Live Review: Limp Bizkit, Of Mice & Men

Surrounded by mohawks, headbangers and studded clothing, Of Mice & Men take the stage with high spirits and get straight down to business belting out recent release Defy.

The setlist is filled with a majority of tracks off their new album and the crowd remained rather tame. Maybe an attempt to shift focus from their old lead singer? Possibly. Nevertheless, a cover of Pink Floyd classic Money and 2011 track The Depths lifts the energy and takes the entire crowd to the ground for the huge breakdown.

Dual wielding beers, and sprinting down the hill to make it in time for the grand entrance, energy levels are high, and the whiff of nostalgia is strong on this fine Tuesday night. Shoulder-to-shoulder, red snapback-to-red snapback, it was made evident that this set was going to be full of sweaty pits, the type on the ground and the type that make their way uncomfortably to your face.

The stage is brightly lit with an insane clown backdrop, but besides that, is very basic. Though who needs stage decor when the very eccentric, yet very rock'n'roll Wes Borland is painted head-to-toe in black and white, topped up with all black contacts. The words "keep on rollin' baby" echo throughout the whole venue as frontman Fred Durst takes control of the crowd, filling everyone with angst, telling us what to yell and telling us when to flip off the world. This band made it feel like 2002 again. Looking like a '90s throwback themselves, Limp Bizkit went on to play every crowd pleaser there was, including a pop-drenched yet very 'Durst' cover of George Michael hit, Faith. Keeping it relatively PG, Durst welcomed and praised not only Brisbane but all the Gold Coast fans that made the trek, saying "I love the Gold Coast! I lost my virginity there… Four times." Oh Fred, you little minx.

Eat You Alive, My Generation, My Way - it was classic after classic. It was then time to simmer the crowd down with slow burner Behind Blue Eyes, which sees the crowd singing the majority of the vocals, and is surprisingly chilling, a word that should not be associated with Limp Bizkit. Spirits are then raised for a thrashing one-minute performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit that then saw the performance ending with wild (and absolutely terrifying to be in the crowd for) tracks Break Stuff and Take A Look Around.

After being around for over 20 years, there is no denying that Durst can still work a crowd into a frenzy, Wes Borland can shred while looking scary as shit, and Limp Bizkit are still a high energy, fun band that can sell out a show with their turn-of-the-Millennium bangers.