back2basics Toronto Canada 2003

Toronto, Canada
The time, 6:00pm date, 28th November 2003. The venue, International Centre, Toronto, Ontario. The show, Back2Basics Limpbizkit/Korn. The mood? Stoked and ready to rock. After waiting in the cold, wet, snowy Toronto weather for hours, we were ready to go. After checking our coats and downing a fast ‘last’ beer, we joined the crowd forming around the stage and prepared to be crushed with all the other hard-core fans up front. We quickly took note of the fact that we seemed to be surrounded by Korn fans, and decided that it was in our best interests as two woman to make friends-BIG ones. The hype in the crowd and the mounting energy around us made us aware rather quickly that this much anticipated show was going to be a wild one in the very least and a painful one at most.

After about half an hour of standing in the ever growing crowd, the lights went down and the opening bands did their thing. Once the foreplay was over, it was a short wait before Fred and the band  appeared for the main event and roar like no other erupted from the crowd. Limp Bizkit fired up their fans both old-school and new bringing with them an energy unmatched by any other band I’ve ever seen perform live. Continuing on with a little something for everyone, from $3 Bill Y’all to Significant Other,  yet still playing enough off of Results may Vary to please the newer and more recent fans. After following the tour on the website, we knew ahead of time that they would be mixing up the play list so we weren’t sure what to expect to hear. I was disappointed not to hear Head For The Barricade or Phenomenon, but I have to admit that hearing old favourites like Breakstuff and Nookie made up for that. As usual they did Faith,  and repeated their breathtaking rendition of Behind Blue Eyes that we got a taste of on the Summer Sanitarium Tour. It was hot, it was rough and it was powerful. I’ve often referred to Limp Bizkit shows as an ‘out of body experience’ and this time was no different. Limp Bizkit has a way of tapping into the raw emotions deep inside you and setting them free. Being in that crowd and feeling the energy vibrate all around me made me feel like a 16 year old punk without a care in the world. The band seems to go out of their way to make eye contact with their fans, giving the impression that they are as glad to be there with you as you are with them.

Unfortunately I am not a 16 year old punk but a 29 year old mother and I couldn’t hold out for the entire show in the front. After going over the wall, we made our way back into the crowd about halfway back, just in time for “counterfeit”. This part of the crowd held mostly ‘older’ fans, and as far as I could see every set of lips mouthed the words to this all-time favourite. They delivered this one as raw and loud as ever, and it gave me goosebumps. After Behind Blue Eyes Fred received his first pair of Canadian panties from my gurl Suga, and he was gracious enough to say thank you, eliciting both cheers and applause from the crowd. As usual Limp Bizkit gave their fans a feeling of acknowledgment and appreciation, making the show well worth the price paid, both monetarily and physically. As for the Korn fans, well let’s just say they learned a thing or two about Limpin with The Bizkit that night too, and I expect I’ll see many of them at the show in the spring, singing a different tune.

Thanks to Yblogical, Canada.