10 October 2014 (gig)
15 October 2014
Like them or not, Limp Bizkit continues to be on the most polarizing bands of the past couple of decades.
Led by the always controversial Fred Durst, the nu metal band made a return to Boston (at the House of Blues on October 10, 2014) and their rabid Beantown fan base, who were more than happy to welcome the group back after a lengthy absence to the area.
Durst and the band - with original members Wes Borland (guitar), Sam Rivers (bass), John Otto, (drums) and current DJ Franko Carino (as original DJ Lethal is no longer with the quintet) - opened their night with "Ready to Go," which is the initial single off of their upcoming record, “Stampede of the Disco Elephants,” and the first time the song was played live on the present tour. This led to an industrious "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)," which turned the dance floor at the House of Blues into seething mosh pit, which rivaled the ones during the bands commercial zenith - and Durst was more than willing to cheer the moshers on during the night.
While Limp Bizkit is now 20 years old (the group was officially formed in 1994), the band still creates an intensity most ensembles won’t ever be able to muster and they will never be a part of some 90’s (or 00’s) package tour.
Durst is a consummate front man and his crowd interactions were beyond engaging. Most impressively was when he entered the crowd (almost mid-way on the floor) during “Full Nelson” and led the crowd to frenzied dance as Carino played the original version of Ludacris’ “Move Bitch.”
The aforementioned mosh pit was almost as big an attraction as the band was, as many concertgoers were making cell phone videos and focusing of the pit almost as much as the band at times.
Never afraid to cover other bands and singers, a shortened performance of Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” was a prodigious choice as was Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing in the Name.” While all heavier material, Durst was not shy about his admiration for George Michael as the band tore frantically into “Faith.”
The set ending “Break Stuff” (which will live in infamy for the bands performance of it at Woodstock ‘99) was the perfect climax to this night of nu metal nostalgia.
And in one of the most unexpected ways that one would think a Limp Bizkit concert would conclude - as Durst gave his final goodbyes to the crowd, the genre changing Bee Gees “Staying Alive” piped out of the speakers and the mob of mosh-pitters immediately changed attitudes and grooved while mimicking some of the dance moves from the 70’s classic “Saturday Night Fever.”
One cannot say that Durst is not well-rounded in his musical tastes.
