05May

Corey Taylor at Santander Arena

Like a shark patrolling the ocean or a bus with Keanu Reeves on it, Corey Taylor simply cannot be stopped. You get the sense he’s got so many irons in the proverbial fire because, simply put, Taylor needs a creative outlet at all times.

So when he finishes an extended tour with Slipknot and everyone else is ready for some well-earned rest and relaxation, Taylor turns his attention to Stone Sour. And if/when the same thing happens with Stone Sour, the pride of Des Moines, Iowa happily focuses on his solo music.

With Slipknot set to headline several massive music festivals this summer — to include Welcome to Rockville, Inkcarceration Festival, Rock Fest and Download Festival — Taylor embarked on a brief five-stop tour as a tune-up for his soon-to-be hectic summer. The first stop of this abbreviated road trip was Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania, where we had the pleasure of seeing Taylor, along with stunt/dance troupe Cherry Bombs, starring his wife, Alicia.

Anyone expecting the front man to take to the stage with a custom mask, prison jumpsuit and eight of his closest friends was in for a rude awakening. Instead, this was Taylor in a much more relaxed environment and mindset.

Taylor and friends kicked off their set with “HWY 666,” the lead track from his debut solo album, CMFT. Up next was “On The Dark Side,” a cover of John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band’s 1983 hit followed by another Taylor original, “Samantha’s Gone.” Reading, Pennsylvania was also treated to the first-ever live performance of “Beyond,” the soon-to-be-released single from the forthcoming CMF2. According to Taylor, the band just recently recorded a video for the track and the single could be released as soon as May 15th.

By this point, the show felt less like a concert and more like a garage band jam session as the five gentlemen on stage bounced around from old stuff to new stuff and everything in between. And yet, halfway through the set Taylor informed the enthusiastic crowd, “We decided we don’t play enough Slipknot on our solo set, so we’re busting out some stuff just for you tonight.” To remedy the situation, Taylor and the rest of his band — drummer “Diamond” Dustin Robert, bassist Eliot Lorango, guitarists Christian Martucci and Zach Throne — launched into “Before I Forget” and then the 2008 stripped down single, “Snuff.”

“We’re not up here with tracks. Not with computers. We’re just five dudes. And look, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just not for us,” Taylor said during a brief moment that allowed the band, as well as the audience, to catch its breath.

Later in the set they circled back to a few more Slipknot hits, “Duality” and “Wait And Bleed,” which represented one of the highlights of the night. In response and as a token of appreciation, a pit formed as the crowd clearly fed off of the high-energy performance.

“You might be excited. But we’re up here shitting ourselves,” Taylor said with a laugh.

Add in a handful of Stone Sour tracks — including “Absolute Zero,” “Bother” and “Through Glass” — if for no other reason than to prove that Taylor loves both of his children equally and what started out as a cold and rainy Tuesday night ended as a instant classic for those in attendance.

“I’ve been doing this since I was 13,” Taylor started. “I have played to no one and I have played to everyone. The one thing that remains the same — I will give you everything.”

“As long as you’re with me. I will never stop coming here to play for you motherfuckers,” he added.

Because all good things must eventually come to an end, Taylor closed the night with “CMFT Must Be Stopped,” which is completely fitting for a performer who seems incapable of slowing down without some sort of outside intervention.

04May

Cherry Bombs at Santander Arena

With Slipknot set to headline several massive music festivals this summer — to include Welcome to Rockville, Inkcarceration Festival, Rock Fest and Download Festival — frontman Corey Taylor embarked on a brief five-stop tour as a tune-up for his soon-to-be hectic summer. The first stop of this abbreviated road trip was Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania, where we had the pleasure of seeing Taylor, along with stunt/dance troupe Cherry Bombs, starring his wife, Alicia.

The Cherry Bombs have carved out a fascinating home for themselves somewhere between macabre and cabaret, with a show fittingly titled, “Macabaret.” They are a hard rock dance troupe that utilizes fire, aerials and various other daredevil arts to captivate audiences to such hits as:

“Highway 666” by Corey Taylor
“Cold Heart Bitch” by Jet
“More Human Than Human” by White Zombie
“Renegades of Funk” by Rage Against The Machine
“Du Hast” by Rammstein
“Wherever I May Roam” by Metallica

One moment these amazingly-talent ladies are performing fast-paced dance choreography. The next they’re dangling from the venue’s ceiling. With such an enjoyable playlist and eye-catching visuals, the show is unlike anything else in the genre of music. The entire performance is an absolute credit to Alicia and the rest of her supremely talented “girl gang.”

09Apr

Shinedown at Bryce Jordan Center

On the week when “Dead Don’t Die” became their 20th number-one Active Rock single, Shinedown stormed into the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pennsylvania, and delivered a performance that showed exactly why they’re one of the most accomplished bands in rock music today.

Within seconds of taking the stage, it was evident that singer Brent Smith, guitarist Zach Myers, bassist Eric Bass and drummer Barry Kerch were a well-oiled machine. After appearing from within a giant futuristic-looking video board, the quartet displayed a commanding stage presence made all the more impressive by the sheer size of the massive stage itself.

When Smith sang “the story is just beginning” during the chorus of “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom),” the band’s opener for the evening, it served as not-so-subtle message of what was to come for the roughly 15,000 fans in attendance. At various points throughout the nearly two-hour spectacle, sparklers cascaded down from the rafters like a waterfall. Plumes of fire erupted from the catwalk. Pyrotechnics featured early and often. As someone experiencing Shinedown in person for the first time, it’s safe to say the visuals absolutely lived up to the exceptional soundtrack of the evening.

State College marked the fourth stop of the “Revolutions Live Tour,” with the Jacksonville, Florida, based band performing 21 shows across the country in support of their latest album, 2022’s Planet Zero. While this particular tour is new, the band and their particular brand of music is well established. All seven of their studio albums have earned platinum or gold certification, along with 15 platinum and gold singles, providing an abundance of quality music to choose from on the road.

For their second track of this particular show, Shinedown dove into another uptempo track, the aforementioned “Dead Don’t Die” before slowing things down with a beautiful rendition of “I’ll Follow You” that featured Bass on a neon piano that was lowered from the ceiling.

With more than 6.5 billion global streams and 10 million albums sold, Shinedown’s body of work speaks for itself — which is just fine with the band. They’ve got much more important things on their mind than patting themselves on the back. For this tour, Shinedown has partnered with the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention to donate one dollar for every ticket sold.

As Smith said during the show, they’re not shy about talking about mental health. They’ve been ambassadors for suicide prevention for more than a decade to bring out awareness and lesson the fear of the topic.

“A lot of people don’t want to talk about people who have suicidal thoughts. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Give them reassurance. Give them love. You can potentially save someone’s life,” Smith said before diving into the band’s next single, “Symptom of Being Human” roughly halfway into their extensive set.

May 27th will be the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Leave A Whisper. In honor of that impending occasion, Smith and friends took it all the way back to the beginning with an inspired performance of “45” which had the entire building swaying and singing along. Another joyous sing-along moment came when the front man was off stage, taking a well-deserved break while the rest of the band delivered an acoustic rendition of “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis that would make the dynamic duo of Smith & Myers proud.

As the show began to wind down, the boys once again embraced the softer side of rock, with a medley of “Daylight/Get Up” followed by “Simple Man.” As the band paid homage to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s smash hit, Smith’s powerful voice reverberating throughout the venue, accompanied only by Myers on an acoustic guitar. They then closed out the show with “Monsters” and “Cut The Cord.” After 20 songs over an hour and 45 minutes, Shinedown ended the way they began — with fireworks, flames and explosions — literally and figuratively leaving it all on stage.

03Apr

Disappointing Capitals continue to sputter towards finish line

Let’s say this up front, the Washington Capitals have missed the playoffs just once in the last 15 seasons. They’ve been remarkably consistent in a town where heartbreak and despair typically rule the local sports landscape.

Sadly, the Caps will miss the postseason for the first time since 2014, and many of the names and faces that fans have grown accustomed to over the last several years might be elsewhere when the puck drops next season. 

Washington’s general manager Brian MacLellan has some difficult decision to make — first and foremost, whether or not to re-sign coach Peter Laviolette. Once he figures out who will be behind the bench, MacLellan can turn his attention to which players have earned the chance to stick around for the last few seasons of Alex Ovechkin’s illustrious career. Players like Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and John Carlson will almost assuredly return next season, but many others currently on the roster are on far less-stable footing. 

That’s why the last two weeks of this disappointing season remain so vital … and so infuriating. Each loss might help the Capitals secure a better draft pick, but it also exposes more potential problems with the roster as presented constructed. With an offense that struggles to score consistently and a defense that’s seemingly incapable of allowing less than four or five goals per game, despite a strong statistical season by Darcy Kuemper in net, it’s looking more and more like radical changes are needed to return to the postseason.

All of these flaws were on display for a disappointing 5-2 loss at the hands of the New York Rangers. Washington fell behind early and never really threatened to make it much of a contest as they dropped a fourth-consecutive game. More Capitals players fought (three) than scored (two) during this matinee matchup, which sums up an otherwise forgettable afternoon perfectly.

28Mar

Led by Pepi, U.S. Men’s National Team outlasts El Salvador

After an eight year absence, the U.S. Men’s National Team returned to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and performed admirably. 

Boasting one of the youngest squads in the tournament, with an average age of 25, the USMNT advanced through the group stage and to the Round of 16 before being eliminated by the Netherlands, 3-1. 

The hope moving forward is this collection of young talent comes into its own in the next four years and excels in the 2026 World Cup, which will conveniently take place here in the states. 

With that in mind, the Americans — led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna — hosted El Salvador in a Nations League match in Orlando, Florida. Interim manager Anthony Hudson utilized a lineup that leaned heavily on the Americans’ most recent World Cup experience, but it was striker Ricardo Pepi who proved to be the difference maker. The talented 20-year-old, who didn’t make manager Gregg Berhalter’s 26-man World Cup squad, scored two minutes after entering the match against El Salvador to spark a 1-0 victory for the USMNT. 

From midfield, McKennie initiated the play with a beautifully crafted through ball perfectly placed in the path of Pepi, who calmly held off the defender and chipped the ball over the helpless El Salvador goalie, Mario González, in the 62nd minute for his third goal in two games for the U.S.

With the win, the USMNT advances to the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals in Las Vegas this June, where they attempt to defend their title after defeating Mexico in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League final 3-2 in 2021.

18Mar

Caps’ playoff hopes dealt devastating blow in loss to Blues

With Jordan Binnington suspended two games for acting like a crazy person, the St. Louis Blues turned to 22-year-old goalie Joel Hofer. The emergency call-up responded by stopping 32 of 34 shots in his season debut and dealt the Washington Capitals a demoralizing 5-2 loss on St. Patrick’s Day.

While Hofer was clearing seizing the moment on one end of the ice, the Capitals too often hung their veteran netminder, Darcy Kuemper, out to dry on the opposite side of the rink. Washington allowed a goal on the first shot attempt allowed, less than two minutes into the contest and never recovered. Amazingly, the Caps have now allowed a goal on the first shot they’ve faced in three-straight games.

The team’s struggles aren’t just about starting slowly, however. Thanks to a bevy of missed assignments, defensive miscues and breakaways allowed, St. Louis jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the second period concluded, all but killing any lingering hopes of sneaking into the postseason. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin, who has looked great offensively and has provided a spark on the power play since joining the Capitals at the trade deadline, was on the ice for four Blues goals on the night.

Third-period goals from defenseman Martin Fehervary and center Nicklas Backstrom made the final score line look closer than the game actually was, and the Caps now finds themselves in a situation where they need to essentially win their final 12 games of the regular season to have any real chance to qualify for the playoffs.

That sobering reality killed the buzz in what should have been a festive atmosphere at Capital One Arena. Even the most optimistic fans are going to have trouble keeping the faith after this loss.

10Mar

Devils deliver baptism by fire to new-look Capitals

In a refreshing moment of honesty and self-reflection rarely seen in professional sports, the Washington Capitals shipped away five key veterans from an over-the-hill and underperforming lineup in an attempt to restock and retool on the fly.

After weeks of speculation over whether the Capitals fancied themselves buyers or sellers as the regular season winds down, general manager Brian MacLellan made the difficult decision to part with a number of good guys and fan favorites as Washington was one of the league’s busiest teams at the trade deadline.

The Capitals moved on from defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Erik Gustafsson, as well as forwards Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson and Lars Eller, which essentially killed any of the admittedly diminished hopes of sneaking into the postseason as a wild-card team. Now, the front office will spend the rest of the season evaluating what the roster has, and just as importantly, what the roster lacks.

While MacLellan has his eyes on the future, Washington still has weeks of games remaining on the schedule. Capitals coach Peter Laviolette’s task down the stretch is to keep the locker room focused and motivated. Included in that mix are defenseman 23-year-old Rasmus Sandin, acquired from Toronto, and 33-year-old forward Craig Smith, acquired from Boston. A trio of young blue-liners — Vincent Iorio, Gabriel Carlsson, Alexander Alexeyev — have also been thrust into action thanks to trades and injuries. 

With so many changes, it’s probably a good thing that everyone wears their names on their sweaters. Getting to know a half dozen new teammates and developing chemistry with new linemates won’t happen over night, but that’s okay. Might as well throw all of the kids into live action and see if they’re able to sink or swim. On this night, the Caps lost to the New Jersey Devils via shootout, 3-2. But the hope is that a few of these fresh, new faces will ultimately usher in another era of respectability.

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