Family Values Cranks Up the Volume

Big beats and loud guitars are often simply about being reckless and dangerous. And there was much to fuel the moshers swirling amid Saturday’s sold-out crowd for this year’s Family Values tour stop at the Arrowhead Pond: thundering beats, raging guitars and an endless flow of testosterone.

Headlined by Limp Bizkit, Family Values gathered a half-dozen acts to celebrate blunts, babes and bravado with a tough blend of metal and hip-hop that reached both staggering highs and inexplicable lows.

The five-hour concert was a mostly well-paced storm of noise, from the hard rock of Staind and the hyper-throb of Primus to hard core hip-hop of Method Man & Redman.

“For those people who decided not to come,” declared Bizkit singer Fred Durst, “I want you to stick your middle finger right up into the sky!”

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The message was playfully rebellious, but for all the band’s new commercial juice, the first half of Saturday’s set didn’t rock nearly hard enough. When Limp Bizkit hit a solid groove, the sound could be formidable. But the less successful songs suggested the band isn’t a dependable place to turn for the best in either rap or hard rock.

Some technical difficulties midset stopped the show for several minutes. Durst at first suggested that “this might be a good time to do some covers. . . .” But virtually nothing followed. Limp Bizkit was utterly unprepared to keep things moving in the face of technical difficulties, other than to repeatedly blame “the bass tech.” Even some of the true believers were booing.

When the band got things back together, Bizkit finally kicked into high gear, finding real momentum in a duet with rapper Method Man and later with the high-octane hit “Nookie.” At the end of the night, Limp Bizkit filled the room with confetti, apologized for the mistakes and signed off with the slogan: “Be yourself! Don’t change for nobody!”

Earlier, Filter made a spectacular entrance amid explosions, smoke and crimson lights. The Chicago-based act wielded buzz-saw guitars that could coalesce into some taut aggro-melodies. But it was a sound as relentless as it was limited. The hit “Hey Man Nice Shot” made for a powerful anthem, while the new song “Take a Picture” offered more melody but less excitement.

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The team of Method Man & Redman delivered full-throttle rapping, with lots of crotch-grabbing and foot-stomping. But the duo lacked the musical and lyrical clarity that had Ice Cube connecting so deeply on last year’s Family Values tour. Method Man’s role in the Wu Tang Clan and his sheer sales are impressive, but it’s hard to compete with the kind of history and accomplishment that Cube represents.

The duo was supplemented by not only a deejay but also three backup rappers and two guys who handed the front-men towels (a la Elvis). The sound was always loud but too often shapeless, though at its best fed on samples of classic funk and old school hip-hop.

Method Man & Redman did work hard to connect, taking turns crowd surfing and busting rhymes while wading into the audience, before making their exit with peace signs fittingly held high.

Like last year’s inaugural Family Values tour, which was spearheaded by Korn, this edition was both rousing and musically uneven. But there were memorable moments, suggesting that this combination of hard-rock, rap and a euphoric young audience is a new tradition worth keeping.