Slipknot’s Knotfest stopped in Ottawa and we were there

[Another concert report from Ottawa correspondent Ross MacDonald. – AC]

Knotfest 2022 landed in Ottawa on its North American tour, and for one night the nation’s capital wasn’t a sleepy little government city.

Unfortunately the initial opening act, alt hip-hop group Ho99o9 was canceled at the last minute. So DJ Lord of Public Enemy fame started off the evening with a solo DJ set, sampling from Jimi Hendrix to Radiohead and the Beastie Boys to Star Wars. He had the crowd bouncing up and down with his beats.

DJ Lord stayed on stage and became an integral part of the venerable Cypress Hill, helping to fill in for Sen Dog who wasn’t on this leg of the tour. When B Real came on stage he was puffing on a joint the size of a behemoth cigar, smoke filling up the stage, so of course, they started off with their hit ‘I Wanna Get High.’

B Real’s unique voice was backed by Eric Bobo’s percussion and hype. The crowd was screaming throughout the set, but were especially thrilled to sing along with ‘Insane In The Brain’, “insane in the membrane, INSANE IN THE BRAIN!” Cypress Hill closed out with a popular cover of House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’, and everyone was!

The anticipation for Grammy-award-winning Slipknot to start was electric, the crowd screaming every time there was movement behind the big curtain. And when the curtain was pulled away and the nine members of Slipknot lit into ‘Disasterpieces’ the noise was deafening, from both the band and the crowd.

The moshing and body surfing started immediately on the packed floor. It was as if the taps were suddenly opened on two years of pent-up energy.

Slipknot brings nu-metal to another level: lightning-fast guitar riffs, intense percussion, and growling vocals; interspersed with grunge-like melodies in songs like their top-ten hit ‘Duality.’

The night ended with Slipknot closing out the encore with their early hit ‘Surfacing’. It was an intense night that ended too early for everyone. And the next morning, this reviewer caught himself singing: “insane in the membrane, INSANE IN THE BRAIN!!” over and over.

Slipknot:

#6 Shawn “Clown” Crahan – percussion, backing vocals

#5 Craig “133” Jones – samples, media, keyboards

#7 Mick Thomson – guitars

#8 Corey Taylor – lead vocals

#0 Sid Wilson – turntables, keyboards

#4 Jim Root – guitars

Alessandro Venturella – bass

Jay Weinberg – drums

Michael Pfaff – percussion, backing vocals

Cypress Hill:
B Real – lead vocals
Eric Bobo – drums, percussion, backing vocals
DJ Lord – DJ, samples, media, backing vocals