Just walked out of the Linkin Park show in Paris and as a musical legend (in the making) put it not so long ago “I’m not gonna sleep tonight. I don’t know about you but I’m not.” – spoiler alert, I didn’t.
Well. Might as well write this all down before it fades away to one of the most memorable nights of my life.
There’s so much to say, probably way more that these words will ever convey. I feel raw in every sense of the term. Everything hurts, my voice is seemingly gone forever, my lower back definitely reminds me of my age, and yet, I haven’t felt so happy in a long time. Yeah. That kind of gig people.
A ray of light in the darkness, that’s how that show opened and what an aptly way for this band to come back to us – for haven’t they always been ?
All it took was that first guitar riff, electrising the crowd like no time had passed and none of us aged a day. Jumpstarting our collective heart and letting our voices echo as one like a prayer once more, ready to receive the gift of music we thought long lost :
I wanna feel.
I wanna heal.
Summing up our intention for the night, and in the process maybe theirs too. Music is a two way street and that mutual love only took a few seconds to set in. The energy unleashed in these first notes from the crowd and the band alike made it very clear – we’re definitely somewhere we belong. Ha.That feeling. The best in the world.
Wake up babe, Linkin Park is BACK.
That band has always been for me that insane outlet in which I could pour down any kind of emotions from the comfort of my messy bedroom. I grew up and learnt to deal with my shit – and tidy up thank fuck – but the catharsis those songs bring never left me.
Well, hearing them live took that energy to a whole new level and it felt like screaming into the void at the top of a mountain. I swear that’s a thing. Have you tried it recently? You need it. Trust me. the whole of humanity needs it – especially for the day we’re in. sigh. – And if there’s no mountains around, there might be a Linkin Park gig nearby. See? Easy.
Crawling. Points of authority. Lying from you. New divide. If you had the illusion you’d be able to breathe during that show you’re a fool. Bangers after bangers. Memories after memories. Body is already wrecked, and my mind can’t handle any extra thoughts. A pure moment in time when you just are and nothing else. A soul cleansed by absolute fire and ready to start again From Zero.
That setlist was absolutely pristine, and for any long time Linkin Park fan an absolute dream come true. No words, just pure feelings all the way through the set – should prob text my friend and apologize for nearly breaking her hand a few times. I am honestly not sure how they’re gonna top that one, but I hear new bangers are on the way and with the previews we’ve had so far, that’s absolutely the case.
The new songs work GREAT on stage, true to the legacy of that sound that needs to be heard but more so felt live, for the Linkin Park sound is truly a full body experience.
And what an absolute pleasure to hear 40k people sing along to The Emptiness Machine like it’s been a part of us for years. Maybe it has been. This band are experts at tapping into feelings we’ve all shared at some point. If you were scared you wouldn’t relate to their music in this new era, that song alone proves you wrong. And so is a full venue of fans jumping up and down like they’re trying to tear the whole place down.
To be fair, don’t expect to be in control of your own self during their gigs, the music will work its voodoo and you’ll jump and dance and crush everyone’s feet around you because you have no other choice but to surrender to the compulsion of it all.
And I mean, that’s a full therapy session right there. Where else can you scream and shout at the top of your lungs, kick your feet in excitement, jump around like a bloody devil, and laugh and cry at the same time? And don’t be asked to kindly leave the room because you’re scaring the children? – not based on real events. Maybe.
I’ve tried to understand for a long time how their sound and technicality worked that crazy effect on us all but I’ve given up and at this point, I’d rather stay ignorant – let’s just call it the LP magic.
Enough rambling. Back to the important stuff.
What’s even better than all this and definitely worth noting is that the new songs and the old songs work so great together. For all those worrying about the LP sound, take a freaking listen and whine harder. Yes it’s evolving for sure but their sound DNA is right there. The sequences are seamless. Like the flow of a story still being written. Oh wait… Isn’t that what we all want?
Speaking of new songs, we had the utter privilege to get the live debut of Over Each Other, which like all live debuts made the whole crowd go bonkers – if you think that escalated quickly, wait to hear about the rest of the gig, we’re nowhere close to the top.
A sea of phone screens jumped in front of me in mere seconds but it wasn’t enough for me to let that tiny detail go unnoticed… Emily on the guitar. Louder for those on the back, the whiners are still at it.
EMILY ON THE FUCKING GUITAR.
Dude. You’re making it really hard to not come out of my fangirling retirement seriously.
Fuck it. Welcome to the ‘Is Emily even real?!’ part of this review. I’ll try to keep it short, and most probably fail.
Short answer, yes she is. I could stop right here but where’s the fun in that.
As the brilliantly mistaken youtube auto captioning put it :
So right. I didn’t need any convincing, I’ve been dumbstruck since she first stepped on that stage at the Forum and all I’ve been able to utter since then is WHAT THE FUCK everytime I hear her sing. The screaming. The high notes. That raspy voice. THE VIBES. Lordy. I need a moment. Talent is hot.
Eh. Some people have taste that’s all.
ANYWAYS.
If anyone in that venue still had doubts about it, she easily swept them away by her stage presence and her unreal talent, leaving not the slightest shadow of a doubt that she truly is where she belongs too. And the twinkle in Mike’s eyes when he looks at her from the corner of his eyes like a kid watching Christmas lights turned on for the first time tells me it’s not just us. Those instants that work so well. We get it man. It’s pretty magic indeed.
After reading a few reviews and hearing people’s screams all over social media, I can vouch that all my compatriots fell under her spell last night. BIG TIME. Say goodbye to Duolingo Emily, you’ll have no problems practicing your French in the future (Let’s steer away from this slippery slope shall we).
Jokes aside, she definitely won the whole arena over. And for good reason. There’s enough evidence of what I think of Emily on this site to be grounds for divorce at this point so all I’ll add is –
You’re nailing it. You’re amazing. You’ve got this and we’ve got you. We’re all desperately falling in love with you but really you’re not giving us any chance not to. Take good care of yourself and I hope the guys are treating you well too. I’ll fight em if not. Except Joe. I can’t win that one.
That’ll do. Brb, I’ve got some legal papers to sign.
As the show went on what truly struck me was how much joy was pouring from every corner of that stage. More than the catharsis, more than the memories, it’s that light in their eyes and those smiles on their faces that got me the most emotional. For that was something we thought was gone forever too. They were having so much fun. We were having so much fun. The best feeling of it all is the one you weren’t expecting.
And the second act of the setlist brought its load of fun – and emotions. Waiting for the end spurred the compulsory ‘I don’t know why I’m crying but I need to’, followed by Castle Of Glass just to make extra sure I was properly sobbing. Joe’s solo – you get a WHAT THE FUCK man I swear to god that was mindblowing. I knew I couldn’t win that one. – and Mike’s (and Colin hiiii) absolute MASTERCLASS of what a live perf should be with When They Come For Me/Remember The Name, slapped me so hard on the face that I flew to the other end of the emotions spectrum. Right on time for One Step Closer to make my LIFE, ROCK N ROLL GODS HAVE MERCY WHAT SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION ENGAGED.
At that point in all honesty I was just trying to survive the absolute brilliant trauma of seeing them live. I thought the roller coaster of emotions had taken all its wicked turns but *manic laughter* Oh man, how wrong I was. Entering the collapse act…that name is way too on point.
Lost came next.
I was waiting for it as much as I was dreading it. If I had to pinpoint the exact moment I knew we were all gonna be okay back in September, it would be that one. That version is just pure beauty and spurs another kind of full body experience. You can feel the soft touch of those piano notes skimming your skin, and Emily’s voice reaches for your soul. Chills. Ethereal. A suspended moment in time living in that last note that you never want to end. I don’t know if they aimed for perfection, but they definitely found it.
More tears? obviously. And much more to come. What I’ve done, Leave out all the rest, Friendly fire… I’m not saying I spent half of that show crying – I did – but if you don’t shed a few tears at any given gig you’re doing it wrong anyway.
But it’s My December that caught me by surprise, I really wasn’t expecting it to be my meltdown song. I know it’s a fan favorite, it’s just not mine. And that was one serious meltdown for sure. All it took was a single thought, “Fuck. Chester would love this.” And he would. That truth was enough to send me bawling over the barrier. I’m 100% turned to the future but man we’ve come a long way. Our journey ain’t done yet thankfully, but it’s nice to stop and acknowledge it for an instant too.
Act 4 – Kintsugi. Funny it happened on that act, or maybe it was all planned. I’ll get back to that thought in a minute because I firmly believe that was the best gift of that gig.
Well it was definitely no time to find a place to rest, I’ve misplaced my screamy pants again but I’m sure grateful I had my bouncing ones on. Numb, In The End and Faint back to back got all my cardio work in for the week – everything still hurts and I feel old as hell thanks for asking – and turned me into one dehydrated bitch. Sweaty, teary, slightly delirious, an absolute mess in the midst of the chaos going on – and the happiest I’ve been in years.
Here it is again. The craving that pushes us to go back every time. The peak moment for any music fan. The only drug worth a damn in this world. The joy. The fun. That elated state of bliss you can’t find anywhere else.
The encore was just cherry on top really, high on the music and shooting for the stars. The brightest smile on my face and a heart full of love and gratitude.
We wanted to be part of something and we sure did. And we sure are. Tonight and all the nights to come – that’s a promise.
And I think that’s the gift they left us with too. A promise. A wild hope.
If you’ve been following my shit – you deserve a freaking medal I swear – The setlist itself led us there, expertly threaded with Castle Of Glass from start to finish.
Creation
Collapse
Kintsugi.
The art of resilience. Underlining the scars of a broken object with pure gold to make it whole again – and oh so much more beautiful. Ha.
Maybe that’s their promise for this new era. Maybe that’s the true gift that keeps on giving. Maybe that night, and all the ones ahead of us will be our Kintsugi – and bring us closer to fill the cracks in this Castle of Glass.
I’ll hold onto that for now while I find a place to rest.
Until next time Linkin Park, and
Merci. Merci pour tout.
From Zero is out on November 15th.
