It was a near sellout at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, IL for Korn and Breaking Benjamin’s 2020 Winter Tour. Rock group Bones UK opened the show for the already mostly full arena. They mentioned it was their biggest tour yet, in terms of venue size. I felt that their vibe would be better suited for a smaller venue, but it’s nice that they were able to showcase themselves for so many new faces on this large tour. They put on a short set, which included a cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans.”
Breaking Benjamin hit the stage next, opening their set with their hit “The Diary of Jane.” I’d wager to say that Breaking Benjamin may be one of the easiest bands to sing along with, as nearly all of their songs have a catchy chorus. The entire arena seemed to agree with this, as I could hear the crowd singing along to most songs. Throughout the set, vocal duties switched between lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley and bassist Aaron Bruch, something that if it were the case on the studio albums, I have not noticed. Being more familiar with early Breaking Benjamin work, I still recognized a good amount of the set list, and picked up on other tracks that I ended up having heard previously. While not as long as Korn’s, this ended up being quite a lengthy set.
With a career of almost 30 years, and 13 albums, it must start to be difficult to put together a set list. Every tour might just end up being a greatest hits tour, but even then, there isn’t room for all of the popular songs in the back catalogue. Having seen Korn multiple times before, I can say that it’s amazing how consistent they are with their live sound. The crunchy guitar and bass tones, and Davis’s iconic vocals come across nearly identical to the studio sound. I may even suggest that I enjoy their intense live performances even better than the studio tracks.
After opening with three classics “Here to Stay,” “Blind” and “Clown,” they played the three singles off of the newest album “The Nothing.” Nearly every track outside of these three can be found on their “Greatest Hits: Volume 1” release, the exceptions being “4U” and the emotionally charged “Faget,” which was an especially gripping live performance. I was pleased to see more people watching the show and singing along, than putting their phones in the air to video. However, many people wanted to grab photos and video of Davis playing the bagpipes for the intro of “Shoots and Ladders.” Once the main set was over, the lighters and phones came out, and the crowd began to stomp on the bleachers until it was deafening in the arena. With the encore, Korn returned for four more tracks, especially popping the crowd for “Twist” and ending the night by leading the packed arena in the chorus of “Falling Away From Me.” Nearly 30 years later, and still going strong, a live Korn experience does not disappoint.
Setlist:
Here to Stay
Blind
Clown
Cold
You’ll Never Find Me
Can You Hear Me
Shoots and Ladders
Got the Life
Faget
Somebody Someone
Make Me Bad
Freak on a Leash
4U
Twist
Coming Undone
Falling Away From Me
Korn and Breaking Benjamin with special guest Bones UK still have some tour dates left before Korn heads off to Europe. Check out the tour dates below:
Wed. 2/12- Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas
Thu. 2/13- JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri
Sat. 2/15- U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Sun. 2/16- InTrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas
Tue. 2/18- Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska
Thu. 2/20- Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Fri. 2/21- Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota
Sun. 2/23- Adams Center Griz Tix in Missoula, Montana
Mon. 2/24- Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater in Nampa, Idaho
Wed. 2/26- Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington
Thu. 2/27- Moda Center in Portland, Oregon
Sat. 2/29- Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada
Sun. 3/1- Save Mart Center in Fresno, California
Sat. 3/21- KNOTFEST Japan in Chiba-city, Japan
Fri. 3/22- Sat. 3/23- Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, California (w/System of a Down and Faith No More)
w/Gojira in Europe:
Thu. 5/28- AFAS Live in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sat. 5/30- Tipsport Arena in Prague, Czech Republic
Sun. 5/31- NTC Stage Restaurant in Bratislava, Slovakia
Tue. 6/2- Impact Festival in Lodz, Poland
Wed. 6/3- Verti Music Hall in Berlin, Germany
Fri. 6/5- Rock im Park in Nurnberg, Germany
Sat. 6/6- Rock am Ring in Nurburg, Germany
Tue. 6/9- Budapest Arena in Budapest, Hungary
Wed. 6/10- Nova Rock Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria
Fri. 6/12- I-Days Festival in Milano, Italy
Sun. 6/14- Download Festival in Castle Donington, United Kingdom
Wed. 6/17- Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden
Thu. 6/18- Copenhell in Kobenhavn, Denmark
Sat. 6/20- Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium
Sun. 6/21- Hellfest in Clisson, France
Thu. 6/25- Provinssi Festival in Seinajoki, Finland
Fri. 6/26- Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland
Sun. 6/28- Yubileynyy in St. Petersburg, Russia
Tue. 6/30- Vtb Arena Domino in Moskva, Russia
Thu. 7/2- VOA Heavy Rock Festival in Lisbon, Portugal
Sat. 7/4- Resurrection Fest in Celeiro, Spain
For tickets and further information on any of the gigs listed above, click here.
Fans can find Korn at the following locations:
www.instagram.com/korn_official
