LIVE REVIEW: Limp Bizkit with special guests Zheani Sparks

After receiving a taste of what the guys from Limp Bizkit would deliver seven days earlier at the Good Things Festival it was Melbourne’s turn to get a full sideshow.

Tonight was the last Australian show for this tour. Taking to the stage tonight was somewhat sombre and serious Fred Durst. Dressed in a shirt, Khaki’s and a Cure bucket hat Durst addressed the crowd admitting to being under the weather for the last five days. He had been advised my medical professionals to not do the show. Durst said there was no way he could do that to the fans and he had to do it, this was almost like a caveat in case he struggled to perform. Durst genuinely sounded sick in his talking voice hours before taking to the stage he stated he could barely walk but was going to push through for all of us in attendance, he couldn’t cancel on his fans. This lead into Durst saying “I feel like shit; My suggestion, is to keep your distance; ‘Cause right now I’m dangerous”.

Wes Borlands crunching opening riff tore through the PA as the band launched into ‘Break Stuff’. Within moments all had forgotten about Durst’s tale of illness and the crowd ignited into a bouncing rawkus sing-along. The energy back to the stage was undeniable and this was evident as ‘Show Me What You Got’ had the crowd in fine voice again as on cue “Hey Ladies” was hollered back. A token of the past a red baseball cap was thrown on stage as Durst examined it and tossed it back into the crowd.

Keeping the energy at a high ‘Hot Dog’ was next, the Nine Inch Nails references in this song I have always loved. Drummer John Otto and bassist Sam Rivers are such a tight unit who flawlessly give life and space to these songs. Live they are one of the best rhythm sections I have seen or heard. Borland is just a freak and a master at what he does.

Borland wearing the outfit he has for the whole tour; a day of the dead inspired custom painted and stitched white suit with full headpiece perfectly match his main guitar a hand painted Jackson Flying V. Tonight the interactions and fun being had was evident between Borland and Durst. By this stage of the show it was clear that whatever Durst was suffering from had been over run by adrenaline as he was so engaging.

DJ Lethal aside from contributing to the first 3 songs had his first interlude where he craft-fully mashed The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ into Blur’s ‘Song 2’ spurring Durst to ponder “Do you ever wonder what they were thinking while they were recording this?”

DJ Lethal’s scratching and sampling started ‘My Generation’. Rivers noodling bass line and Otto’s grooves were on point. The build to the chorus saw the crowd once again jumping. ‘Livin’ It Up’ also from The “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavoured Water” album compliment each other and add flow to a set that is already a more direct celebration of their peak commercial success during 1999 & 2000.

‘Careless Whisper’ is played by DJ Lethal as Durst addressed the crowd and the band hand out roses. Durst says to the Borland “Wes, this is very romantic. It kind of puts me in a mood, you know what I mean. The mood for this”. The instrumental interlude hinting at ‘My Way’ develops and the crowd erupts yet again.

The first surprise for tonight came in the form of ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ which has been missing from the entire Australian Tour. Durst mid song tells the audience, “I saw somebody hurt right before we came on stage and I promised them that I would play this”. What was surprising about this version was that the musical part of its performance came from DJ Lethal with Durst’s live vocal on top of it. Durst ends the song with, “I dedicate this to the poor young man who was escorted from the venue earlier. He says I know I’m getting kicked out right, but will you please play Blue Eyes. So I did it for him and if you see him outside tell him we did it”.

‘Rollin’ steps things back up into a frenzy of voices, arm waving and bouncing. The interaction between band and fans is just something special to behold. You can’t help but be sucked in by the groove and fun of this song.

Durst asks the question of Borland “Is it George Michael or George Michaels?” We all know what time it is. The bands break through single a cover or George Michaels ‘Faith’ has the whole place rocking as you would expect.

‘Boiler’ is introduced with Durst sharing a message for all of us, one that is a lesson in life, “Stop expecting things from people that they aren’t capable of. Your life will be a lot better. And if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself …. most of the time”. This is tonight’s first deep cut and is received incredibly well. It’s a powerhouse of a song. Its message is still strong and relevant. It also shows just how damn talented this whole band is as musicians. ‘Boiler’ has it all light and shade, groove and power. As a performance this was tonight’s highlight in an already incredible set of songs.

“Who has to work tomorrow ?” Durst asks. “When you turn up to work tomorrow and you look like shit form partying hard with us, tell your boss Tom Cruise did this to me”. ‘Take a Look around’ delivers that sonic beating that Durst mentioned. Heavy, hard and in your face is what we got.

Durst’s between song banter is on point tonight, every introduction is clever, witty and engaging. For a man who just over an hour ago claimed he felt like shit, he showed absolutely no signs of it as he asks “Who here tonight has done it for the Nookie ?”. The call and response of the songs chorus makes it so much fun.

‘Full Nelson’ is in your face and such a killer live song. This is the second deep cut for the night that was well received and welcomed. Beyond the hit singles damn they wrote some great songs.

“Man we need to slow things down, maybe we need to play some Nirvana” exclaims Durst, “What do you think Wes?”. As the band proceeds into a mini Nirvana medley of ‘Heart Shaped Box ‘ and ’Smells Like Teen Spirit’ of course all of John Cain Arena sings along. If I had of guessed that there was going to be a cover thrown in I wouldn’t have guessed it would be Nirvana. To me Limp Bizkit was the antidote to Nirvana and a huge part of what stopped that whole shoe gazing era of rock music we endured. LB started to bring the fun back into music for me.

To close things off tonight Limp Bizkit finish where they started, a balls out version of ‘Break Stuff’ just to make sure whatever we had to get out of our system at a high show. Limp Bizkit left nothing on that stage tonight. The audience gave everything they had and that made for an incredible night. The bounce, the interaction, the energy was electric tonight.

While I would have loved a setlist a little more diverse and comprehensive to the bands body of work. When you have twenty-six singles and have sold over 40 million records something has to give. Obvious songs like ‘Eat You Alive’, ‘Re-Arranged’ and ‘Counterfeit’ all would have been welcomed. Tonight’s set was a greatest hits 101.

As Simple Minds ‘Don’t You forget About Me’ blared through the PA I took note of tonight’s crowd and I quickly remembered that tonight music isn’t an age, gender or sexuality. It’s a feeling, it’s a reason to smile, it allows you to be yourself and to escape. It doesn’t judge or criticise; most of all it’s fun and a release. Seeing such a broad range of ages here shows that music is universal; it’s a language understood by everyone. Knowing there were kids here who would only know about Limp Bizkit through their parents. People that would have been teenagers and at an age where Limp Bizkit simply spoke to them. Then you have guys like me who in hindsight probably shouldn’t have enjoyed them as much as I did in the tail end of my twenties. Limp Bizkit is timeless in many ways. A good song is a good song and this collection of songs that is fast approaching a quarter of a century old still sounds fresh and most of all fun. Next time Limp Bizkit are in town be sure not to miss them.

SETLIST:
Break Stuff
Show Me What You Got
Hot Dog
(Seven Nation Army/Song 2 interlude DJ)
My Generation
Livin’ It Up
(Careless Whisper)
My Way
Behind Blue Eyes
Rollin’
(Rawhide)
Faith
Boiler
Take A Look Around
Nookie
Full Nelson
Heart Shaped Box/Smells Like Teen Spirit
Break Stuff