Dark clothing, bad haircuts, face piercings… It could only be a rock concert.
On January 23, world-famous rock band Linkin Park held a concert at the Philips Arena in Atlanta to celebrate the release of their most recent album, A Thousand Suns.
Atlanta was but one of the many stops along their nationwide tour, rightfully titled the A Thousand Suns World Tour 2011.
Linkin Park consists of lead vocalist Chester Bennington, supporting vocalist/rapper Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, drummer Rob Bourdon, bassist Dave “Phoenix” Farrell, and DJ Joe Hahn. They are a “nu metal” band who has been a massive success since the release of their debut album, Hybrid Theory, in 2000. With huge hits such as “One Step Closer” and “Bleed it Out,” chances are good that you have experienced Linkin Park in one way or another.
The concert started like any other: people filing into their seats, arms full of ridiculously overpriced food and drink, talking in excited voices about how much they love Linkin Park and debating who is a bigger fan.
I was lucky enough to obtain floor tickets, standing mere feet from the stage. Linkin Park has been my favorite band for almost ten years; there was no other viewing option.
The show was scheduled to begin at 7 PM, and it promptly began at 7 without missing a beat. The first band to take the stage was a small British band called Does it Offend You, Yeah? Why this band was even allowed to share the same breathing room as Linkin Park is a mystery that will never be explained. Their performance was as awful as their name. Every single one of their songs was identical, which is a crippling disability when all of the songs are terrible.
At one point during the performance, the lead singer accidentally knocked his keyboard off of its stand, breaking it. The audience, otherwise known as the “poor victims,” passed the time by texting their friends, laughing at the band and shouting vulgar (though completely warranted) remarks at the band. The obligatory clapping as they exited the stage was laughably fake.
The second band to precede Linkin Park was another British rock band called Pendulum that was significantly better than its predecessor. Their performance was met with a good amount of positive feedback from the audience, with cheers and “devil horns” displayed throughout. Their songs (which I had never heard before) were typical hard rock; nothing new, but still enjoyable.
The major complaint about Pendulum is (what I can only assume was meant to be) their lead singer. I say this because the lead guitarist was doing the majority of the center-stage singing, while the man who played no other instrument and only sang a few lyrics danced and jumped around the stage like a child. This was amusing at first, but it quickly grew old; by the time their performance was over, I was praying that one of his jumps would result in bodily harm.
And then, the moment the entire audience had been waiting for: Linkin Park took the stage. The torment of the previous two bands was instantly made up for by Linkin Park’s unbelievable performance. Comprised of a very pleasing mixture of some of their biggest hits and their newest material, the entire show appealed equally to both new and old LP fans.
While the entire show was nothing less than fantastic, there were several very memorable performances. The acoustic song “The Messenger,” the only acoustic song on any of Linkin Park’s studio albums, was performed beautifully, and was a serious departure in tone from the rest of the show.
“Faint,” known to LP fans as one of their most fun, intense songs, was met with elated screams and cheers from the audience, followed by almost everyone on the floor (myself included) bouncing with the beat of the song.
One of Linkin Park’s most recent hits, “Bleed it Out,” has been a frequent show-ender for the band since its creation. They often perform an extended version of the song to close their live shows, much to the delight of the audience. This show was no different; intermingled with the rest of the song were verses from two of their other songs, “Burning in the Skies” and “A Place for My Head.” Not only was this concept very original, it was unexpected and highly enjoyable.
Linkin Park’s A Thousand Suns World Tour 2011 was a definite high note for the band, further reinforcing them as one of rock music’s current heavy hitters. After 11 years of success, the rock community can only hope that they keep releasing hit albums and performing shows as amazing as this tour.
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