Korn & Alice in Chains Combine for 68M Records Sold

Alice In Chains

Labor Day, Monday September 2^nd 2019 was a perfect day in San Diego for this evening concert presented by Live Nation and held at The North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre. It’s an open air venue with a pit area, assigned seats and a lawn section, located in Chula Vista, CA. You may know this place by any of its former names, Cricket Wireless, Mattress Firm, or Sleep Train Amphitheatre. It originally opened in 1998 as the Coors Amphitheatre. Before that the land was used as a dairy farm. The place was renamed in 2018 when North Island Credit Union became the sponsor and signed a multi-year contract. NICU is committed to enhancing the concert going experience.

Alice In Chains

The night’s musical menu contained Alice in Chains, Korn, UnderOath and Fever 333. At first glance this might seem like an odd bill of fare, since the bands are all different flavors of music, but they can all be considered alternative. The diversity brought in a variety of music lovers and allowed all the bands to play to an increased amount people. It brings fans of the other bands to your show. Having Alice in Chains and Korn on the same bill was like having two main dishes! After all, AIC has sold over 33 million records and Korn over 35 million worldwide. These are well established bands that have been around for decades. As the industry changes, we will most likely continue to see more mixing musical genres that are along the same line. In addition to these two, another two bands were served up as tasty appetizers, making this a four course musical feast. I didn’t catch the first band since they went on early but they were a three piece called Fever 333 from Inglewood, Ca.

Alice In Chains

The 2^nd band UnderOath, from Tampa Florida was a high energy band. I mean these guys were the energizer bunnies, human vibrators, nonstop movement from all they guys, especially the keyboard player who shakes nonstop. I see all kinds of sponsorship opportunities for these guys, batteries, energy drinks, vitamins etc. The band’s latest release came out last year and is entitled “Erase Me”. They are alternative Rock that gets on the heavier side at times, these guys have a sound that ranges from hardcore to Emo-ish. I found them entertaining and a great start to the show. They truly seemed stoked to be there and part of this tour. Being that I was not previously familiar with them, they were a nice surprise.

Korn

As the sun began to set, more and more people arrived by the thousands. Alice in Chains was next and the place went from half-filled to full very quickly. A gentle breeze could be felt as the day turned to night and musical appetites began to grow. As soon as it was dark, sounds and lights could be heard from the stage; a video of a strange looking eye with two pupils was playing. Ears began to salivate. The crowd went nuts and the Seattle band opened with “Angry Chair” followed by the, oh so familiar song “Man in the Box” which had the crowd singing along every word, loud and clear. William Duvall is now the singer for the band taking over for original vocalist Layne Staley who passed away in 2002. Duvall does the band justice and handles the vocals and rhythm guitar seriously well and with good stage presence. Duvall joined in 2005 and has recorded three albums with AIC. He also has a solo project that will be touring smaller venues in the coming year.

Also on stage were original band members, guitarist, vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney. Both, have been with the band since it formed in 1987. Completing the band lineup was bassist Mike Inez who has been with the band since 1993, replacing Mike Starr.

AIC is a band with a long list of quality songs and a sound all their own, defined as grunge or alternative rock. Every song they played was one of substance and they sounded absolutely perfect. Jerry Cantrell is a master guitar player and shares some vocals but barely moves preferring to stay planted in one spot making the huge stage seem unnecessary. The light show was good but the performance lacked physical energy. Even so, I still love the band and their music and would go again anytime given the chance. With this band the music is enough to make it worth going.

Korn

I saw AIC several times before with Layne and am glad they are carrying on and that we are able to still see able to see them live. During the show, the song Nutshell was dedicated to Layne and late bassist Mike Starr by Jerry Cantrell. Cantrell instructed concert goers to shine their lights from the phone to honor them both. It was a beautiful sight to see thousands of lights. In the old days before mobile phones people use to light their lighters in the air at these times. Other notable songs played on this night included Check my Brain, Down in a Hole, Them Bones, Would? and Rooster. They also played two songs off the latest album Rainer Fog (2018) including the title track. All in all, these talent musicians played an hour and 15 mins of great music.

Korn

SET LIST

Nu Metal headliner Korn from Bakersfield, CA came out with a bang to a well-received crowd. No need for vocalist Jonathan Davis to tell anybody to stand or get on their feet, from the first note on, everyone was ready to not just absorb, but participate in the Korn experience. Their signature sound is crunchy and crisp, highly recognizable and an unmistakably unique recipe. The crowd was ecstatic! No missing energy here, the band was just as fired up as the audience. The energy spread far and wide, Korn still sounds amazing! Davis still sounds the same as he did 20 years ago. Back in the band this time around we have both Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer and that right there enough to get any Korn lover enthused. The crowd was assaulted with tasty guitar riffs, song after song. Epic drummer Ray Luzier was dishing it up on drums and crushed it all night. Pounding bass was provided by the one and only Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu. At one point, Davis brought out a set of black bagpipes and played them.

Davis thanked the crowd in a heart filled moment for all the support, saying “Everything we have is because of you! Thank you!” It’s great to see bands that have an attitude of gratitude because some bands lose their appreciation in the process of becoming successful, they get a big head. The Korn guys come across as humble and appreciative. It works both ways, because the fans also appreciate the band.

Their show was incredible and a new album was just released on September 13^th called “The Nothing”. This is the 13^th studio release and Davis calls it a dark, incredible record much like their first release only darker. This album comes after the loss of Davis’ wife Deven who tragically passed way a year ago of an accidental drug overdose. Davis also recently lost his mom. He is now recovered from addiction, but still battles with anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Being the survivor that he is, it’s not hard to realize that this new record is how he worked through his pain and loss. He locked himself in the studio and poured himself into this material. It’s out now, emotionally filled and on Roadrunner Records. Two songs from it are already receiving rave response, “Cold” and “You’ll never find me”. This band gets nothing but better with time. The Nothing is something you’re going to want to dig your teeth into!

Well Done KoRn!

Congratulations to Munky on the birth of his daughter and Happy 25^th Anniversary to KoRn!

Korn

KoRn Set List

Encore

4U
Twist
Coming Undone
Falling Away From Me

Note: They also played a bit of Queen’s We Will Rock You and Metallica’s One mixed into the set, not complete songs but just a taste to stir the crowd up.