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NEWS : STORIES
PORTLAND, Ore. — Though Stone Temple Pilots put in a one-time-only headlining performance at Saturday's Tattoo the Earth tour kickoff, the masked madmen of Slipknot
Billed as the "Rock and Ink Tour," the festival features a lineup of well-known and underground metal acts while showcasing tattoo artists, piercing parlors and body-art innovators from around the country. Saturday's show at the Portland Meadows amphitheater coincided with radio station KUFO-FM's annual Rockfest event, which explains how mainstream rockers STP ended up playing alongside such names as Sepultura and Hatebreed. By the time Stone Temple Pilots began their greatest-hits set at the end of the evening, many concertgoers were already headed for the exits. Opening with "Crackerman," from their 1992 debut Core, singer Scott Weiland and company appeared in command from the get-go. As the sun set, fans sang along to such hits as "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song" (RealAudio excerpt) as well as material from the group's 1999 disc No. 4. Just before STP, Slipknot's hour-long set began with a skipping record that finally settled on the word "Satan" before the band leaped onstage. Wearing industrial coveralls and various horrific homemade masks, the nine bandmembers — who prefer to be referred to by number instead of by name — were met with a hearty roar as they tore through material from their self-titled 1999 debut. As vocalist Corey Taylor (a.k.a. "8") began singing the foreboding intro to their hit "Wait and Bleed" (RealAudio excerpt), the tattooed, sunburned crowd erupted; some braved the dusty hurricane of the mosh pit, while others crowd-surfed or sang along. Many wore Slipknot T-shirts or fashioned their own masks to demonstrate their allegiance to the band. "I need you all!" Taylor bellowed between songs. "I need all of my f---in' friends in Portland right now!" and the band launched into "Spit It Out" (RealAudio excerpt), another dense, twisted frenzy of power chords, sampled drum loops and lyrical violence. Only Slayer rivaled Slipknot in fan anticipation. Slayer Fanatics "I'm here to see Slayer, and Slayer only. I'm leaving as soon as they're done," Portland resident John Pritchard, 26, said. "I can't believe they're not headlining." Despite not being tabbed as the main event, Slayer were just that for many of the older (25- to 30-year-old) fans in attendance. Opening with the seething "Mandatory Suicide" (RealAudio excerpt), off 1988's South of Heaven, Slayer showed why they've been able to sustain a nearly two-decade career of recording and touring. The lightning-fast leads of guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, combined with the sadistic snarl of frontman Tom Araya, delighted fans. Punctuated by the brutal double-bass drumming of Paul Bostaph, Slayer unleashed a set that included such classics as "War Ensemble," "Dead Skin Mask," "Angel of Death" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Chemical Warfare." Though their performance was marred by poor sound, Araya seemed in good spirits. "Thanks, man. I'm sure we'll see you next year with a new record," he told the crowd. "I haven't seen them for six years, since the Divine Intervention tour," said fan Eli Johnson, 29, of Gresham, Ore. "They haven't lost a thing." Little Ink At Opener But aside from the music, the Tattoo the Earth tour is also meant to give fans an opportunity to meet and be tattooed by well-known tattoo artists, such as Paul Booth, famed for his highly detailed images of evil creatures. Booth, who has an online gallery at www.darkimages.com, is designing the cover of the next Slayer album and has tattooed such artists as Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera. "I've always wanted to see a merging of art — body art and music art," Booth said. As fans lined up to look at Booth's work, they were disappointed to learn that he would not be tattooing that day. Oregon law prohibits out-of-state artists to practice without an in-state license. While there were numerous tattoo artists on hand, Portland's 21st Century Tattoo was the sole studio that was allowed to ink showgoers. But the music was enough to keep most fans happy. Nashville Pussy came out smoking, playing material from their recently released High as Hell. Although fire-breathing bassist Corey Parks is on a leave of absence, the equally alluring Tracy Almazon of New York rockers Helldorado was a more than suitable replacement. Hed(pe) warmed up the crowd with a psychotic hybrid of hip-hop and metal before upstart rockers Sevendust took the stage and launched into songs from their latest, Home (1999). As a 10-foot-high silver name tag swayed in the rafters, vocalist Lajon Witherspoon's soulful howl electrified the beer-fueled throng at the main stage. Brazilian speedcore grinders Sepultura also turned in a massive set, as new vocalist Derrick Green tried to live up to the legacy of former frontman Max Cavalera (now with Soulfly) on numbers from Chaos A.D. (1993), Roots (1996) and Arise (1991), while also singing songs from his tenure (1998's Against and the forthcoming Nation). The Tattoo the Earth festival moves on to Burcham Park in Lawrence, Kan., on Tuesday.
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