April 12th 2004 was one of the most important days of this year for me. It was when I was finally going to be able to see Slipknot. I've been a fan since my aunt saw them at Ozzfest '99 and told me about them. There was just something about nine men in jumpsuits and masks creating pure chaos that attracted me. Then I bought the record and it just blew me away. I was addicted from the first note of music I heard. However due to circumstances *coughparentscough* I was unable to actually see them live until this Jagermiester tour. From the day the I bought my tickets this show was the only thing on my mind. I could connect every little thing in my life to Slipknot for those months. "Oh you're going to buy jeans? Well, I'm going to see Slipknot!" Everyone I knew I wanted to strangle me I'm sure of it. Now let's fast forward to the day of the show.
That day I woke up early, watched Disasterpieces a few time and by eleven in the morning I am fully psyched and ready to leave. I get there around 12:30 or so and there are maybe 15 other Maggots there. A group of guys were playing hackey sack and had started this game where each time you hit a person walking by the line [a person.. not a Maggot] you'd get x amount of points depending on their reaction. And if you managed to knock them down you'd get the jackpot which was an odd assortment of change, cough drops, candy, tissues, cigarettes and matches. It was really fun although some haters would say it's shit like that game that gives Maggots a bad name. I say, fuck those haters! Anyway, I played a few rounds but then the bouncers wanted us to make the line tighter in our little barricade section so we lost a lot of our room and couldn't continue to play. That's when we started to talk and just throw random objects at people walking by. Turns out I had already met a bunch of them. There were a few of them who I forgot their names but I knew from the DVD release party back in '02. Oh there was also this dude from France who didn't speak much English but was really cool. I acted as his interpreter for some of the time. In our barricade we were family. Actually the whole line was family. We're the Maggots.. and I love that feeling of unity we get when collected into a certain place like that. We all killed time in various manners, held each other spots for when the other ran to McDonalds to take a piss, or go get food. I went to buy a Diet Coke, came back to the line and we all started a new game of harassing the scalpers and the guy who was trying to put the letters up on the marquee. He was working from the right side of the marquee to the left so we started yelling at him not to fuck up the spelling of Slipknot, or else we'd "slit your throat and fuck the wound." He got really nervous and nearly fell off the ladder which entertained us greatly. Time actually passed pretty quickly and before we knew it the 15 minute countdown was on until scheduled time. It's a good thing doors didn't open on time other wise Danielle and John [my friends who were meeting me there] would have never found me. Danielle had to wait for John to get off work so they got to the venue really late but I had told my Maggots from the beginning that two people would be jumping into line with us if they got there in time. Soon after they got there doors opened and the bouncers tried their hardest to stop a stampede. There were no females working doors so basically all I got was a look up and down then I was waved through and then I ran.. the people scanned my ticket and I continued to run. Right into the ballroom where I was happy to see that nobody had yet taken my spot.
I wanted to be right in front of Clown if possible and nobody was there. So I went right up to the barricade and then turned around to make sure Danielle and John got in all right. They stopped for a beer then they came and joined me. From the get go John put his arm between me and the guy to my left then put Danielle on my right and did the same thing on her right. He was our bodyguard for most of the evening. Which is a good thing too because if he didn't play that role I would have definitely been 1000x more bruised and broken than I was the day after. As the place filled up the crowd got more and more excited so we knew it was going to be kick ass.
Soon Lizard Man [I believe his name is Erik] came onstage to introduce Sworn Enemy who was our opener. This surprised me at first because for whatever reason I thought NYC had God Forbid scheduled to open the show. Now that I think about it Sworn Enemy makes sense because hello.. NYHC? I've seen them a zillion times before although I must say their set is a lot more enjoyable without the bassist sweating all over me. They got the pit going a little bit. Their set was really short though, maybe 20 minutes. I didn't mind. I wanted Slipknot.
Next up was Chimaira. Very good set although to tell you the truth I once again didn't pay much attention to the band. I kind of just stood there and watched but my mind was someplace else. The singer "the Moses of Metal" did the "parting of the red sea". That wasn't as brutal as it should have been but decent nonetheless. Crowd got pretty wild towards the latter half of their set when they played some of their older hits.
Fear Factory took the stage and was good as well. It was during their set that the crowd really started getting into it. Shoving, crowd surfing and people trying to worm their way up to the barricade. Classic show behavior really. A few rows behind me a pit broke out and then Maggots just started beating the living shit out of one another. I thought I was going to lose my place several times through Fear Factory's set but luckily when their set was over, the guys to my left decided they were fed up with this and left the crowd. So I maintained my spot.
There was no curtain for the Slipknot set up so we got to see everything be unveiled as the techs worked. Clown's and Chris' new kits are so awesome. All silver and have kind of a modern art feel to them. Joey's kit can fill up my bedroom. And the new stage set up is just beautiful. With each piece that was unveiled and with each light that was tested the crowd got more and more riled up. Finally Slipknot triggered the track 742617000027 and then when they hit the stage they opened with (sic). It was totally fucking awesome. More awesome than I could ever dream. They played a variety of songs off all their albums. And the pure energy and chaos they came onstage with..it's just so defiant. A big fuck you to everyone who had even doubted that they would come back after their hiatus. I don't remember the total set list but I know there were 15 songs. 3 new ones which were Pulse of the Maggots which is a hell of a lot heavier live, Duality which Corey introduced as being the most requested song in NY thanks to us and this other one entitled Three Nil which is just insane. They played Disasterpiece, People=Shit, Heretic Anthem, part of Iowa, Purity, Eyeless, Wait and Bleed and of course Spit it Out. During Spit it out Corey told us to get the fuck down. We did ... and that is when I thought I was going to die. Whether it's from Sid jumping right onto me as he was posed to do so, or from when the crowd jumps up. But I didn't die and it was a fantastic feeling. The closed with Surfacing which of course is "your new national fucking anthem!". It seriously just blew my mind.
Now for my member evaluations. Sid is a psycho.. and I love him for that. Clown kept fucking with the people around me. He just has this aura of disdainfulness for the fans. Normally that would cause me to flip him off and turn the other way, but coming from him it fit perfectly. During People=Shit my face was smashed into Chris' tummy when he came and had the crowd sing. Lucky for me it was early into the tour so the new jumpsuit wasn't smelly. Joey ... wow what can I say about him? He definitely deserves the title of most brutal drummer. Corey can scream sure as fuck live. Mick and Jim are crazy. Paul didn't really come over to my side of the stage too much but the bass was definitely there. And Craig.. well Mister Spikehead did his job and stayed at his station.
Although I would have loved to say this was my 7th or 8th time seeing them, it wasn't. But what is true, I do have, to say is that the show was well worth the wait. It did not disappoint me at all, and I loved hanging with my fellow Maggots before and during the show. Be sure to catch Slipknot next time they come and terrorize your neighborhood!
Until next time...
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