Jolly Noose Show
With Slipknot, it's pretty much a given that you're gonna get a great
show. Any group with 9 members is always going to have something to
look at. Let's face it, there's nothing quite as boring as watching a
band just stand there doing nowt.
The last time I saw Slipknot was at the Astoria, the intimacy perfect
for their masked mayhem. Consequently, I'm a touch concerned that the
sheer size of the main stage (or more to the point, the audience they'd
be playing to) may compromise the impact of these 9 crazy alter-egos.
For those of us watching closely this evening- a sneaky peek of the
unmasked Slipknot as they skip across the stage, prior to the band
assembling on the most intricate set at this year's Download.
Slipknot, unfortunately are a man down tonight. Clown is instead at
home with his family. This doesn't prevent them giving the best
performance of theirs I've ever seen. With no tour/album/single to
promote, tonight is a celebration of Slipknot's career to date- surreal as ever. The pin-head guy marches with a drum whilst the side
drums are given a good beating. Particularly by Skeleton as the kit on
the right is elevated whilst he hangs by one arm, like some kind of
zombie monkey.
Joey Jordinson goes one better. Doing a Tommy Lee, his kit first
rotates before rising, tipping him vertically and then spinning him
Catherine-Wheel style throughout his solo. Cory is as charming as
ever, the audience sticking their middle fingers in the air at his
request whilst so much dust flies from the mosh-pit, that I struggle to
see the stage.
The climax has to be when Mother Nature joined in for a jam. A brief
but violent hail storm is burnt off by the remains of the day. A rare
spot of sun and I notice a rainbow on the screens. Turning around,
this arc of colur spans the arena enveloping us all in Slipknot's
little, yet frenetic world.