In July of 2017, Linkin Park abruptly cancelled the US leg of their One More Light world tour following the untimely death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington. After a long hiatus, the iconic alt-rock band returned with their 8th studio album From Zero, and a new lead vocalist, Emily Armstrong. The protracted, uncertain wait for Linkin Park’s return to Massachusetts finally ended when they packed Boston’s TD Garden 2 nights in a row on July 31 and August 1. Allston Pudding was on site to cover Night 2.
Lowell, MA natives PVRIS started the evening off right with a high-energy performance to a full arena. PVRIS leaned into the harder-edged part of their repertoire to cater to the Linkin Park crowd. Notably, they performed “TAKE MY NIRVANA,” a song co-written and produced by Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. Unsurprisingly, PVRIS received an enthusiastic response from the hometown audience.
The anticipation for Linkin Park built steadily as a timer counted down to zero on dual jumbotrons. The band received a thunderous welcome as they filed in through the barricaded corridor to the 360° stage at the center of the arena. They started the show by putting the pedal to the nu-metal, opening with heavy hitters “Somewhere I Belong,” “Points of Authority,” and “Crawling.” The immediate throwback to the glory days of Meteora and Hybrid Theory also served as a demonstration of sorts: quick proof to assuage any doubts that Emily Armstrong has the vocal chops to step into the void left in the absence of Chester Bennington. If there was any lingering uncertainty, it did not manifest itself in the lively audience.
Fans were unabashedly excited to experience Linkin Park live in Boston for the first time in many years, and the reward for their patience was a sprawling setlist that touched upon most of the band’s discography. The new tracks of From Zero were integrated in the setlist with a larger portion of the back catalog, with Hybrid Theory and Meteora receiving the most representation of the earlier albums, but Minutes to Midnight, A Thousand Suns, and LIVING THINGS all made their impact felt. Between “What I’ve Done” and “New Divide,” fans of the Transformers movies ending credits got their kicks, but there were more highlights to the concert than songs to make Michael Bay memes to. Lynn Gunn of PVRIS joined Linkin Park on stage for a vocal feature in “BURN IT DOWN,” and later Mike Shinoda stepped up to the plate for a couple of songs from his solo project, Fort Minor: “Where’d You Go” and “Remember the Name.” There was also a playful intro changeup to “Numb” that was ostensibly chosen via multiple-choice by a random fan, resulting in a disco style drum lead-in. Amid the throwbacks, crowd response to From Zero was strong enough to prevent the new material from being overshadowed by the more established fan favorites, with some standouts being “The Emptiness Machine,” “Up From the Bottom,” “Two Faced,” and “Heavy Is the Crown.” The 2-hour long show ended as it began with a sampling of peak nu-metal Linkin Park in “Papercut,” “In The End,” and “Faint.” Ultimately, the signs were apparent that fans were ready to embrace the new iteration of Linkin Park, and 8 years of pent up anticipation culminated in a remarkable experience.
Check out all of Greg’s photos from the show below.
