LIVE NATION PRESENTS: KNOTFEST ROADSHOW FEATURING SLIPKNOT/VOLBEAT/GOJIRA/BEHEMOTH LIVE AT THE SHORELINE AMPHITHEATRE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA ON 7/26/19
BEHEMOTH
Slipknot decided to grace the Bay Area by having the opening night of the Knotfest Roadshow at the Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View, Ca. This is a great way for the Northern California fans to not only see the show but to be the first to experience this event. Slipknot’s last time through this area was with Marilyn Manson as their opening act nearly three years ago. For the 2019 Knotfest Roadshow, the band brings along Poland’s Behemoth, France’s Gojira, and Denmark’s Volbeat.
Not only are the bands diverse in the type of metal or rock that they play but they all have a unique style of performing that audience that they bring to the roadshow. This is great for the fact that it builds the rock community even more as everyone gets together for the sake of loving music.
This five-hour long evening kicks off with Behemoth being the first to enter the stage while a prerecorded track ‘Solve’ is playing. Behemoth is a band that normally is draped in the darkness of the night (or the venue) with white face make up and an eerie presence. This is a much different scenario with the Sun blazing high in the sky. The band came out wearing skull shaped masks as they opened their set with ‘Wolves ov Siberia’. As the masks came off the band continues their set with ‘Daimanos’, ‘Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer’, and ‘Bartzabel’. Although some of their stage theatrics like frontman Nergal wearing his Hellfire version of a Pope’s mitre (headgear), or coming out with flame ritual got lost in the light of day; the band won over the crowd by playing great music. Behemoth continued their set with a few more songs before exiting the stage knowing they left their mark on the audience.
Behemoth Opening Night Setlist:
- Wolves of Siberia
- Diamonos
- Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer
- Bartzabel
- Conquer All
- Sabbath Mater
- Chant for Eschaton 2000
To View The Full BEHEMOTH Photo Gallery Click HERE
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GOJIRA
For those who have never been to the Shoreline Amphitheatre, the front of the house is all seating and the general admission is behind the seated area upon a steep incline. I say this as I notice the fans create a mosh pit as Gojira open their set with ‘Oroborus’. Even with the day brightly lit, Gojira use their stage set filled with back lights and smoke machines to let the fans know that this is show they want to present.
Frontman Joe Duplantier bellows through the tracks ‘Backbone’ and ‘Stranded’ as this metal act shows Joe’s and Christian Andreau’s shredding guitar work. Gojira prove their worth and why they are part of the roadshow as the band end their somewhat short set with ‘Silvera’. This was the first time I’ve actually seen the band live and they were not disappointing.
Gojira Opening Night Setlist:
- Oroborus
- Backbone
- Stranded
- Flying Whales
- The Cell
- Silvera
To View The Full GOJIRA Photo Gallery Click HERE
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VOLBEAT
As the heat of this very warm day changes as the Sun begins to set, we have a short wait for the next band to take the stage. The great part is there is little down time between sets so the event is filled with almost consistent live music.
After two very heavy acts, I was ready for a musical change up. An intro track plays Motorhead’s ‘Born to Raise Hell’ as Volbeat prepare to take the stage next. Singer Michael Paulen greets the crowd with a Cheshire cat sized smile as the band starts their performance with ‘Devil’s Bleeding Crown’. With this song alone, the atmosphere changes from in your face metal night to a sing along fun evening (well until Slipknot take the stage). This is my first time seeing the band since their club days prior to former Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano joining the band. Rob helps add to the fun factor with his guitar work and his “fuck trying to look cool, let’s have some fun” style and attitude.
Volbeat’s Paulsen shows his love for the “man in black” Mr. Johnny Cash as he kicks into a verse of ‘Ring of Fire’ as it segue ways into ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’. The band beefs it up and shows this Slipknot influenced crowd why they are part of this event as the tear into ‘Slaytan’ and ‘Dead but Rising’. The show truly becomes a sing a long when Volbeat break into their latest single ‘Last Day Under The Sun’. With many drinks in raised high, a big salute was given to the band as they ended their set with ‘Still Counting’.
Volbeat Opening Night Setlist:
- The Devil’s Bleeding Crown
- Lola Montez
- Sad Man’s Tongue
- Black Rose
- Leviathan
- Slaytan
- Dead but Rising
- A Warrior’s Call / I Only Want to Be With You
- Last Day Under the Sun
- Doc Holliday
- Seal the Deal
- Still Counting
To View The Full VOLBEAT Photo Gallery Click HERE
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SLIPKNOT
Slipknot is about to release its sixth studio album ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ in August on Roadrunner Records. This is their first studio album since 2014. With new material and the band sporting a new look, these reasons alone are enough to bring out the maggots (loyal fans) who have completely packed the place at this point. This would be my first time getting to witness Slipknot with their new look and I looked forward to what was to be unleashed on a waiting audience.
Slipknot exploded onto the stage like a punch in the face to open their set with ‘People = Shit’. The barrage of energy and aggression continued as frontman Corey Taylor and the rest of Slipknot played through tracks like ‘(sic)’ and ‘Get This’ before assaulting the crowd with ‘Unsainted’ off the forthcoming album. Unfortunately this would be the only new track we would hear this evening.
As far as the bands new look, many of the masks like guitarists Mick Thomson’s and Jim Root’s are variations of their previous ones; it’s Taylor’s that is completely new. As the previous one was more villainess and skull like, this one is like a burn victim’s hospital mask to hold back the swelling in a simple yet disturbing way. Some like it, others do not. Either way no mask was going to hold Taylor back from being who and how he wants to be as the bellowing voice of Slipknot.
With Slipknot firing percussionist Chris Fehn, this is also the first time fans in the Bay Area are able to see his replacement who has been dubbed “Tortillia Man” because his mask looks like a wrapped burrito. The band plays through tracks like ‘Before I Forget’, ‘Heretic Anthem’, and ‘Psychosocial’. ‘The Devil In I’ received an incredible reception as most songs played this evening.
There were many great songs played throughout the evening and I don’t think any true fan could complain about the quality of the show or the fact that Slipknot was holding the crowd by the throat from the beginning of their set until the final song of their encore ‘Surfacing’.
Could they have added more songs from ‘We Are Not Your Kind’?….. absolutely. Did that make it a disappointing evening?… not at all. The maggot frenzy was fed and fans of the earlier acts might not have been into Slipknot prior to the evening but after this killer show, they most likely are now.
Slipknot Opening Night Setlist:
- People = Shit
- (sic)
- Get This
- Unsainted
- Disasterpiece
- Before I Forget
- The Heretic Anthem
- Psychosocial
- The Devil In I
- Prosthetics
- Vermillion
- Custer
- Sulfur
- All Out Life
- Duality
Encore
- Spit It Out
- Surfacing
To View The Full SLIPKNOT Photo Gallery Click HERE
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