Review: Korn and Rob Zombie bring dreaded fun to Mandalay Bay Events Center
The dreaded mashup of Korn and Rob Zombie brought their co-headlined tour “Night of the Dreads” to Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night. These rock veterans have more than five decades backcombed into their careers, with frontman Rob Zombie taking his admission in the late 1980s and Korn in the early ’90s.
While both bands proved that hard and fast can get the worm, they also have shown that it takes a mature dread to withstand the music industry or be forever shaved into an irrelevant tomorrow. The tour is supporting Rob Zombie’s recent release “The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser” and a segue for Korn’s upcoming album “The Serenity of Suffering.”
“Good evening, Las Vegas,” said Rob, adorned in fringe attire, who took the stage first. “Backstage, everybody kept saying, ‘Man, the crowd’s rowdy!’ I said, I’ll judge it for myself, thank you very much.”
Rob, with guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D. and stickman Ginger Fish, was joined with an entourage of ghoulish wandering creatures and a stage-size boom box, “Satan-O-Sonic.” Zombie-typical horror clips and stage reels, with jiggling female anatomy to bustle up the audience, accompanied them.
Rob’s setlist took the crowd through a 30-year journey, having spanned to the White Zombie era with “Thunder Kiss ’65,” to memorable Rob Zombie releases “Superbeast” and “Living Dead Girl,” and their latest tracks “Well, Everybody’s F*cking in a UFO” and “The Hideous Exhibitions of a Dedicated Gore Whore.”
Rob’s signature shtick commentary threaded between the songs, asking if anyone in the audience had been probed by an alien, plus a humorous diatribe concerning cell phone usage.
“I came to the conclusion that there is one little thing holding this back from being awesome,” proclaimed Rob. “It’s your most prized possession. I know you love it more than your kids, your wife, your dog, your mom, that phone, man!
“I know you can’t live without it. I understand. We’re all half cyborg by this point. Can I ask you, Las Vegas, for the next three minutes, let’s put that away? I’ve given you 30 years. You can’t give me three minutes?!”
Rob rounded out the set by singing “Happy Birthday” to John 5 and playing a trailer for the upcoming movie “31” set for a September release.
Rob Zombie slammed into the back with “Dragula,” making room for cohort Korn, who brought its signature locks of gorilla-heavy nu-metal skat.
“God it feels so good to be back in this room playing for all you people,” said frontman Johnathan Davis.
Davis, with bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer and stickman Ray Luzier, proceeded to corn the audience for their hourlong set.
“You know we just got out of the studio, we worked really hard on this record we’re getting ready to put out pretty soon. I think you guys are going to like it, so tonight we’re going to play a new song off it. Ya’ll want to hear some?” asked Davis.
Korn broke into “Rotting in Vain,” which is reminiscent of the band’s pre-dubstep era. Complete with crushing riffs, Davis’ guttural growls and gibberish skat, it welcomes pioneer Korn fans home with a gut-punching hug.
Korn’s JELL-o shaking logo illuminated the simplistic stage as the band plowed through classics “Somebody Someone,” “Coming Undone,” “Make Me Bad,” “Got the Life,” plus a rendition of Metallica’s “One,” which Johnathan assumed with precision.
Korn unleashed the audience with the non-encore encore “Freak on a Leash” complete with a plug for the new album. Discarded guitar picks and drumheads pummeled the audience, allowing concertgoers to capture a piece of Korn history.
“Las Vegas, thank you guys so much! Have a safe and incredible night,” said Davis as the show unraveled to a close.
Melina Robinson is a Las Vegas-based freelancer writer.
