Slipknot, Korn and King 810
January 20th, 2015
Manchester Arena
Today we made the road trip to Manchester
to see two bands, who have joined forces to take the UK by storm with their
Prepare for Hell Tour. Even more
exciting than seeing both Korn and Slipknot on the same bill was the chance to
attend the meet and greet beforehand.
We have done meet and greets with other
bands in the past, however we have never paid this much for the privilege. At approx £250 per person it was a lot more
than we would usually pay for this sort of thing as the most we have paid so
far has been about £50, but it's Slipknot right?! So it will be worth it?
At the other meet and greets we have done
we have had the pleasure of exclusive acoustic sets, professional photos and
they chance to hang out with the bands and get stuff signed, so I was intrigued
to see what would be different about this one to justify paying the extra £200.
A couple of days before the show we
received an email confirming that you could take one item to be signed, that
any photos had to be taken on your own camera or phone and that you would meet
at least two members of the band but they could not confirm or guarantee which
members would be available until the day.
When we got to the venue we were given an
envelope containing an exclusive tour poster and laminate pass and were
ushered into a room to wait for their meet and greet.
After the pep talk by the tour manager we
were arranged into a big circle around the edge of the room and left to await
the arrival of the band members.
First in were Chris Fehn and Jim Root who
made their way around the circle in opposite directions. Chris was quite quiet and reserved but he
took his time to speak to everyone and pose for photos with everyone in the
group. Jim on the other hand was very
chatty and a was happy to spend as much time as he could with each individual.
Next out was Sid who like Jim was happy to
sign anything he was asked to sign and was happy to chat to everyone.
Then the moment I had been waiting years
for (and after several unsuccessful attempts to meet Corey at signings). The man himself came out and started to make
his way around the room.
They always say that you should never meet
your idols as it will only lead to disappointment but I have to say that Corey definitely
wasn't a disappointment. He spent as
much time as he could with every person in the room before the organisers
ushered him to the next person, and was happy to have a laugh, answer questions
and sign pretty much everything that was presented to him. He even sat on the lap of one girl to sing
happy birthday to her.
A few years ago the company I worked for
was sold and we were all made redundant. As we all left at the same time we
decided to do a 'secret santa' so everyone got a leaving present. Part of my present was a pair of specially
embroidered knickers which bears the wording 'Belongs to Corey Taylor' as it
was around the time that the 'future Mrs. .....' t-shirts were in fashion. On receiving the gift I promised the girl who
had made them that I would get Corey to sign them if I ever got the chance to
meet him. So as a huge Corey Taylor fan
I got my hopes up that I would get to meet the man himself, and took the
underwear with me in the hope of getting them signed, even though I knew that
the chances would not be high.
When Corey got to where I was in the queue,
I asked him to sign the under wear, which he found highly amusing and was more than happy to
sign them and my poster. He chatted for a little while before security moved
him onto the next person but he was a genuinely nice and down to earth
guy. I'm so glad that I finally got the
chance to meet him.
I still think that the price was a little
steep for the meet and greet in comparison to the others that I have attended, but
all in all it was a fabulous experience and I can say that I've now met one of
my heroes. (Corey Taylor and Jaret
Reddick ticked off just Nikki Sixx and Dj Ashba to go!)
Now onto the actual show.........
The show kicked off with King 810 who
should have appeared at Download last year, but we were unable to see perform as
they were pulled at the last minute due to being arrested.
King 810 are not a band I will be rushing
to see again! The only lyrics I could make out from the songs tended to be
swear words. All songs sounded the same
and their questionable dance moves left my sister and I looking at each other
in puzzlement.
I have never wanted a band to leave the
stage so badly (with the exception of British Sea Power).
Next up were Korn who played the best set I
have ever seen them play. I have seen
Korn many times before in both festival and concert hall settings and have never
been disappointed with their performance but today they were a whole other
level.
Korn looked as though they enjoyed the set
as much as the audience did and their on stage chemistry was visible throughout
the performance. They were so good I
even feared that they would over shadow Slipknot.
Slipknot, however, were not to be outdone. Again, Slipknot is a band that have seen
previously on many occasions and they have never disappointed. Tonight was no different.
They had brought a very elaborate set with
them which consisted of the two front drum risers, tons of lights, ramps, a DJ
riser and enough pyrotechnics to wipe Manchester off the planet!
Their set contained 16 songs and where a
good mix of songs from their new album '5 - The grey Chapter' and their older
material including, 'The Devil And I', 'Custer', 'The Negative One', 'Left
Behind', 'Psychosocial' , 'Pulse Of The Maggots' and 'Surfacing', to name but a
few.
The stage was filled with utter chaos
during the show and at times there was so much going on it was hard to take it
all in. However, like Korn their set
flew by and was over far too soon.
It may have been the most expensive concert
I have ever been to but as far as I was concerned it was well worth paying a
bit more for. Maybe the price was a
little high for what you actually got with the meet and greet but the ordinary
ticket price for the actual show was worth every penny.
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