Nobody would have thought that a quintet, enriched with anthems spanning to over 15 years, could play in such a little, yet prestigious UK venue. The sights were all set to catch a glimpse of a colossal hard rock outfit, Stone Sour, revealing why it was sold out, after their Hydrograd UK Tour last year.
Support acts often get little to no crowd reaction except for the obvious applause at the end of each song. So, for people to know Blood Youth took control and to witness their energy towards the front of the room was something nice to see. Hailing from Harrogate, the hardcore quartet, opened up the show’s proceedings in front of a respectable Nottingham audience. Overall, a solid performance from Blood Youth was keeping together with their robust sounds. Even a few circle pits were in order to maintain the energy before the main event.
There are many reasons why Rock City was the place to be for a sold-out show. Deafening from the start, Stone Sour hit the stage. Even more when the titan, Corey Taylor, commanded for the sparks to fly, it was more than just flying. Fan favourites Get Inside, the massive singalong Through Glass, the loud Say You’ll Haunt Me and the hugely chilling Bother, took Nottingham to places unimaginable with the strong chords witnessed by all. In support of their recent album Hydrograd, the songs, notably Whiplash Pants, Song #3 and Tired was absolute crowd pleasers that got everyone belting their voices in perfect unison. You even got to see the infamous confetti gun used a few times. That’ll get cleaners a little annoyed of the extra work involved! It was a nice surprise to hear Cold Reader live too, to add further for the old-school fans into the tight set. Ending with the fast-paced RU486 and the tongue-in-cheek classic Fabuless, complete with wacky waving inflatable tube men resembling each band member, put the dazzling performance in the books.
As faces turned to let reality resume, it was clear that Stone Sour were on fire as they loved every moment of it. Nottingham were singing. They were dancing. There was not one disgruntled punter in sight. The energy was infectious from corner to corner. In this small tour run in the UK, to close in the prestigious Nottingham Rock City was one party of friends and family. Fan or not, it was their best performance in recent times.
Stone Sour Setlist:
- Whiplash Pants
- Absolute Zero
- Knievel Has Landed
- Say You’ll Haunt Me
- 30/30-150
- Bother
- Tired
- Cold Reader
- Get Inside
- Rose Red Violent Blue (This Song Is Dumb & So Am I)
- Made of Scars
- Song #3
- Through Glass
- RU486
- Fabuless