Review of The Urge at the Ranch Bowl Jan. 2 & 3 (Omaha)
Night One
Well, these shows were not exactly what I expected. I went the first night and met a couple of my friends there. We got in and were rather upset about the turnout. Usually, The Urge sells out the shows when they come to Omaha. This night though, the Orange Bowl was on, so all the Nebraska fans were watching that instead of being at what turned out to be one crazy show.
The first band was called Slipknot. We were wondering what to expect from them, but nothing could prepare us for what we got. Their set started with a distorted version of the Grinch song playing. Then after some great sampling effects, they took the stage. The band's eight members were all wearing Halloween masks. They started playing and sounded somewhat Death Metal at first. They then changed to many other styles. At this time, there was about 50 to 75 people inside. Of those people, only about eight of us were giving them respect. At one point, the clown (fuck, I forgot his name), came out into the pit with us with a mic and did backup vocals while rolling around on the floor. Not long after, their set was over.
We all went outside and talked to the guys from Slipknot. We didn't want to see the next band, Clever. We found out that Slipknot is from Des Moines, Iowa. They just chilled with us for as long as we wanted to talk. They then invited us to a show in Des Moines on Jan. 31. My friends and I are all going (that will be the next review from me).
The Urge was about to hit the stage, so we all went in. The Urge was good, but after seeing them as much as I have, that's all it can be. Don't get me wrong, I love this band, but Slipknot was just too good. The Urge played their usual set, and some new stuff. Speaking of new stuff, their new album will be out in March. The show ended with Steve inviting the other two bands on stage to sing "It's Getting Hectic". After that the set was over and Steve said he'd see us all the next night.
Steve is a really cool guy, he stood outside and talked with my friends and I for a good two hours. He told us Slipknot was playing the next night too. After hearing that, we were all very happy.
Night Two
This show was pretty much the same as the first night, only Old Boy Network (ugh) was the local band to play. Slipknot got a couple of my friends in the guest list because they couldn't afford a ticket to both nights. Once again, slipknot was bad-ass. This time thew show was sold out. After Slipknot, we chilled with them again. I even missed most of The Urge, but I still saw a good portion of their set.
After the show, Slipknot gave us their backstage passes and told to come to their hotel room to party with them. That was fun. we just chilled, drank, and had fun. I left at 4:00 in the morning, because I had to some sleep for work in the moring. But Corey, the singer, told my us that when we come to the Des Moines show, that he doesn't want us to stay at a hotel. Instead he's letting us chill at his pad. I must tell you all, Slipknot is the most down to earth band in the world. Their shows are crazy, but on a personal level, they're great.
Rating: Night One: 10 (because of Slipknot and how cool Steve was)
Night Two: 10 (because of Slipknot)