WINNIPEG -- No matter how hard your dad boxed your ears for staying out late after the Korn concert, it probably didn't even hurt.

The California-based purveyors of so-called cathartic funk-metal pummeled fans with enough eardrum-numbing super-low-end bass to ensure that nobody, but nobody, walked out of the Arena on Monday night with their brains intact.

Presumably, the idea behind this type of music (the word should be used loosely in this context) is not to provide some boring old danceable joy but to give you a chance to tear your too-anger-filled head off and toss it in the dumpster -- assuming that's your concept of entertainment.

There's really no need to put down the crowd, though, just because the bulk of them seemed to be thrilled to let bassist Fieldy Snuts severely damage their eardrums. The issue of what passes for entertainment is cause for concern, however, when you consider the bands weren't half as enjoyable as the obnoxious animated films and the live video camera's search for boobies that regaled the big screen during the soothing intermission that separated Korn from opening acts Papa Roach and Powerman 5000.

Another bit of entertainment-related oddness to the low-end extravaganza was mortician-turned-rock-singer Jonathon Davis's spin on the bagpipes midway through Korn's 75-minute show. Although this wee tune was evidently the hit of the evening (and a refreshing change from the noises that preceded it), it's hard to figure out just how the pipes figure into the band's so-called "cathartic funk-metal." Mind you, there didn't seem to be anything particularly funky or cathartic about any of the rest of the show either. The whole thing was just a relentless, mind-numbing, chest-rattling grind that went absolutely nowhere.

All in all, the experience reeked of excessive darkness, anger and splitting headaches. If there was catharsis in there somewhere, its screams for help fell on deaf ears.

JAM! Rating: 1.5 out of 5