The Entire Story - The Anger Management Tour

Contributing Editor Christopher O'Connor reports:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. � Rapper Eminem and rap-rock acts Limp Bizkit and Papa
Roach kicked off their ode to commercially viable vitriol, the so-called Anger Management
Tour, on Thursday at the Continental Airlines Arena by rumbling through hard-edged sets
and flashing some surprisingly high production values in the process.
Limp Bizkit and Eminem, who've each sold millions of records, took the tour name to
heart at various points, launching into diatribes against the pop stars they loathe. All
parties used the f-word all night.
"Christina Aguilera is a f---ing bitch!" Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, dressed in his
trademark khaki shorts and red baseball cap, screamed halfway through the band's
deviant anthem "Break Stuff."
Durst � who performed a snippet of the band's song "Full Nelson" with Aguilera at the
MTV Video Music Awards last month � accused the teen pop singer of "talking sh--" in the
weeks since that onstage collaboration. Fans near the front of the stage thrashed wildly
throughout the song � and the set, for that matter.
Eminem offered a vulgar parody of pop icons *NSync. Joined by members of his group
D-12, Eminem and his groupmates proceeded to exaggerate *NSync's hyperkinetic dance
steps. Eminem also blasted fellow rapper Everlast, whom he accused of dissing him
several times in the past year. Eminem recently released the song "I Remember," a
battle-rap against Everlast, as the B-side to the D-12 single "I Shit on You."
Pyrotechnic Bizkit
Ironically, the stage design and special effects the hardcore artists unveiled rivaled those
of their cotton-candy counterparts. They even used an enormous red curtain to conceal
the stage between sets. Limp Bizkit in particular went to the extreme � a robotic torso,
which resembled something from a Japanese sci-fi cartoon, dominated their set.
Drummer John Otto and DJ Lethal performed in raised notches under the robot's arms.
Smaller robot fixtures sat on the sides. Green and purple laser lights emanated from the
prop's eyes. Durst, guitarist Wes Borland and bassist Sam Rivers stood in front of the
contraption. Borland wore garish face paint and black contact lenses.
The band brought out a troop of four female dancers � dressed, Durst-like, in red
baseball caps, khakis and cut-off white T-shirts � to boogie to "Rollin' " () and "Nookie."
"Rollin' " is the first single off the band's album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored
Water, which was released Tuesday. The crowd enthusiastically shouted the song's catchy
hook and mimicked the dancers' steering-wheel hand motions.
Limp Bizkit also didn't disappoint in the pyrotechnics department. Fireworks went off
throughout the performance, with flames shooting up from the floor and from jets at
various points on the robot. Most spectacularly, fireworks above the stage lit and
exploded to the beat during "Take a Look Around" (), the band's take on the "Mission:
Impossible" theme that was used in this past summer's "Mission: Impossible 2."
Los Angeles rapper Xzibit joined Durst during Limp Bizkit's set for "Getcha Groove On," a
Hot Dog Flavored Water track.
"I thought it was good they brought the hip-hop and the rock together," said Christian
LaGotteria, a 17-year-old fan from Bergen, N.J., who said that he took a while to get into
Limp Bizkit's new album, but it grew on him. Others, he said, should let it do likewise.
"The crowd wasn't into the new stuff as much," LaGotteria said. "After the first few dates
on the tour, when people have had a chance to listen to it, it'll get crazy."
Durst didn't seem to pick up on any dimmed enthusiasm. "There's a great vibe in the air,"
he shouted at one point. "What a great f---ing crowd!" ...