Limp Bizkit [ tickets ] and Korn [ tickets ] are two very loud bands. And while they are often linked, the two don't have much in common besides a shared love of volume and nihilism.

On Tuesday night (11/11), both were on display as the groups played the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles, the second night of their Back 2 Basics Tour.

Unlike Korn, Limp Bizkit owes a great deal of its appeal to hip-hop. The genre informs all aspects of the group's live show, despite monumental walls of distortion and bass. Frontman Fred Durst, now topped with a bleached mohawk, prompts the crowd to wave its arms and sing random song lyrics. Of course, he also incites mini riots in the mosh pit, all while relentlessly leaping across the stage, his knees sucking up into his chest with every thwack of John Otto's snare.

The set began with Limp Bizkit jamming out a simple riff behind a drawn curtain. On "My Generation," the black curtain dropped dramatically to reveal a high-octane band reveling in its own power. By the set's second song, "Break Stuff," Durst was already in the mosh pit. Sitting atop two burly security guards, the singer roared into his microphone as he bent down closer to the kids on the floor.

Singing "My Way," Durst pulled a pair of fans onstage and showed his sweet side, putting his arm around them as he rapped. Bizkit offered nearly all of its hits, including "Mission Impossible," "Counterfeit," and "Nookie." They closed with their cover of George Michael's "Faith."

A surprising--and surprisingly good--cover of Nirvana's "You Know You're Right"--found its way into the set, as well. The band's third cover, however, was not as good. On The Who classic, "Behind Blue Eyes," Durst sang to a pre-recorded instrumental of the song--certainly the lamest moment of the evening.

By the time Korn emerged to play actual music, fans had already witnessed singer Jonathan Davis squaring off against a local radio-station contest winner on an X-Box (the tour's sponsor). After that, more nonsense: three audience members sang karaoke-style to Korn's hit "Freak on a Leash."

When they finally did take the stage, Korn was swimming in an ocean of fog and blood red spotlights. Davis, wearing his signature black Adidas track suit, was hunched over, roaring at the stage floor for much of the show, while his bandmates flopped around from side to side. The band offered tunes from its entire oeuvre, including "Faget," "Here to Stay," and "My Gift to You."

Bassist Fieldy, whose own rap/rock band opened the show, is all funk and business, holding his instrument nearly upright against his sizable midsection. His right hand blurring against the bass strings, Fieldy defines Korn's singular sound. Also impressive was guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, whose braided hair spent more time flying through the air than resting on his shoulders.

Hits "Freak on a Leash," "Blind," and "Got the Life" were each played with end-of-the-world abandon to a roomful of bouncing, elated fans. As Korn's set came to a close, Davis collapsed to the black floor beneath him and whimpered into his microphone like a wounded baby. It was his most dramatic and unguarded moment.

So where Limp Bizkit was campy, Korn was dark; where Durst rapped, Davis rocked. Despite these and other differences, both bands were lucky to have amps that went to 11--and each band used volume to its full potential on Tuesday night.

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