Louder Than Life- Day 1 of 3
Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky, USA 27th September 2019
by Marie Christine Quirion
After the successes of ‘Hometown Rising’, and ‘Bourbon and Beyond’ the previous two weekends, it was Louder Than Life who closed the 2019 festivities by DWP in Louisville, Kentucky. With more than 128,000 spectators over the weekend, this made the 5th edition of Louder Than Life the largest rock music festival in America!
Let us remember that last year, Champions Park, had flooded and forced the cancellation of the festival only a few days before the event. With record attendance, the addition of a 100% country festival (Hometown Rising), and a brand-new site, it can be said that DWP can be proud of what they accomplished this year.
Friday
The stages and kiosks have been on site for more than two weeks, and are laid out in a well-established layout. The doors were opened to the extremely brave Friday at noon. I say ”brave” because I must mention that an unusual heat at the end of September was present and no clouds or winds seemed to want to show up.
However, with the energy and madness of the guys in Wilson opening the day, it was easy to forget the heat and get caught up in the madness. With bands like New Years Day cheering on the “body surfing” to come to greet them on stage, an explosive DJ like Crystal Method, and the bloody Gwar throughout the day, it was Philip H. Anselmo and The Illegals revisiting Pantera’s greatest hits that hit the crowd the hardest. The colorful Motionless In White and the long-awaited return of the band Staind, fresh off their 5-year hiatus, we can say the crowd was more than ready for Slipknot in the evening.
Although some of the special effects and usual staging were not present, the band, which is already nearly 25 years old, came out swinging opening with their success ”People=Shit”, revisiting their greatest hits as well as some new songs from the newest album released last August. Being a fan for several years, I’m almost ashamed to admit that it was the first time I have seen them live.
However, I assure you that this will not be the last. Dressed in white and donning their new masks which were created to coincide with their most recent album, Slipknot’s energy carried us song after song into a world of psychedelic circus, not giving us time to catch our breath… or a sip!
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