Concert Review: Stone Sour at Sokol Auditorium

Corey Taylor at Sokol Auditorium. Photo credit: Robert A. Chadwick

REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine

Stone Sour rolled into town Sunday, September 24, 2017, with Steel Panther and the Cherry Bombs. It was a sold out show at Sokol Auditorium and a good one. Before the tour started, there was some brand synergy going on between Stone Sour and Steel Panther, with both band guest appearing in one another’s videos, so that made the fans really excited about the tour.

Cherry Bombs opened up the show. They are a rock n’ roll burlesque group from Atlanta, GA. The performed choreographed routines to rock and metal songs. They reminded of Little Miss Nasty, who I saw with In This Moment in August. It almost seems there is a trend happening with these rock and roll burlesque groups filling in where there are usually is an opener with not a huge following, but a moderate one. I think this one was more fun to watch. During one of their routines, they brought out a handheld welder to use on their belt and sparklers flew off the stage, which is a very unique way to utilize pyro in a non-arena type venue. One of the dancers sang Danzig’s “Twist of Cain”, always a crowd pleaser. I was also a fan of the acrobatic pole dancing. It was very unique and original. Even though I would’ve liked another opening band, the Cherry Bombs proved that they can be still entertaining without performing actual music.

Steel Panther was the direct support. I’ve been dying to see Steel Panther for a while, so I was pleased that they were on the bill, as this was their first time playing Nebraska. Think 80s glam metal, but with dirtier and sleazier lyrics. They opened up with “Death To All But Metal”. I love their wise crack attitude they have onstage. They’re like comedians that happen to play music, kinda the same vein as Tenacious D. They just put out a new album called, Lower the Bar, performing a couple songs off that album, including “Wasted Too Much Time”. Another thing they do live is to invite women up onstage to help them out. They invited this one woman onstage during “Girl from Oklahoma”. It was quite funny to watch the interplay between her and Michael Starr, singer. Then right after that, they invited as many women as they could be onstage for “17 Girls in a Row”. They performed an amazing set and I would totally recommend seeing them if you are in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, and they are in town.

Finally, it was the boys from Iowa, Stone Sour, turn to hit the stage. I bought the meet and greet package and got to meet them before the show. They were so cool and awesome to meet. They are on tour in support of their latest album, Hydrograd, which is a phenomenal album you should check out. They opened up with the first track off that album, “Taipei Person / Allah Tea”. Corey Taylor is one of the greatest frontmen of all time, and that night was no exception. I was surprised that they played quite a few materials from their self-titled first album, as they wanted to expand their live catalog of material. It was also nice to see Christian Martucci, lead guitarist, to really take over that lead guitar spot. He is an excellent addition to the band, always keeping it fresh. The crowd sang along, had a good time. I could really tell they love playing Omaha by how many fans enjoying the show. My favorite part of their set was the last song they played, “Fabuless”, where, if you have seen the music, they brought out five inflatable tube men flying about. What an amazing show by Stone Sour, such true musicians and always giving it 110% for their fans.

Stone Sour

Steel Panther

Cherry Bombs

All photos are © 2017 Robert Chadwick Photography.