Corey Taylor
An Evening with Corey Taylor
The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
11/23/2011

I’ve kept every ticket stub for every show I’ve ever attended since my first show at age 11.  Over the course of 14 years I’ve attended 48 concerts and 14 festivals.  Never, ever have I attended a show quite like the Corey Taylor acoustic tour aptly titled “A Evening with Corey Taylor”.

Corey is known for his deep lyrics, his soul bearing voice and his appreciation for honesty, whether those he’s being honest about appreciate it or not.  Recently he authored “Seven Deadly Sins” and has taken his book tour on the road, along with his acoustic guitar, his hilarious stories and a promise to his fans of “I won’t lie to you while I’m up here.”

Corey opened his set Wednesday night with a common topic while in Wisconsin, the cold.  And of course, getting old, and how differently the cold affects you when you’re old, and a man.  Stating that ‘they’ should “Give you a book when you’re like six about all these changes that are going to happen” like the dropping of the boys.

He went on to talk about the holidays and his friends attending Thanksgiving at his house several years ago when he proudly cooked his first turkey.  Corey worked the crowd into fits of laughter as he talked about each of his friends and expressed his frustrations as they continued to complain about their families until he lost his cool on them, prompting more laughter from fans as he acted out the evening.  On a more serious note he ended the topic with the statement that, “You may not love the family you’re with, but you’ll die for the family you find over the years.”  Personally, I’m all for Corey going on the road and doing just stand up, this man could give Dennis Leary a run for his money.

The show moved into a reading from Corey’s book.  At this point in the tour he had worked through the whole book and decided to read the ending to the crowd.  He shared with fans that the original idea of an audio book had been thrown out by the publishers.  When Corey shared this with fans at the time that he was writing the book, there was such an overwhelming response and amount of calls demanding the audio version be made that publishers brought it back on the table and confirmed the audio version would be made and read by Corey himself.  He thanked the fans for making it happen but expressed that he “Had no clue how boring THAT would be.”  The room was pin quiet while Corey read except for well placed applause to key moments or funny quips exciting more laughter from fans.

When the book closed the lights came up, with plenty of prompting, and Corey opened the floor for a little Q&A.  After explaining several times to fans the difference between a question, which he would answer, and a request, which he could not fulfill, the questions started flowing.  This is something that not a lot of fans have the opportunity to do, so I hope each and every person at each stop of this tour can truly appreciate the gift they are being given.

After a short potty break “Because in my old age my itty bitty bladder can’t hold as much”, Corey came back on stage, the lights went back down and he broke into song.  Opening with acoustic versions of “Snuff”, “Through the Glass”, “Vermillion part 2″, and a very funny remade version of “Spit It Out” Corey worked the crowd, still joking between songs and throwing out dedications to Slipknot’s late bassist and great friend Paul Gray whom Corey says he knows “Is still with me every time I get on stage.”

Overall this show was funny, with its dedications and in depth discussion of Paul Gray it was heartfelt and a little sappy, and in every way, was one of the best shows I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending.  If you’ve missed this show, I recommend you check out the dates and swing by a show if it comes near you again, this is once in a life time and a must not miss for any fan of Corey Taylor, Slipknot or Stone Sour alike.

A few interesting question and answers that were enjoyed by all whether getting a good laugh or nearly breaking tears:

Q: Do you (Slipknot) really sniff a dead Crow before every show?

Yup, this was confirmed, so the next time someone says it’s a rumor, you can say you heard it here.  Corey Taylor has confirmed that before each Des Moines show in their early days they would huddle and each sniff a dead Crow in a jar provided by Clown.  However, Corey has specified that it was only at the Safari shows in Des Moines and never on the road.  An interesting tidbit; The Crow is now a permanent stage piece at Safari having been cemented into the newest stage built in the club.

Q: What’s your guilty pleasure in terms of music?

The answer; Everything.  Corey informed the crowd that they need to listen to the preshow music at their shows, because it’s coming from his iPod.  So, what do I remember hearing while waiting?  ‘Ghostbusters’

Q: Who in the music business would you punch in the face if you could and why?

After a little thought Corey answered with Cher.  The why; “That’s where it all started.  All that auto tune bullshit.”

Q: What is your hand gesture from?

Corey launched into an explanation about watching Kung Fu theatre from the 80′s and decided to use the hand gesture that the Kung Fu Masters use when dismissing a student.  He states that he was stunned when people started doing it back to him.  He went on to say that he wonders how many people actually know what it means.

Q: When will another CD come out?

Corey has confirmed that Stone Sour is working on a new demo.  He says that it’s “Much darker than ‘Audio Synchrony’.  It’s like ‘The Wall’ meets ‘Dirt’ on steroids.”  As a side note Corey confirmed that Slipknot will also be on tour next summer.

Favorite quotes of the evening not already mentioned:

“It’s not a Stone Sour song asshole, cuz I wrote it for Slipknot!”

“Watching him (Slash) play is like watching someone who isn’t even trying but it’s still fucking great.”  Also on Slash “We’re on stage and I can’t even look at him, I’m standing there trying not to go fan boy.”

“That’s the Wisconsin I want to be inside!…Sorry, I just went somewhere way wrong.”

 Click on thumbnails to enlarge photos of Corey: