Stage Buzz: Photo Gallery • Korn with Staind at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Brassneck | August 28, 2021

Two titans of hard rock’s Nu Metal movement descended on Tinley Park’s Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Friday. Korn and Staind, torchbearers that flat out owned the genre in the late 90’s, have hit the road together for a tour that’s bringing the down tuned heaviness to the late summer Shed’s across the country. The two acts have managed to remain staples on hard rock radio stations, even though the latter hasn’t released new music for close to a decade.

In contrast, Korn is out promoting their most recent offering, 2019’s The Nothing. Korn’s frontman Jonathan Davis struggled mightily throughout the evening. He’d recently been diagnosed with COVID-19, forcing the band to cancel or postpone a handful of dates. While it was unclear if Friday’s ailments were related to his previous condition, a Game of Thrones-worthy cathedra was placed center stage and he used it often. It also helped to conceal what appeared to be an oxygen mask, which he pulled from frequently throughout the evening. The spirit was obviously willing, but the body seemingly fought him every step of way.

Opposite of that, Staind’s lead singer Aaron Lewis could’ve been perceived as to having little or no interest in being in the building. Never known to be a particularly animated performer, it was almost comical that his band, thrashing about as if they were an aural hurricane couldn’t seem to shake him from movement that barely encroached on statuesque. Even stranger, his vocals were delivered so passionately, if you closed your eyes, you’d be shocked to discover the vessel from which they originated wasn’t swinging from the lighting trusses like a spider monkey.

-Photos and recap by Curt Baran