Heavy rockers Stone Sour rolled through Oklahoma City this weekend as part of their headline US tour in support of their latest album “Hydrograd”. Supporting the Corey Taylor led band were rock duo ’68 and hard rockers Palaye Royale
’68, a two man band opened the night with an energizing set and the crowd seemed to approve. They were followed by Palaye Royale for the last show they were performing with Stone Sour. They describe themselves as a “fashion-art rock band,” a fitting description. Lead vocalist Remington Leith was constantly on the move, engaging the crowd who honestly really came to see Stone Sour.
Hitting the stage about 9:30 amid sparkler fountains, you knew the crowd had come to see the headliner. The crowd roared as Corey Taylor and crew hit the stage, opening with “Whiplash Pants,” from their most recent Hydrograd then followed by “Absolute Zero.” Taylor commented that it had been a while since Stone Sour had played the area, noting that the weather messed things up a year ago – a reference to the cancellation of their set at Rocklahoma last May. The crowd was now in the palm of his hands. Another tune from Hydrograd, “Knievel Has Landed,” was lesser known to the crowd but when “Say You’ll Haunt Me” began, they really came alive, singing loudly along with the band. They continued with “30/30-150.”
Before going into “Cold Reader,” Taylor asked how many people had the first Stone Sour album, noting that the next song was from that debut self titled release from 2002. Needless to say the crowd responded quite positively to the song and comments, by singing along. The band departed the stage for a minute before Taylor reappeared, guitar in tow, saying the next song was “many people’s first taste of Stone Sour. Taylor, alone on stage, went into “Bother” and the crowd was singing louder than the front man. The chorus, “But once I hold on, I won’t let go til it bleeds,” reverberated by the crowd came through loud and clear.
Taylor was joined onstage by the rest of the band for “Tired” and the crowd never stopped singing. Taylor, who has one of the very best voices in music today, sounded strong and clear. A guitar change went into a little talk with the crowd. Taylor said the “rock and roll doesn’t have to so stiff and f’ing serious. You come to have fun.” He told the crowd to “dance, sing, and lose your f’ing minds” before going into “Rose Red, Violent Blue (This Song is Dumb and So am I,” from Hydrograd.
A short drum intro brought “Last of the Real.” Another guitar change for Taylor, the band went into “Song #3” and the crowd roared, cheered and sang it all. “Through Glass” ended the set on a high note and we knew an encore would follow. It included “RU486” and “Fabuless” rounded it all out.
Taylor and crew played to the entire crowd throughout the set – making sure those standing off to the sides of the stage were included, not just those in the front. The music was a good mix of new tunes from Hydrograd and classics that really got the crowd singing along and despite the absence of one of my favorites, “Hesitate” it was a near perfect Stone Sour show.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Claire Zevnik
