Nu Metal megastars, Limp Bizkit are currently on the UK leg of their ‘Loserville’ tour and last night they absolutely smashed it in Manchester! An incredible night of music and not just Fred Durst and the gang, but the support too. For ‘Loserville’ Limp Bizkit are bringing with them the acts from the 2024 US tour, and in selecting their acts, have opted for something fairly unique. Most bands will give you 2 support acts to get you ready for the headline band, but here in ‘Loserville’ we were treated to 4.5 other acts (ill explain the .5 in a moment!) What this means is, very little waiting around playing with your phone in a filling arena. There was always an act to be watched with around 15 minutes between them. The quality and variety of music here was fantastic. Each act was very well received by the crowd and added to the excitement of the night.

N8NOFACE

First up from Brazil, was Karen Dió, who’s punk enthused music hit the spot for the nights opener. Dió’s energetic performance was a hit with the crowd with fast paced songs that got people moving. Next was something I’m not sure anyone was expecting… N8NOFACE, who’s one man performance armed with a drum machine and synth or computer, blew me away and was my pick of the support acts. I struggle to explain N8NOFACE’s music, it’s something you have to see yourself. All I can say is it was pure emotion with really catchy beats and some dark synth work. Third on the bill all the way from Australia was Ecca Vandal. This trio played powerful rock with dubstep beats and gave us some excellent tracks that I’m keen to now look up and listen to. Vandal is one to watch! Finally our last full support act was popular rap metaller, Bones accompanied on stage by the brilliant Eddy Baker. With a giant glowing skull as a centre piece, Bones and Baker commanded the stage and reminded me of some of Cypress Hill’s darker work. Finally rapper Riff Raff closed the support with a single song before being joined by Fred Durst to kick off Limp Bizkit’s set.

Ecca Vandal

And what a set it was. Opening with the massive hit ‘Break Stuff’ Limp Bizkit gave us a string of hits from ‘Chocolate Starfish’ and ‘Significant Other.’ I’m going to pause my praise for a moment and give one very slight point of criticism. The night seemed to be aimed at pure nostalgia, with Durst making more than one reference to going back to 1999, with no tracks newer than the year 2000, this was a shame in my opinion as, Limp Bizkit have continued to create great music all the way up to their latest album, 2021’s ‘Still Sucks.’ I would have loved to have heard tracks such as ‘Gold Cobra’ or ‘Dad Vibes’ in place of some of their earlier tracks. This is a minor criticism for a fantastic show. We were treated though to ‘Counterfeit’ from Limp Bizkit’s debut album, which was a nice surprise and not part of the set list so far.

Fred Durst

The band sounded fantastic. They have been doing this for over 30 years and still sound as good as ever. Durst’s command of the audience and vocal skills (he doesn’t get anywhere near enough credit for his ‘metal screams!’) was incredible and Wes Borland’s guitar work was phenomenal, filling gaps in songs with ethereal soundscapes, and dropping the occasional guitar cover, such as Metallica’s forearm killer, Master of Puppets. The rhythm section of Sam Rivers on bass and John Otto on drums was incredibly tight and in a band such as this, creates literally the beating heart of the show. DJ lethal was also giving the opportunity to shine on a few occasions (it’s not often you get an audience all mimicking the sounds a DJ makes!) and his work tonight was a joy to listen to. All 5 of them are brilliant musicians in their own right and together form a band capable of tearing the house down, as they did here in Manchester! There were so many moments of brilliance in the night. Durst bringing 2 fans on stage to perform ‘Full Nelson’ with him (and by the way they did an amazing job!), Wes Borland’s and Sam River’s attire for the evening (Borland in Day of the Dead inspired gold skull and Rivers looking like he had come from the set of Miami Vice), and the constant mosh pits forming in the pumped up crowd.

Wes Borland

This was a fantastic night of music, and Limp Bizkit prove once again, that after 30 years they are still an incredible live act to go and see, as good as they ever have been, continuing to make great music. Catch them on the ‘Loserville’ tour if you can.

Chris