There was a time when tonight felt like it might never come. For Linkin Park fans, the idea of seeing this band again was something that seemed impossible. The last 9 months since the announcement of the reconfigured lineup and the release of From Zero have gone by in a flash. They are back, it’s real, it’s happening and it still even now feels surreal to be able to say those words. This show at Wembley Stadium feels like a culmination, an exclamation point if you will, on the reunion that many of us never ever thought we would see. This evening might belong to Linkin Park, but they aren’t the only band on this blockbuster bill.
JPEGMAFIA gives it a good go at waking up the early comers. 6pm on a Saturday evening to a half full stadium of LP diehards isn’t the ideal occasion for a rapper that half the audience haven’t heard of to prevail in, but he has a bash. I will admit he is a far heavier prospect than I anticipated and the fact he is backed up by a full band really helps to give his set some oomph and even though he is only afforded a 30 minute set time, none of it is wasted and by the end of it he has managed to engage a decent chunk of the growing crowd, and that I would say is a job well done.
Spiritbox is up next. Fresh from their head turning main stage slot at this Download, Courtney LaPlante & Co are not here to mess about. Afforded a much better sound mix here than they were at Download, they have come for blood and deliver a dizzying 45 minute set of banger after banger. Opening with Fata Morgana, Black Rainbow & Perfect Soul is frankly ludicrous and shows off the scope and enormity of their latest album Tsunami Sea. They have the kind of visual representation on the screens behind them that would make Tool proud which ties everything together. This is another crowning moment in Spiritbox’s continued ascension. They feel completely at ease on a stage of this size and as part of a show of this magnitude. Everything sounds that much heavier and more fluid tonight and of the multiple times I have seen them, this might be them at their very best. Holy Roller hits like a bomb, Circle with Me soars and Jaded was custom made for oceans of people to lose their minds to. A perfectly assured performance from one of heavy music’s most vital and exciting bands. Sublime stuff.
As the minutes count down on the clock before Linkin Park hits the stage, there is a sense of restlessness in the stadium. We are moments away from the reason we are all here and the thing many of us have been waiting nearly a decade for. As the clock hits zero, there is a pause, a collective holding of breath and then catharsis. As the band hits the stage, the dam breaks and the whole crowd unleashes every single emotion they have been holding in since July 2017. There are gigs that you know are special when you are in them, living in that moment, then there are ones, the gravity of which hits you many days after the event. This one is both.
Looking around the stadium tonight seeing people from all walks of life, races, religions, couples, friends, families. Everyone here is experiencing the same thing, some people are crying, some people are screaming, others are dancing and singing as if their lives depended on it. There is a unity and a unitedness that only live music and having this shared experience can do. If there was ever a shred of doubt in anyone’s mind that Linkin Park are the people’s band then that notion is very swiftly done away with this evening. From the moment the first note of Somewhere I Belong hits to the final notes of Bleed It Out ring out, both band and fans are locked in for 2 hours, deeply connected in not only the fun and joy of the live performance, but the connection the healing process has provided for both parties.
Much has been made about the addition of Emily Armstrong to the band, but on tonight’s evidence, she was absolutely the right choice. She feels entirely comfortable here, bringing a chaos gremlin energy to the show, she fills the stage with a playfulness in the lighter moments, but also brings the right amount of emotional heft when the time calls for it as well. It’s hard to remember that she wasn’t always in the band, as it feels like she has always been here. Colin Brittain provides a solid backbone on the drums and gives everything an extra bit of oomph from behind the kit.
Tonight’s set is a mix of all of the band’s biggest hits mixed with newer material off of last year’s From Zero album. The new songs receive a very enthusiastic response. The Emptiness Machine particularly gets a thunderous reception, already feeling like an old friend. Cut the Bridge, Over Each Other, Two Faced, Casualty & Heavy is the Crown are some of the standout cuts, giving From Zero it’s time to shine and hearing those songs live really elevates how good they really are.
When they go further back into their catalogue is where the true magic of the evening arises. Hearing those songs that were so impactful to my youth again created some truly spine tingling moments, whether it’s the heavy hitters like One Step Closer, Papercut, Crawling from Hybrid Theory, Lying From You, Numb & Faint from Meteora and even cuts from lesser appreciated works such as The Catalyst from A Thousand Suns, Castle of Glass from Living Things and The Cybertron National Anthem What I’ve Done (IYKYK)
This is as much of a celebration of Linkin Park as it is a reintroduction. This is without even mentioning the spectacular lights, lasers, smoke and visuals that accompany each moment of tonight’s show, creating a fully immersive experience. Even without all of the bells & whistles, the songs are what has stood the test of time and are where the real impact comes from during this set. Linkin Park feel like a band reborn this evening, for nearly a year now they have been asking us fans to be a part of something, even without the historical significance of these evening events, this was always going to be a special evening.
For those of us who have waited in uncertainty wondering if this day would ever come, wishing for it to come and then tempering our own expectations of what it could be if and when it arrived, for a brief two hour window in time, this was somewhere we all belonged.
10/10
