guitar to perfection searing the sounds of Zombie into the ears of the fans. Playing songs like "Living Dead Girl" and "Dragula" and new songs like "Get High," the monster squad left the crowd energized and eager for Korn.

Korn, the powerhouse nu-metal band from Bakersfield, California, co-headlined the show for the evening. The band unleashed their sonic fury with opening songs "Right Now" and "Here to Stay," straight into the crowd of 17,000 people. Front man Jonathan Davis, dressed in his trademark kilt, delivered an outstanding performance with his unmistakable vocals. Davis even took to the stage with his bagpipes as he played the intro for "Shoots and Ladders," sending the crowd into a raging frenzy. The band, with James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), Brian "Head" Welch (guitar), Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (bass) and Ray Luzier (drums) sounded fantastic. They tore through their 50-minute set, playing songs off their upcoming album as well as crowd favorites like "Blind" and "Twist," whipping the mass of bodies in front of the stage into a sweaty mosh pit. Korn's performance was a raging maelstrom of fury and signaled that their upcoming release has already planted a twisted seed in the imaginations of their fans.