1999’s Family Values Tour landed in the Southland at the Anaheim Pond, headed by Limp Bizkit. This was one heck of a show, well worth the price of the ticket and then some. This show was great in spite of some technical difficulties and other tour controversy, including the dismissal of System of a Down. Durst and the boys headed a slick and nicely produced show that was tight, action-packed, entertaining, and just way fun! The timing between acts was not too long, due to a well-laid out stage plan. To keep the audience occupied there were videos (played at every break) of the bands on the bill and parts of Limp Bizkit’s documentary, ‘Poop.’ These were nice to watch and kept everyone reasonably happy while waiting for the next band. Musically, all the bands were pretty much on top of their game.

Staind, having the dubious honor of the early spot, played to less than half of the Pond’s capacity. As often happens for the opening band, people either just weren’t there yet or were still out milling around finding their seats, getting drinks, etc. It was unfortunate for those who missed out because they were killer! They put on quite the stage show, complete with a theme and circus freaks. Staind played well and played hard! It was a real treat for those who were gracious enough to get there on time. Most people knew little about the band except for the one song currently in rotation on our local "alternative" radio station, KROQ. The house was lovin’ them, but it was hard not to, they really worked it up there. Everyone went wild when they played their hit ‘Mudshovel.’ People were singing and screaming along. Their performance really made you want to know more about their music. I bet they sold a few CD’s that night.

Next on the bill was that wacky band some folks love and others love to hate, Primus. By the time they took the stage, the house was pretty full. They pulled off a stronger performance than they did earlier this year at "Ozzfest." Perhaps the indoor venue is a better place to see a band like Primus. The lead singer’s personality and goofy nature really came through. Reaction was mixed in the room. Primus seems to be one of those bands some people really do not like. Perhaps because they are so different from everything that’s out there right now. Some take the bands slogan "Primus Sucks" as gospel truth, and a few people actually fled when they hit the stage. Others seemed to really be enjoying them. Down on the floor the mosh pit was quickly cranked up. Up in the seats some hysterical and spastic Primus fans were flailing wildly while the band played. Their set included their hit songs, ‘Jerry Was a Race Car Driver,’ and ‘Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver.’ By the end of their set, it seemed like they really had the room worked up good.

After Primus, the newest hip-hop super duo hit the stage. Method Man and Redman came out with full on "rapper style" posse in-tow. They had their crew in the photo pit and on the floor with signs advertising the new album (that’s just a little different). They took stage to a surprisingly appreciative and receptive room, proving that Limp Bizkit fans are diverse and open-minded. Looking around you could clearly see a good portion of the audience was "down" with the real hip-hop vibe! It was amazing to see so many white kids getting into it. The rapper duo performed cuts from their new album together, ‘Black Out". The pair of funky impresarios performed verbal gymnastics around each other. They threw down a little true old school rap, and even hit the crowd with a bit of Wu Tang, def-tly delivered by Method Man.

Filter was probably one of the most anticipated performances of the evening (with the obvious exception of the headliners), since their new album ‘Title of Record’ is getting so much buzz, both critically and word on the street. They came on stage and went right into the first song, ‘Welcome to the Fold’ which was the first single on their album. Patrick, along with his band, all long, lean, slick and good looking musicians, were as much about the look as they were about the music. Richard Patrick arrived on stage looking too cool and too hip, all clad in a chocolate brown leather suit. Filter’s stage arrangement was clean and streamlined. There were two small square metal platforms near the front of the stage that Richard used for posing upon like a praying mantis. Patrick and band played a tight, crowd-pleasing set that included highlights like ‘Take a Picture’ and ‘Hey Man, Nice Shot.’ Looking like something of a cross between one of H.R. Giger’s "Aliens" and a character from the film "The Matrix," and sounding somewhere between a supernatural sonic force unleashed from the bottom of hell and the peaceful ecstasy of the tones from an angel’s harp, Richard gave a no-holds-barred performance.

 After another break, the moment of truth had arrived. Limp Bizkit was about to take the stage. Down on the floor you could see the pit doing its pulsating motion, while the mass was constricting to get as close to the stage as possible. You could hear and feel a buzz in the air. When the red-and-white striped curtains parted to reveal a stage, complete with a set that looked like the control room of a starship, the room went wild. The entire mass of people on the floor quickly jolted forward. Every single body in the filled stadium was instantly on it’s feet. Limp Bizkit entered to a screaming arena and went straight into ‘Break Stuff." The song matched the intensity of the crowd. Even before the first syllables left Fred’s mouth, the room was on fire. The smooth rhythmic pulsating of the pit turned to a full-out intense mosh. People seemed to be magically thrust upward into surf position from the first note of Wes’ intense guitar.

These boys were really showing off their stuff. Wes, as usual decked out in one of his signature costume looks, flying all around the stage, frantically pulling powerful chords from his axe . Fred tossing words off his tongue faster than dollars fly at a topless bar. Sam holding things tight with the heavy low end. DJ Lethal up in his side of the twin command post spinning disks to break down, deconstruct and re-connect the tunes. John was the command center counterpart, pounding the hell out of his drums, and was the heart that gave the entity that is the Bizkit its life’s blood. To sum it up they were on….. in full effect!

From start to finish, they kept the audience going. The rap-core kings played most of the songs off of ‘Significant Other,’ and even mixed in a few old tunes. It’s difficult to pick only a few highlights from their performance. People were practically going nuts with every song. Aaron from Staind joined the guys for a song. When they played ‘Counterfeit’ from their first CD ‘Three Dollar Bill, Y’all,’ Fred invited any girl who knew the words to come on stage and sing with him. Some girl made it on the stage only to stare at Fred with the devotion of a crazed stalker, she didn’t know word one. When they played ‘Faith’ everyone sang along, if you can call that singing!

Near the end of the set, Fred asked the crew to get as many girls on stage as possible. The staff collected and deposited as many little babes on stage as they could. Fred must either have a good sense of irony or a sadistic streak, because he had a couple of dozen little hotties on stage shakin’ and wigglin’ their stuff while he did ‘No Sex’ (a song about not lowering your self-worth for the sake of sex). Pauly Shore, who managed to get himself onstage (for the second time that evening), took this as an invitation to score. These girls (I won’t call ‘em bimbos) didn’t even get that they were being made fun of.

The Bizkit pulled one ferocious power punch song after another. Somewhere in the middle of Limp Bizkit’s set, a little mini-tragedy struck. Bassist Sam Rivers hit a technical S.N.A.F.U. and left the stage. Fred tried to keep his cool, he tried to keep the kiddies happy by singing for a while, then gave up and went back stage to straighten things out himself (just like the CEO he is). In the meantime, Wes kept the crowd happy with what was an unplanned highlight of the evening. Wes played and actually sang an entire Metallica song himself. F**K, that boy can play! Durst returned, as well as the bass player, and they continued the set. Fred was still a bit pissed at first, but moved on.

After the little incident with Sam’s bass, they came out and did ‘9 Teen 90 Nine’ Fred did most of the song from the crowd, while surfing and shaking hands. Near the end of the evening, they started to do ‘Nookie,’ when Fred stopped everything and invited Method Man on stage. Together they did the first live performance of ‘N 2 Gether Now.’

Limp Bizkit did ‘Nookie’ for the finale, accompanied with full-on cannon blast, fire, fireworks and all the confetti money could buy. It was totally surreal and was a fitting compliment to the intensity of the song. Bizkit went out in a blaze of fire, and a hale of red gold and sliver confetti.

By Lina Reyes