The Budweiser Stage in Toronto was a recent stop for the Serenity of Summer Tour, featuring Korn, along with Stone Sour, Skillet, Yelawolf, and Ded. Due to unforeseen circumstances (border issues??); Yelawolf wasn’t able to perform on this stop of the tour. The audience lined up early in anticipation, for what is shaping up to be a fantastic Tuesday night of rock n roll.
Making their debut performance in Canada, newcomers on the scene,Ded, warmed up the crowd with songs from their debut album “Misanthrope”, which was just released this July. Based out of Arizona, Ded is exploding out of the gate with heavy rotation on Sirius Octane, as well as a live show that must be seen and heard to fully appreciate. In keeping with the “Ded” theme, all band members wear white zombie-like contacts which make for a great visual if you’re up close enough to see them. They delivered a high energy set, featuring songs such as “FMFY”, “Remember The Enemy”, and their current hit ‘Anti-Everything’, and you can be sure you’ll be hearing their name again in the future.
Skillet hit the stage running, as only they can, featuring husband and wife John and Korey Cooper, on vocals and rhythm guitar/ keyboards. Korey is a favourite of mine to shoot, as she’s always a ball of frenetic energy, jumping and crisscrossing the stage. Currently touring in support of their tenth studio album, “Unleashed”, these Memphis, Tennessee Christian rockers always deliver a fantastic live show, and this night was no exception. John does a great job doing double duty on bass, as well as lead vocals, at the same time as fully interacting with the crowd. Adding to the performance are added musicians on strings, for certain songs, and as an added bonus, drummer Jen Ledger had a fill in on drums at one point, so she was able to join John for vocals up front and center! Fans were treated to a long awaited Canadian set, including such hits as ‘Hero’, ‘Sick of It’, and ‘Monster’.
The crowd was starting to buzz and get fidgety in anticipation of Stone Sour taking their spots on stage. Touring in support of the recently released “Hydrograd” album, Corey Taylor and his Stone Sour bandmates showed that they are fully on top of their game, both energizing the crowd, and feeding off of the crowd as well. While delivering a variety of hits from “Hydrograd”, as well as past albums, Corey Taylor showed his mastery of the crowd, bringing them into a frenzy with harder, heavier songs, while then slowing things down with the slower, more emotional hits like ‘Through Glass’, or the current successful hit, ‘Song #3’. The Toronto crowd ate it up, and at one point, based on recent news articles, started chanting “F**k you Nickelback”, as Corey and the band just stood back shrugging with grins on their faces. The Serenity of Summer tour may be winding down, but be sure to catch Stone Sour on their upcoming tour dates with Steel Panther, or at selected festival dates, like Louder Than Life, Houston Open Air, Aftershock, or at OzzFest meets Knotfest.
As the lights dimmed, we all prepared for Korn to hit the stage. Touring in support of their recent release, “The Serenity of Suffering”, the Serenity of Summer tour covered cities all over North America, as well as appearances at several of the largest summer festivals and a short run through South America. With a stage show that keeps getting better and better with every run, Jonathan Davis and company constantly deliver the goods to eager fans around the globe. Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munkey” Shaffer flawlessly exchanged guitar riffs back and forth, dreads flying with abandon, while the bottom end beat masters Fieldy and Ray Luzier kept things tight. Holding on to “the Bitch”, his trademark microphone stand, Jonathan Davis delivered a variety of songs from albums both new and old, while also taking a moment to play his trusty bagpipes. From the opening notes of ‘Rotting in Vain’, to the encore closing with ‘Freak on a Leash’, this Toronto crowd was treated to a Korn showcase that’s second to none. Be sure to catch them at a tour stop near you.
The Toronto lake front was treated to a great night of live music. If this tour comes to a town near you, go and check it out, you won’t be disappointed.