July 26 2024 with special guest Corey Feldman, Bethel Woods NY Review and photos by Ryan O’Malley
Like many things from the era, the music of the 1990’s has managed to persevere and three decades later is finding new fans due to many of the acts from the decade reemerging and hitting the road over recent years. Whether you loved them or hated them in the 90’s – there really was no middle ground – that four piece rock-rap act that spearheaded the genre, Limp Bizkit, has been traveling the country for several years now on tours that have mostly been well-received.
Until 2024.
Stopping by the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y. on June 26, Limp Bizkit headlined this year’s outing, the appropriately titled “Loserville 2024.” However abysmal most of the evening was, the lone bright light was that of Limp Bizkit, who we’ll get to later. Bizkit themselves were the undeniable champions of the night, but there may be an asterisk next to their name when discussing the entire lineup. The asterisk would simply be to alert people that Bizkit put together this lineup, including the first act of the evening, Corey Feldman. That’s correct, the same Corey Feldman who was a box office draw in movies from the 1980’s like “The Goonies,” “Stand By Me,” “Gremlins” and “The Lost Boys.”
Check out the gallery of photos of Corey Feldman from this night here.
Unfortunately for Feldman, he has been known to dabble in music for the last few decades, and – to reference one of his movies – giving him a microphone is like giving water to a Gremlin. Walking out on the stage dressed in a black sequin outfit, Feldman looked remarkably good for someone who has had very public battles with substance abuse and mental issues. That would be where the compliments end. Backed by a live band, Feldman kicked off his set with “Comeback King,” a self-reflective number that talks about Feldman bouncing back and redeeming himself. If you consider being on stage first out of four acts, when ¾ of the amphitheater was still arriving yet those in attendance were scratching their heads wondering how this train hasn’t derailed yet “bouncing back.”
It’s not even just the music that was bad. When Feldman began to sing, you wanted to be Sloth from “The Goonies” when he was locked in the basement, away from any noise including music. Maybe it was the decades of substance abuse, or the fact that he just tried too hard, but Feldman’s voice sounded like he swallowed gravel before taking the stage. Throughout numerous costume changes (a rarity in a 30 minute set), the outfits did little in trying to captivate the crowd, many of whom were seen leaving the seating area until the conclusion of the performance. Sure there were songs like “Ascension Millennium,” and “Go 4 It!,” but the highlight of the set was just being able to take everything in. You couldn’t help but wonder “is this it? Is this where they implode and Corey has a breakdown?” But somehow they didn’t. They made it through the set and finally left the stage. If Feldman was setting box office records in the 80’s, he can rest assured that he can still set records in 2024: for the worst performance of the year.
Following up Feldman’s calamity would seem fairly easy for any artist. However, if that artist is named N8NOFACE, it would be the only time where an artist failed to regain the audience’s attention. In what can best be described as synth-punk-new wave, N8NOFACE marched back and forth across the Bethel Woods stage and would sometimes shout or snarl out mostly unintelligible, aggressive lyrics. When not smashing away on a synthesizer, N8NOFACE would randomly hit himself in his head while barking out verses of his songs; at one point tying the microphone cable around his neck and smiling. His music is on the shorter side, typically clocking in around two minutes or less, and the stage show is the definition of performance art. But N8NOFACE is definitely for a unique crowd and maybe having him follow Feldman wasn’t the best lineup call.
Also on the bill was Bones featuring Xavier Wulf and Eddy Baker. Bones is a 30 year old rapper who has gained notoriety as part of the rap collective TeamSESH and for popularizing a new style of rap called emo rap. Once again, probably a great act in the right capacity, but opening for Limp Bizkit isn’t it.
Which brings us to the tour’s headliner, Limp Bizkit? First things first: Bizkit deserves credit for maintaining the same lineup for nearly 30 years. Vocalist Fred Durst, complete with cargo shorts, a backwards hat, and a gray beard that lets you know he’s no longer the young kid who crowd surfed on plywood at Woodstock 1999, sounded as good as ever on the opening number “Out of Style,” which was a tour debut, and “Rollin.’” Compared to the three previous acts Durst sounded like Pavarotti, but even in his own right, his angsty, nasally voice really has held up rather impressively over the years.
For a band that can easily just go through the motions while being on stage, Limp Bizkit still brings a ton of energy to their live shows. Mix that in with a crowd who is finally up and screaming after three acts of various levels of torture, it made the previous three hours seem worth it. Guitarist Wes Borland, complete with a mask that looked like something out of Star Wars, wailed on his Jackson guitar and kicked into the bombastic rocker, “Break Stuff.” Typically reserved for the end of their shows, the song set off a surge of energy from the crowd, who luckily were in seats rather than a general admission pit.
Limp Bizkit has become known for basically being a parody of themselves on stage and when you’re watching them on stage in 20224 singing about doing things “My Way” then doing it for the “Nookie,” it’s kind of hard to not chuckle at nearly 60 year old men belting them out on stage. Not many people ever thought that Limp Bizkit’s music would hold up 30 years later, let alone be headlining amphitheater shows, but here we are. The rest of the set was full of tight, upbeat numbers like their cover of George Michael’s “Faith” and a brief ode to Pantera with a quick snippet of “Walk” before bringing out the opening acts for a second run through “Break Stuff” to close the night. Yes, they did the same song twice. Why? Probably for the same reason they brought Corey Feldman on the road: because they can.
As his been the case over the last few years, Limp Bizkit put on a solid, entertaining show that had everyone in attendance talking admirably, but if Bizkit really wants to put on a tour full of good music, they really need to rethink their opening acts because this year’s tour really did feel like Loserville.
More photos of this night are in the gallery by Ryan O’Malley here.
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