Live Review: Rob Zombie, Korn, Mushroomhead

Cleveland industrial thrashers Mushroomhead got it going early, donning face masks and scaring the shit out of the youngsters at the all ages event. The sold out Big Top was nearing capacity as they finished their set.

Korn walked out to absolute madness and sporting a toothy smile Jonathan Davis was large and in charge before muttering a single word. The set was a nostalgic affair, the boys opting for classics like Freak On A Leash and Blind over the 2011 collaborations with Skrillex, though Prey For Me and Never Never off last year's The Paradigm Shift got a run. The fist-pumps and air-punches from the crowd, the entire crowd, were in perfect unison with Davis. Everything he asked of the crowd was done with unconditional enthusiasm and the atmosphere was huge. The band genuinely appreciates their fans too. Sticking around for five minutes after the set they threw various picks, drumsticks and anything else they found into adoring arms, and expressed as much love as possible with blown kisses and hand gestures.

Rob Zombie set up three thigh-high tables at the front of the stage to stomp across. His drummer's set was raised higher than it had any right to be and with classic movie monsters behind him the spectacle began. Where the Korn set was more about seeing a legendary band play legendary tracks, Rob Zombie felt more like an exploration of a character through a high quality production. Zombie smashed through his own hits, notably Scum Of The Earth and Dragula and still paid homage to his White Zombie roots with More Human Than Human. The true stand-out on the night was the crowd. The atmosphere was contagious and in the middle it was heavy, but everyone looked out for each other – bravo, Sydney.