Recently I had a brilliant opportunity to finally evaluate the work of the famous group in a single concert at one of the stadiums in Texas with thousands of people on the tribunes. I was tremendously happy to watch every minute of the live performance of this band. Linkin Park, in fact, is a legendary music band, which songs I was listening to for thousands of time once I was a kid. And even after this, I listened to the concert as if I was listening to their songs for the first time.
In today's world, it is not enough for rock bands just to play music instruments well and sing songs with remarkable lyrics. To be popular bands must somehow stand out from the gray mass of thousands of other rock bands. Every successful musical group must have its own peculiarity, its anchor that would grip listeners` attention. And Linkin Park is a striking proof of this. Emotional recitative of Mike Shinoda diversifies creativity of this rock band. What is more, their music is also unique because of Joseph Khan who added a bit electronic music to heavy sound. And of course Chester Bennington contribution through his incredible vocal abilities to the success of the band shall be noticed. Singer Chester Bennington is just great, his vocals immediately etched in my memory. They cannot leave anyone indifferent.
The concert is one of the best live performances of the group. Smart manner of performance and outstanding sound with no single case of playing out of tune – these what make this concert be one of the best in the music path of the band which has been performing since 1996.
Tracklist of the concert can easily please absolutely all lovers of Linkin Park music. It includes, perhaps, the best songs from the first two albums of the band. The concert starts with an energetic and assertive solo composition by Chester Bennington titled “Don`t Stay”, which I think is one of the best in the whole musical career of the band. Melodic vocals are then replaced by an aggressive growl and all this under a heavy, though rather monotonous guitar playing that creates a memorable effect. Next follows a series of a few rap-core compositions – rap music is performed by Mike Shinoda in the verses and shout of Chester Bennington in the chorus. Next goes a range of melodic songs. It is difficult to define which of them was the best. The last of them – “Somewhere I Belong”, generally more pleasant to the ear, a ballad-like song portends for the second half of the concert. The audience is absolutely heated after it and is ready for new musical developments.
They follow shortly afterwards with a new stunning song because of its pace and energy “Faint” and powerful “From The Inside”, which is a worthy representative of rap-core compositions in classical style of Linkin Park. These songs prepare us for the second most powerful songs of the concert – “With You”. Even though this song is absolutely but kitsch. Yes, let it be absolutely commercialized and designed, in principle, especially for impressionable teenagers. But still this cannot take away takes its sad atmosphere that snuck me to the core. This song is an example of outstanding features of the vocals of Bennington. The next song, “By Myself” does not allow an audience to cool down and keeps everybody strained anticipating new sounding which is also imbued with sadness and grief along with powerful, memorable chorus.
The band finished the concert with a song “Numb” – perhaps the most famous and popular song of Linkin Park. I cannot say anything special about it, because I have never had special feelings for it. It does not spoil the whole concert, but it cannot be said that it is a decoration of it.
This concert was recorded more than 12 years ago, but it sounds for me as if all these songs were performed for the first time. Every song is a hit, every song sunk into listeners` hearts, giving visitors a storm of emotions. Every song is a pure delight, a time-tested pleasure.
The energetic atmosphere does not leave anyone listening to this concert, which is also achieved by a great work of video operators showing in a wide angle coward singing choruses along with the band. To tell that this was a decent concert would be not fair, it was absolutely flawless.
Works Cited
Linkin Park. “Linkin Park: Live in Texas” [Video Concert]. Youtube.com. 2003. Web. 13 Feb, 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39ZfjX9qmwo>
