Stone Sour // Papa Roach // Otherwise | The Fillmore | February 17th
Corey Taylor of Stone Sour (Photo Credit: David Burke)
The Fillmore Auditorium in Denver got a good old fashioned dose of hard rock from Stone Sour, Papa Roach and Otherwise. With high expectations, and a hungry crowd waiting, Otherwise stepped on stage and kicked off the night with a strong stage presence that definitely did not disappoint. Otherwise is a Las Vegas band that has legitimized their title as "#1 Unsigned Act in America" over the past two years picking up a deal from Century Media and moving countless digital downloads of "Soldiers". They are now rocking venues alongside the hard rock big guns.
Otherwise getting things started (Photo Credit: David Burke)
Next up, Papa Roach launched right into "Still Swingin'" from their latest album The Connection. During their third song, frontman Jacoby Shaddix jumped down and was embraced by the crowd as he melded with the audience. He declared; "This is our 20th year together and we are not gonna stop!" With full compliance, the entire house was officially in pure rock mode. They played fan favorite "Between Angels and Insects". The band closed their set with “Last Resort”, and joined arms to say goodnight to the crowd.
Jacob Shaddix of Papa Roach (Photo Credit; David Burke)
You could feel the exhilaration build as the audience must have tried to brace themselves for what was coming next. Green lights flashed vigorously as the crowd erupted into cheers, screams and Hell Yeahs”. Stone Sour immediately entered the stage and broke out with "Gone Sovereign". There was no possible way to prepare yourself for the commanding vocals, precise guitar riffing, and thunderous drums. After this intense intro, Corey Taylor addressed the crowd, "For those of you who don’t know, we are Stone Sour and we came here to rip your fucking head off! How does that sound?" The audience erupted. Taking this response as a “yes”, they proceeded with "Absolute Zero" from House of Gold & Bones: Part I.
Stone Sour (Photo Credit: David Burke)
“Denver, you will have a special place in my heart, you are my second home and I will always return.” Taylor chuckled.
Keeping the crowd in motion, next on to "Hell & Consequences" from Come What(ever) May. After "Say You'll Haunt Me", the band exited the stage, leaving Taylor solo with his guitar. Covering Alice In Chains “Nutshell” and then strumming into "Bother", in which the artist and the crowd made a true connection, the crowd singing each verse with all their hearts, and the singer pausing for what seemed to be appreciating the effect his performing had on the audience. Taylor's flawless and inspiring voice hung in the Fillmore Auditorium and left the crowd in a dreamlike state. Then things got funky as he and drummer Roy Mayorga belted out a dead-on rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Very Superstitious”. Pure awesomeness.
Stone Sour rocking the crowd (Photo Credit: David Burke)
Announcing the release date of House of Gold & Bones: Part II, April 9, asking, "Do you know what that fucking means? It means we will be back right fucking here sooner than you think Denver! " Stone Sour closed out with "Last of the Real" a hyper-charged track, and ended with the punishing "30/30-150". That power will undoubtedly return when Stone Sour comes back to finish what House of Gold and Bones Part 1 started.
Check out more of David's photos here.
-David Burke
