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World's Biggest KOЯN Fans!
Topics: Korn fans, Bakersfield, KOЯN, Bakotopia, Melissa O'Neal, cruiznkoRn64, blog, august, 2007, 2006, Family Values, marysville, LIVE, Review
Posted by cruiznkoRn64 Wed Aug 22, 2007 22:02:54 PDT
Viewed 3648 times
0 responses 4 comments Location: 2677 Forty Mile Road, Marysville, CA 95901

World's Biggest    Fans!

(Melissa O'Neal and Jonathan Davis - hangin' like homies)

KoRn Family Values Tour 2006
20 August 2006, Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Marysville, Cali

It all started with a very long drive from Delano, Ca to Marysville, Cali. Although long, it was quite pleasant and enjoyable, mostly due to the soundtrack of Fieldy’s Dreams, Follow the Leader, KoRn, See You On The Other Side, and Life Is Peachy. Cruizn with the top down did not hurt either, and the scenery was ever changing from fields of crops, to rivers, grasslands to housing tracts, and finally, the signature buildings of the state capitol. But even then, there was a bit more. Marysville is out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by golden grasslands and foothills off in the eastern distance.

My KoRnkid Erica and I arrived in Marysville at last, and after a small break, set off to see the amphitheatre where we would see our favorite people in the world the very next day. While we expected to find fans camping out and partying, we found nobody at all out in the middle of nothing at all. We said, “people must not get excited around here”! So we drove on into the parking lot of the venue and around to the side gate. Nobody in sight and the gate open just begged for a little investigation. So we jumped out the g-ride and went on in. We were in awe because the theatre looked smaller than we were expecting, but had a nice green hill rising up to the north of the stage, with the stage facing it. Just when we were about to get a closer look, these dudes on a golf cart (a.k.a. the golf cart police) pulled up and said to me,” What are you doing? Are you aware that you are trespassing?” I said, “Oh, I am very sorry, we just wanted to see what the stage looked like. We will leave.” They tried to look serious but did not say any more, they just kind of smirked and I think that they were holding back smiles as they said, “well, you will get to see it all tomorrow”.  Then we went back out to the car grudgingly, and I thought, there has to be something else. What it ended up being was spinning broadies and burning out in the big ass parking lot for a few minutes. I was having so much fun that I did not even see those sneaky little golf cart police going over to the gate and locking it. So when we went to leave, the gate was locked. We sat there for a few minutes and finally, here they came, poking along towards the gate. I just smiled and said, “Thank you”, to which they replied with a smile, “You won’t get locked in if you don’t spend so much time burning out in the parking lot”. Ha, ha, very funny. We all were smiling then.

As the night ensued, we realized that a small chronic break was in order. We decided to drive up to Citrus Heights to find our good bud Leah and steal her away for a little while, in order to cruize in anticipation of the next day’s events and soothe our rabid souls, at least for a brief time.

Back to the hotel we go. There we were, waiting with baited breath. Everything was laid out! The KoRnrows on my head were wrapped in tissue in what resembled a big ass mummy hat, to keep them fresh for the Meet and Greet. I don’t think either of us could sleep very well, it was just too much to take!

Ahhhh, the day of the show. We woke up at 6 in the morning and got our pimpin’ on, were looking our best, and then went out and put the top down to cruize on over to the amphitheatre! When we got there, we could see that someone who was managerially in error had set the entrance time for fans to 11 in the morning, yet it was only 9 at that time. They told us to go over to the other side of the overpass, about 2 miles up the road, and wait with everyone else. We headed over there and hung out with a few other fans for a while. I had a FVT poster to take to the Meet and Greet for signing, and had tried to get to the store early in the day to find a poster tube, but came out with a roll of Hot Wheels wrapping paper instead (hey, it was the thickest tube I could find in that damned Wal Mart!) So here I was on the side of the road trying to cut this wrapping paper tube in half with a barbed wire fence because no one had anything else that would do it. These kids were parked in front of us, and asked us if we had anything to pick splinters out of skin. One of them had tried to climb the highway sign, just for fun. He had some gnarly ass splinters all in his hand! So I dug them out with some sharpened piece of metal, and he was grateful. Just a little pain therapy to calm you down when you are all nervous. It always seems to help. But not long after than, my anxiety got the best of me and I sped off up the road, and went and parked at this old, haunted, abandoned house for a little while so that we could keep an eye on the venue which was just up the road. When that got old, I went on up to the gate again, told them that we were from the KoRn Promotional Team, and that we needed to get in so that we could hang posters and hand out promotional materials. Then the guy at the gate who was really cool said, “Oh, you should have told me that you were here to work earlier, go on in and park over on the side with all the workers”. We could have just gone in any gate at that point and not waited in line at all, because there were so many people milling around everywhere that no one would have paid and leave to us. But we were good KoRnkids and went around the front of the venue to wait in line with everyone else. We were 4th and 5th in line, and stayed out there for several more hours before we got to go into the venue. I knew that I had to check in with the box office about the Meet and Greet, but they had no information, which ended up being an ongoing situation for the majority of the day.

After we got into the venue, we saw a myriad of booths set up. There were shirts, pipes, signed CD’s, all kinds of food, beverages of many types, and lots of crazy KoRn fans! Erica and I headed down to the floor area but had to wait in line for a while with others to get our wristbands. Finally, they let us down there and the first thing to go through my mind was, “fuck, its concrete!” But it was all good. I am going to keep it brief with the other bands because I am all about KoRn, and I did miss some of them due to continual checking with the unorganized management about the Meet and Greet. Droid came on First, followed by Bullets and Octane, then Walls of Jericho (which had a very energetic and kikass singer), then Deadsy, and finally Bury Your Dead. Next up was Direngrey, which I missed, and then 10 years, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Flyleaf was somewhat shocking with Lacey looking like Samara and having an overall sick stage presence that was great. I missed Stonesour, but heard them from backstage during the meet and greet. Deftones had a great set and everyone rocked out to it.

But let’s get to business, people! The Meet and Greet of KoRn. Finally, I got my pass, after endless harassment of the management by myself and several other street teamers, namely, Chamber and FamousnoRcal. The passes were the blue stars with the KoRn Key again. They also gave out some confusing printed instructions on where to go, and after being paraded around for a while, I finally found my way there. During my wanderings, I got to go in another gate by the backstage and watch everyone walking around by the tour buses, which was really cool. I got to the actual gate at last and began to kick it. There were some hateful ass people there that should have given their passes to true KoRn fans. It is the grievance of my heart that they were allowed to molest the integrity of this sacred event with the scourge of what they call their selves. Some dumb ass whores from’ the 98 rock radio station were there, and no I am not just saying this. They were saying, "this is taking way too fucking long, and do you really want to meet them anyway, and that it was lame because they were lagging, that the wait was not worth it, and that they should hurry the fuck up”! This shit they were saying about my favorite people in the world and I just had to stand there and put up with it. Oh, the anger. Oh, the patience I have gained in my old age, enough not to rip their stupid fake asses open just for the pleasure of not being kicked out of the venue. Then there was even another stupid bitch from the radio station who said that she really was not that excited to meet them because when she had before, they were “rude” to her. Whatever. She went on bitching the whole time she was standing there! It was realllllly bad. AAARRRGGGHHH! Enough already. I feel better. I hope they all read this!

We were all lined up against the wall, and I looked across the way and saw Jonathan standing by a Cadillac, speaking to someone. It was so nice to see him looking well and having a good time. After that, they came on over and began to conversate with the fans. James started at the end nearest me, and Jonathan and David started at the far end of the line of fans (plus some fuct up people who need to die). I was glad to see James, and he stopped, said hello, and then gave me an autograph. He looked a little faded but in great spirits. Finally came my favorite person in life, Jonathan Houseman Davis. He was wearing a tan t-shirt with a vintage batik print and some distressed blue jeans. His hair looked slightly shorter than the last time I saw him, but looked gorgeous nonetheless. He actually stopped when he started walking up to me, and I said “Hi there”. You won’t believe the reply:  “Hey babe”. That was the best, I have gotta say! I made him a gift which was a purple velvet drawstring bag with a Kern County Sheriff patch on the front that I had modified to read KoRn County Sheriff. There were some special things inside as tokens of my appreciation. I gave it to him, and he smiled, then he slipped the strings over his wrist. I told him of my best KoRn friend John David Olsen which has now left this place, and asked if he would please sign the poster RIP Little John. He said that he was sorry, and did me that huge favor, as John looked down, smiling. As Jonathan continued down the line, he had the velvet satchel on his arm. David came next and I thanked him for the great party in Santa Monica. He said that is was really fun, and then signed my poster. That was a most beautiful memory, all under a glowing sunset of amber, hot pink, fuchsia, and purple streaks of clouds as the sun sat below a northern Cali sky and Jonathan walked away to Stonesour’s Through the Glass. That is the stuff that dreams are made of.
 
Can you believe all of the details? We have not even gotten to the meat of the story yet, what everyone has been waiting for. Our favorite band of all time, KoRn, takes the stage.

First, there was a lengthy sound check and preparation to make certain that all of the sound bugs form earlier on in the day had been eradicated. We could hear the guitars, the bass, the drums, and the vocal testing going on. Familiar faces walked about all over the stage, across which was drawn a gorgeous blood red velvet curtain. Finally, the Nubian Princess came out, the signature microphone stand of Jonathan. The tension heightened, it must not be much longer now. The crowd writhed. Erica, Leah, and I were up in front dead center. Those two were against the fence and I was behind them (which is probably a good thing because I am so tall!) At last, the curtain was drawn back to reveal a huge stage set that was grander than any I had seen in the past. Amplifiers adorned with the SYOTOS art were spread across the stage. David’s chrome drum set could be seen glimmering on a small platform midstage and set back a bit. There was a huge ramp across the very back of the stage in front of the screen with stairs leading down to both sides, which the members of KoRn used occasionally during their set to get a better look at the massive crowd. I had never seen this before, but it seemed like they enjoyed it as much as everyone else did!

The boys started coming out. Munky, David, Fieldy, and then our beloved Jonathan. He strutted out wearing the pinstriped kilt we have all been familiar with lately in the FVT photos, with tall black socks, black shoes, and a black top. They started with an intro melody and then went into Right Now. The sound was excellent and vibrated every bone in my body. The crowd was wicked, but went even sicker when the set evolved into Twist. The howlings, rantings, and ravings of Jonathan filled everyone’s soul, as he set forth the lyrics we love so. Speaking of love, next up was Love Song, which was a virtual mosh pit of a song, with crowd surfing, eyes rolling back in one’s head, and gorgeous views in every direction of KoRn jamming out. Well, what comes next after Love Song, I ask you? ADIDAS! You know that this is one of the all time favorites with just about everybody, and the energy was there to be felt. The bass pounded, thanks to the Field-dogg. Thoughtless rocked our world with heartfelt vocals and deep melodies. Falling Away From Me provided a beyond reality experience into the deep realms of feelings that we have all experienced at one time. Next was some gnarly talk that we love so well off from the end of Open Up, which reminds me a bit of goblins!
 
Jonathan next helped us in Coming Undone. Everyone was ecstatic, and I know that many of us had been waiting for that. Energy in the entire band could be seen as they rushed around the stage! Munky and Fieldy got next to each other, faced each other, and jammed, which was a rarely seen sight, but very cool! We all know that we Got The Life when we get to go to events like this; it is worth all of the other crap that we live daily because of these times! Throw Me Away was a bit mellower, which everyone needed because of the sheer intensity of the crowd and the pit. I loved to sit still for a second and just admire.
Allow me to regress; at three points between songs, Jonathan came out with a massive firehose, which those of us that had been following the FVT reviews had expected. He took off to the right stage and popped that sucker on. It sprayed, and would not quit. The feeling was the best, it saved our lives! But what was even better was the look of pleasure, twisted yet happy, that Jonathan got on his face every time he sprayed us with his hose. It was like they should have been playing Getting Off in the background! Ahhh, sweet memories.

Further regressing, and speaking of sweet memories, I have to put this in for both my memories and all of those out there (you know who you are) that saw this as well. Mind you, I was up front, middle, about a couple of feet below the stage floor. Jonathan was right above me when he stood at his microphone stand. He was rocking as we all know and love, and bless him for wearing that kilt! It is sewn and put together so well so as to not be too hot, and that is provides adequate ventilation. It loves to flip up a bit with every jump and headbanging, but reacts especially nicely with foot stamping! And yes, the material is quite becoming how is fits all the way around. Lovely, beautiful memories which I will forever cherish!

Back to the meat, y’all. Ha, ha. Cameltosis was a much welcomed digression back to the classic KoRn that we were happy to behold. Besides being one of my favorites, it was a kikass tune that rocked everyone’s world, even in an instrumental version! Then came the time in each concert when the music of bagpipes rises to the heavens for Little John, Shoots and Ladders. Only one word to describe that: sick! Chino Moreno came on stage next, and it was Family Values style in the classic sense as Jonathan and Chino went back and forth. They were having so much fun! Politics evolved into Freak on a Leash as we all stood in awe, savoring the moments. Then the lights went dim and the boys took a break. Rob Patterson came back onto a dimly lit stage and kept our attention while the rest of the band snuck out to the middle of the crowd by the soundboards while we were not paying attention to what was going on behind us! Then the lights came on in the middle of the crowd, and there stood KoRn, on a raised platform, to rip my heart out and bring a tear to my eyes with a most beautifully done acoustic set of Hollow Life. Words cannot describe the echoic sounds of Jonathan’s voice paired with the recent evolution into the dark acoustic jammings of the band. Everyone stood in awe. It was classic KoRn. Then they escaped back to the stage and made us all rock our asses off with Twisted Transistor, a favorite of all! Next came the rarely live played Y’all Want A Single? This was an experience I never had before. Now I feel complete! I love Jonathan saying, “Fuck that, fuck that” in that oh so low growl! Jonathan then thanked the crowd for all we had done as KoRn fans and told up that they would be nowhere without us. It was a very special night because it was his son, Pirate’s first show ever, and he could be seen to the side of the stage as Jonathan incited a huge cheer in celebration of that sacred event! The whole show was filmed, and cameras could be seen at various places. I would not be surprised and will be pleased to see parts of it again someday on the next KoRn DVD! We came to the last song of the night *tear* with the song that started it all, Blind. Everyone knew that this was their last chance to rock it hard as fuck, and that is just what we all did. Midway through the song, huge cannons shot out confetti in silver, purple, and blue, which floated down toward the crowd in glimmering diamonds, and just made the experience ever more beautiful, memorable, and forever cemented in all of our memories.

Ahhhhhhhh.........

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Comment From: matt

That's some straight up KORN devotion! Thanks for the articles and pics! - Matt Comment From: sH3LLz

that was a good read hehe,u always deskribe stuff the best,love u girl,KORN FOREVER!! Comment From: Momiex2

Beautiful story...just a beautiful story..thank you so much for sharing!! KORN 4 LIFE ! Comment From: Liane

thank you so much for sharing this Melissa. Its so well written as all your storys. Its amazing how you remeber every detail. Great story.