Limp Bizkit to Play Dallas Amid Irony-Fueled Comeback. Is the Tank Running on Empty?

Four years ago, we correctly predicted that 2000s nostalgia was looming ominously over the Vertical Horizon.

Not that we were clairvoyant or anything. That prediction was a product of basic syllogistic succession: If there was 1970s nostalgia in the 1990s, 1980s nostalgia in the 2000s and 1990s nostalgia in the 2010s, it stands to reason that there would be 2000s nostalgia in the 2020s. That was the modest extent of our reasoning, but we’ll gladly pretend to do psychic readings at Caesar’s Palace for $50,000 per night if our prediction impressed you.

In fact, here’s a sample psychic reading: Before too long, the recent trend of nu-metal nostalgia stemming from this overarching 2000s nostalgia will soon dissipate from the public consciousness. Before that happens, you can still ride the residual nu-metal shockwave on Aug. 13 when Limp Bizkit plays at Dos Equis Pavilion.

This is something of a victory lap for the Floridian rap-metal hate magnets, as their 2022 set at Lollapalooza heated up the iron just in time for an arena tour that made its way through Madison Square Garden. Shortly thereafter, they embraced a new identity as “nu metal cowboys,” complete with vocalist Fred Durst wearing a cowboy hat.

The antics continued well into this year. On Sunday, the band was joined by surprise guest Ed Sheeran for a cover of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” at Dutch festival Pinkpop; the 1971 single has been a live staple for Limp Bizkit since they first covered it in 2003.

Last month, Durst also made an appearance in an A24 film called I Saw the TV Glow, which has been among the most critically successful independent and LGBTQ+ films of late. This would seem unlikely but for the fact that Durst has previously directed movies starring John Travolta, Ice Cube and Jesse Eisenberg.

Film bona fides notwithstanding, the recent reappraisal of Limp Bizkit has both ironic and sincere tones. Gone are the days when making jokes or hurling vitriol at the band would get an overwhelmingly positive response. Hell, even Zakk Wylde stopped saying “Fuck Fred Durst” at shows and became friends with “Father Fred” in later years.

Speaking of “ironic and sincere,” that perfectly sums up the opening acts for their Dallas show in August. On one hand, we have rapper BONES, who is comparable to SpaceGhostPurpp and Suicideboys, and N8NOFACE, an experimental rapper who has lately coursed along a more post-punk trajectory. It’s debatable whether Jody Highroller himself, Riff Raff, was an ironic lineup addition, but indisputably ironic is the addition of Corey Feldman (whose album Angelic 2 the Core we called “the A Love Supreme of terrible albums”).

With that, the irony is palpable.

The joke will surely get old soon, and perhaps some think it already is old, but Durst is still laughing all the way to the bank — and if I Saw the TV Glow becomes a contender, he may be laughing all the way to the Golden Globes. But not before he works “Golden Globes” into a sex pun for the next Limp Bizkit album.