Gig review/ Linkin Park at Lollapalooza

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Linkin Park/ Live@Lollapalooza, Mumbai 

Genre: Nu metal

Presented by: BookMyShow Live

Details: Mahalaxmi Race Course, January 25

Rating: ****

(Pictures courtesy: Lollapalooza India Instagram page)

In the end, does it even matter? The area around the Budweiser stage was left in a complete mess after the Linkin Park show at Lollapalooza, with beer cans and 'papercut' cups littered all over. Those entering the men's loo became 'numb', almost 'faint', seeing the 'overflow' caused by clogged urinals. For the 'points of authority', it doesn't even matter.

The nu metal giants won hearts, after all, fulfilling the dreams and tickmarking the bucket lists of many fans who even came in from other cities. Some grew up on the Chester Bennington phase, on songs the frontman released till he committed suicide in 2017. Others knew them 'from zero' only after Emily Armstrong joined as vocalist in 2024. Most of them loved Mike Shinoda, the rapper, guitarist and keyboardist who's been with the band since it was formed in 1996. Others knew only the hits, some came to display the clotheswear in vogue.

Yes, the crowd was hybrid in theory, but the fans left with fond memories, from the time the band played 'Somewhere I Belong' from their second album Meteora, moving to 'Crawling' from their 2000 debut Hybrid Theory. "Crawling in my skin, these wounds, they will not heal, fear is how I fall, confusing what is real", the LP army roared along.

The set was a mix of old and new, with a good chunk of songs from the last release From Zero - 'The Emptiness Machine', 'Heavy Is The Crown', 'Over Each Other', 'Overflow', 'Two Faced', 'Stained', 'IGYIEH' (an acronym for "I give you everything I have"). The older gems included 'Numb', 'Papercut', 'Faint', 'In The End' and 'The Catalyst', with its classic "Lift me up, let me go" loop.

On the technical front, the sound settled down after a few songs, though one got different feedback from people in other corners of the massive venue. The giant-screen visuals, lights, lasers and fireworks enhanced the experience.

Some parts of the show did become monotonous. The set was divided into five acts, and the breaks between them didn't add much value. In many cases, one only heard beep sounds and saw flashy lights. Also, if one has heard the band over the years, it's obvious that many numbers are driven by a formula - Shinoda's rapping sounds similar despite varying subjects, and the sudden outburst in lead vocals uses a repetitive throw. So within two hours, one didn't get much stylistic range. They had in fact noticed this and changed the mix on their third and fourth albums Minutes To Midnight and A Thousand Suns. However, the diehard followers preferred the older style and the 2012 release Living Things marked a return to the earlier and safer route.

Individually, the musicians were brilliant. Joe Hahn, on DJ duty and sampling, gave the set a distinct flavour. Bassist Dave Farell, drummer Colin Brittain and guitarist Alex Feder provided able support. Emily was just outstanding, bringing her own touch without distorting the older songs, and showing freshness on the new ones. She moved between registers with effortless ease, and her high notes were spot-on.

In most ways, Mike Shinoda was a total contrast to British star Yungblud, who performed at Lollapalooza on Saturday. One was chalk, the other cheese. The Linkin Parker's rapping was textbook-perfect in enunciation and execution, despite the repetitive style, and his non-rap lead vocals had soul. He spoke normally to the audience, without any drama or pretence, and the only expletives one heard was occasionally, in the song lyrics. He even politely thanked everyone for welcoming the newer material.  His main aim was to deliver through the actual music, no frills attached, and he succeeded. 

As the crowd left 'crawling' 'over each other', the lines of the set's first song seemed to describe their emotion when they walked in for the show. "I wanna find something I've wanted all along, somewhere I belong". If only most of them hadn't created such a mess. In the end, it really matters.