Article & Photos by: Linda Carlson

Cincinnati, OH – It was a busy Saturday night in Cincinnati, with several concerts and sporting events vying for attention.  But the Andrew J Brady Music Center was bustling with fans eager for a little bit of Corey Taylor, who is headlining a hectic solo tour to promote his upcoming second solo album, CMF2, which releases on September 15^th.

Taylor is working something of a split personality concert schedule, working Slipknot and solo tours concurrently.  Just the day before, he had entertained a rousing crowd of crazed Slipknot fans at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival, then boarded a plane for Cincinnati to bring his brighter (maskless) side and personality to the stage for his solo venture.  Taylor was accompanied by former Stone Sour bandmate Christian Martucci (guitar), Zach Throne (guitar), Eliot Lorango (bass) and Dustin Robert (drums).

From the moment he entered the stage, the crowd went wild, and Taylor beamed with a smile that stretched across his face and never left, absorbing the moment and riding its wave.  He is a frontman with a presence that is unrivaled.  Confident, powerful and positive with his fans, he encouraged their rowdiness with F-bombs galore, all delivered with that grin and a twinkle in his eye.

With a freshly shorn curly mohawk and a funky red suit jacket over a black t-shirt and denim, Taylor worked the crowd through well over an hour, fitting acoustic into rousing rock sprinkled with punk and soul.  The band expertly blended new Corey Taylor material with Stone Sour and Slipknot songs:

Post Traumatic Blues
Tumult (Stone Sour song)
Black Eyes Blue
We Are the Rest
Song #3 (Stone Sour song)
Beyond
Before I Forget (Slipknot song)
SpongeBob SquarePants Theme (Painty the Pirate & Kids cover)
Snuff (Slipknot song)
Absolute Zero (Stone Sour song)
Talk Sick
Bother (Stone Sour song)
Through Glass (Stone Sour song)

Encore:
Duality (Slipknot song)
Happy Birthday to You (Mildred J. Hill & Patty Hill cover)
Ace of Spades (Motörhead cover)

Martucci and Throne on guitar were brilliant, delivering a deep collaboration along with solos that were remarkable.  Great showmen!  Lorango and Robert were super, and as a collective, these five men were a spectacle to enjoy.

The show started with Oxymorrons, a hip-hop/rock band from Queens featuring brothers Deee (vocals) and KI (vocals), with Matty Mayz (drums) and Jafe Paulino (bass).  The band’s fusion of rap verses and melodic choruses showcased their versatility.  Their synergy is a marvel to experience.

Deee declared that his goal for the night was to keep his plaid flannel shirt on… but with the heat of their performance, the plaid shirt didn’t quite make it through the entire set.

Next to warm up the crowd had been Wargasm, Great Britain’s electronic rock duo Sam Matlock (vocals) and Milkie Way (guitar), accompanied on tour by Edison Hunter (guitar), Adam Breeze (drums) and Adam Crilly (electronics, vocals).  Matlock enjoyed some crowd-surfing, and Crilly came out from behind the electronics “suitcase” to sing while doing a one-handed somersault.  Not something you see every day, but a shining example of the fun on stage.

Corey Taylor continues touring, so be sure to check for a show near you: https://coreytaylor.com/tour/

Check out more photos of the night’s performances in the image carousel below.