Bought a ticket for a show in Berlin and I hope to win M&G again even though chances are slim because I won it for a show in Hungary. Win it or not I’m super excited
Hey Guys. Haven't posted in a little while. Not sure if anyone will read this. Went to the gig in London tonight. Was expecting a good time but didn't have the expectation of enjoying myself as much as I did at my only LP gig in London, a couple weeks before Chester's passing. To all those who have seen one of Mike's solo shows, this may be old news. But I am gobsmacked at how well Mike managed to blend the old with the new, playing amazing song after amazing song, interacting with the public so many times, making us smile, making us cry. We were very lucky, as he played One More Light + Battle Symphony + Nobody can save me. Everything put together created an evening that made one forget about anything negative, and bathe in musical bliss . Mike, if you ever read these posts - you are a hero. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have given us and keep giving to us. May your fire never burn out. Here's to many more songs that I hope to sing at the top of my lungs at your concerts. PS: I attached a photo I took from the last song, Running from my shadow. Thought it showed well just how much Mike seemed to enjoy himself.
Chiming in. I was at the Paris show on Saturday. While the London show seemed to have been one for the books, I'm pleased to report we also had a total blast in Paris the night before. I wanted to post the following text here on LPA, but did not find any active thread so I ended up posting it on LPLive instead. For posterity I'll include it again here if nobody minds. ============= I was at the show yesterday. What a wonderful experience ! In random order, my personal highlights : - First, a shout out to the opening act, Coco Bans. I did not know them at all, and for me they were the first opening act ever that I genuinely enjoyed during their set (usually at concerts I just grumpily wait for the main act to begin, thinking about how useless opening acts are). I actually went to to the merch booth to buy their EP, which is a first for me. - Mike actually invited Allison (the singer from Coco Bans) back on stage to perform Make It Up as I Go. The rendition of the song was absolutely stellar, the best surprise of the show for me. She (almost) stole the show, and the back and forth between her and Mike actually reminded of the back and forth with Chester back in the old days. If I'm allowed a digression, this performance made me more confident in a thought I've had for a while, that I would like a new singer for Linkin Park to be female. It would be meaningful as LP was never macho, it would make sense musically as a female singer would be more natural at reaching the higher range of Chester vocals, and Mike have proven times and time again that he could take the lower range when necessary. End of digression. - I loved how the show was upbeat overall. Mike was super talkative which I appreciated a lot, at times it almost felt like stand up comedy. Fans near the stage throwed a Pikachu hat at him (among other things !), and he wore it during a couple songs after that. The overall feeling of the night was very light-hearted, which was no easy feat given the context. - Going in, I feared the homage part about Chester would feel weird, but the crowd was absolutely wonderful during it. We sang In the End first, and on a whim, Mike decided to play Numb next as he seemed taken aback by the fervor of the audience (it did not feel planned, and the song was not on the setlist). Everybody just sang really well, it sounded more like a choir than a rock crowd. I thought it would be cheesy but it was one of the most emotional rendition of Numb I've heard since many years. I'm grateful to have been part of it. - I listened to the Fort Minor album in the morning, which I hadn't listened to for a few years. I forgot how much I loved this album, and I was super happy that Mike played quite a few songs (High Road and In Stereo were both fantastic) off of that record. - Overall I loved the setlist, which borrowed seamlessly from Post-Traumatic, Fort Minor and LP. It really showed how consistent Mike has always been as a songwriter. But I really feel the concert was a whole experience, and merely reading the setlist doesn't do justice to what happened here. For those of you that did not catch the tour yet, I hope you will ! - I want to kick myself for not having being aware of the #YouMakeUsProud flashmob going in, but at least it made the impact on me greater. Well played, LP fans ! Overall this was a concert tailor-made for the superfans that we are, and I am so grateful to have been part of it. Thank you for reading.
Aw, I love watching openers, part of the excitement of a show for me - also because I feel really empathetic, it's nerve-wracking to play for a crowd that doesn't care about you
Yeah I always try to bop along to opening acts. I remember not particularly liking Don Broco's material when I checked them out before Mike's concert last fall, but when they played live, I was fully jamming along to the music. (I think I'm kinda just more easy going and more open at concerts tho ) It's nice to see everyone's been loving these recent shows. Ik I had a great time at the show in Maryland, but dang I'm a bit jealous at some of the stuff he's been playing in this tour
Yeah, my dislike for opening acts is not about their artistic merits, but mainly because I feel the deck is stacked against them. Especially in rock which can becomes cacophonous very quickly in an imperfect live setup. The sound is often crappy at best, deliberately sabotaged at worst (to make the main act artificially sound better). The lyrics (which are super important to me personally) are often undecipherable. They're not allowed to use the full lighting setup of the main act so visually it's hard for them to make a show that is not dull. The audience is not there for them and can be indifferent at best, hostile at worst. None of this BS happened at le Zenith. Coco Bans sound was good, the lyrics were clear, their lighting setup was simple but really nice, the public gradually warmed up to them and was pretty psyched by the end of their show. I also credit part of that to Mike's ethics, who know better than try to compete with his own opening acts and instead just let them put the best show they can. In particular I really appreciated the way Mike treated Allison like a superstar when he invited her back on stage for Make It Up As I Go. In real life, Coco Bans had 800 followers on Facebook and 60 on Twitter before the show, but he introduced her the same way he would introduce Bono or Lady Gaga. It was just super classy from him and it made all of them look good.