Stone Sour, Papa Roach & Hounds – Brixton Academy, London – 10th December 2012

The night started off with Hounds.  Dear god, what idiot thought they’d be a good band to support Stone Sour?  I can only assume they paid to get on the tour, as they were so unsuited musically it was shocking.  Normally when a band is either awful or just the wrong type of music for a gig there is a split in the crowd with some fans cheering and applauding and others not being impressed, but Hounds managed a first – they are the only band I’ve seen at a large venue who failed to get any applause or cheers at all that I could hear.  They really flopped I’m afraid.  With a different audience, i.e. on a totally different bill then they’d probably go down quite well but on this bill they were a total failure I’m afraid, and the only cheers they got were when they literally begged for the crowd to cheer at one point so they could see what it’s like for Stone Sour.  Not a good start to the night.

Papa Roach (21)Next up were the infinitely better Papa Roach who showed how a support band really gets a crowd warmed up.  Right from the opening song “Still Swingin” they had the crowd going.  With a set that combined new songs from their latest album (The Connection) and older songs, they really went down superbly well.  Jacobi is a great frontman who is able to control the crowd with ease, getting them singing along on cue and generally going crazy.  With the number of people bouncing up and down towards the front and the huge cheers between songs, anyone watching could easily have assumed Papa Roach were the headliners tonight – an excellent performance.

Papa Roach (7)

Next up though was Stone Sour, fronted by another great frontman – Corey Taylor.  Dressed in a white suit and black shirt he took to the stage to cheers so loud it almost drowned the band out.  Papa Roach may have had a great reception, but Stone Sour were clearly the reason people were here tonight.  Corey Taylor speaks to the crowd between most songs, which loses some of the pace of the show, but at the same time makes the crowd feel more appreciated.  Stone Sour’s set includes a mix of old and new, with the older material seeming to go down better than stuff from their latest album – House Of Gold And Bones: Part 1.  Tonight they choose to play two songs that have not been played anywhere before – “Last of the real” and “The Travellers pt 2”.  A huge cheer greeted Corey’s announcement that the band will be playing the Download festival in 2013, before they carried on with the show.

Stone Sour (17)

A great night of music with two top bands in great form – it’s just a shame the crowd had to endure Hounds first.  A lesson perhaps for the people who book tours – make sure the bands are a suitable fit musically or the support flops.

Papa Roach setlist:

Still Swingin’
Silence Is the Enemy
…To Be Loved
Getting Away With Murder
Burn
Forever
Scars
Hollywood Whore
Between Angels and Insects
Where Did the Angels Go?
Dead Cell
Last Resort

Stone sour setlist:

Gone Sovereign
Absolute Zero
Mission Statement
Hell & Consequences
Orchids
Made of Scars
A Rumor of Skin
Reborn
RU486
Say You’ll Haunt Me
Get Inside
The Travellers, Pt. 2 (Live Premiere)
Last of the Real (Live Premiere)

Encore:
Bother
Through Glass
Digital (Did You Tell)
30/30-150

Stone Sour (10)

All photos by Heather Fitsell

About Ant May

I spend half my life at gigs or festivals and the other half writing the reviews and editing photos, and somehow find time for a full time job too. Who needs sleep - I've got coffee.