It’s always a fun time seeing shows at the RMA (Riverside Municipal Auditorium). Not only is it a beautiful venue, the relatively small size allows you to see your favorite bands up close and personal. Tonight was no different. There was a stacked lineup of Luna Aura, Wargasm, and Corey Taylor – of Slipknot fame – with his band, CMFT.
At first I didn’t have any idea what CMFT meant; turns out it means “Corey Mutha Fuckin’ Taylor.” Quite fitting indeed.
Before the show had even started, I noticed an inflatable SpongeBob in the pit. I just knew it was going to be a good show!
Starting things off was Luna Aura, a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles. Accompanied by two backup vocalists, Aura and her band got the crowd going right away. Luna Aura was all over the stage and worked the crowd really well; maybe too well! There was a little boy on his dad’s shoulders that was losing his mind for the entire show.
Up next was the band Wargasm, an electronic rock duo that I first photographed on the last Limp Bizkit Still Sucks tour. Front-man Sam Matlock, and front-woman/bass player Milkie Way are a striking duo with endless energy – a photographer’s dream. Milkie Way, a former model turned musician, stuns in her skimpy stage outfits carried with her powerful attitude.
Matlock, often wearing heart-shaped glasses and a tank top, makes good use of the entire stage, and even took a dive into the crowd.
They played part of a Limp Bizkit song mashed up with “Lapdance” by N.E.R.D. that was electrifying. Their keyboard player was also entertaining and did a one-handed cartwheel across the stage as he came out front to sing. The band teased us with the intro to Metallica’s “Fuel,” but made up for it with their most popular social media song, “Spit.”
Wargasm gave yet another explosive performance and I was happy to hear several voices in the crowd saying they were now fans.
As we waited for Taylor’s crew to turn the stage, the gentleman tasked with checking the microphones was being yelled at by fans for him to sing for them. He obliged by singing a series of jingles that the crowd sang along with, including the Oscar Meyer wiener song and the JG Wentworth ad. Everyone had a really good laugh.
Another very cool part of the evening included volunteers selling vinyl records signed by Taylor and the band to raise money for the Shriner’s hospital. Everyone that purchased a record received a raffle ticket to win a guitar signed by Taylor himself. I didn’t end up winning the guitar, but I found $50 on the floor of the pit!
CMFT played a great mix of their music along with Stone Sour and Slipknot songs. Taylor even played the SpongeBob theme song to the guy who had dressed up as famous character. At one point, a fan threw a shirt on the stage and Taylor was very appreciative, saying it was “the shit.” He told the crowd that they were going to play a song that they made the number one rock song in the country two weeks ago and launched into “Beyond.”
Corey Taylor and Christian Martucci were both head banging like crazy, and Martucci paced the stage the entire time as if he was trying to get his steps in for the day. One of my favorite parts was when they went back to 2003 and did Stone Sour’s “Tumult.” It’s a really heavy song that made everyone go crazy.
Taylor had the crowd participate in the performance by singing the lyrics “no way to beat me, no way to win” from “We Are the Rest,” and said they’ve all had their naps, so wake the fuck up and give him some more.
As Taylor and the band began Stone Sour’s “Through Glass,” the crowd chanted “Corey! Corey!” and then sang along with every word. He broke out the acoustic guitar to strip down “Snuff” by Slipknot and as he struck the first chord, the crowd went nuts and he jokingly asked, “Are we friends again California?”
They ended the show with Slipknot’s “Duality,” which was a huge hit with the fans, causing the crowd to go berserk.
Despite the show being cut slightly short due to Taylor’s current recovery from a sinus infection, it was still an outstanding night of music that left fans happy.
