Nostalgia is a beautiful and powerful thing. The way that one song can take you back to a particular time and place, awakening a treasure chest of related memories which might otherwise have been locked away forever. Multiply that by a setlist of 16 songs and that’s what Limp Bizkit’s set at the Kerrang! Tour 2014 did last night.
For 80 minutes the O2 Academy was transformed into my childhood bedroom and I was 18-years-old again listening to this red-capped dude with the screechy voice bringing nu-metal into the new millennium.
The set was packed with songs from that era, with only one – Gold Cobra – even breaching this decade. The opening combination of a cover of Guns N’ Roses’ Welcome To Jungle merging into Rollin’ midway through was explosive, and from that moment on any lingering frustration over Fred Durst’s late cancellation of a gig here last summer was blown away.
There was an intense energy in the venue which had given it sauna like qualities by the time a monstrous Break Stuff ended the night. There was no let up, either on stage or off, as Limp Bizkit powered through a barrage of early noughties hits: My Generation, My Way and Take a Look Around all featured in a set which was also comprised of almost a third of covers. George Michael’s Faith provided the most raucous of sing-alongs, whilst a Nirvana medley of Heart-Shaped Box and Smells Like Teen Spirit gave us an insight into Durst’s influences. Killing in the Name – the Rage Against The Machine smash – was another powerful cover.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Fred Durst possibly has one of the worst voices I’ve heard live, and he dresses like the worst dressed 15-year-old boy. However, that gig last night was easily one of my favourite gigs ever. It was unforgettable; largely down to a heavy sense of nostalgia and an almost perfect set list to fuel it.
Diaries of a single man 