Linkin Park - The Catalyst

So last night I got to see one of my favourite bands that I had growing up. Linkin Park were THE SHIT in the early 2000s, after the release of their mega-hit, Hybrid Theory. And it is truly mega as it just recently hit 10 million in album sales, something that probably no rock record will ever be able to do again (the CD is dead, yo). They followed that up with Meteora, another huge hit, that launched them into the stratosphere of modern rock as they became the defining group of the rap/metal era.  And over the next half decade the band continued to put out solid albums and catchy, riff-driven radio singles.

The rap/metal music style/genre is definitely not something I'd say I'm into (Limp Bizkit fucking blows lol) but for some reason (and this is likely true for many) Linkin Park always bridged the gap, making catchy, hook and riff-driven, great rock songs, accessible to a wide audience. I remember watching the video for their hit (the first one that really broke them imo) "In The End" with my whole family and we all loved it. There are very few bands that can bridge generation and gender gaps that also contain a rapper like Linkin Park do.

"The Catalyst" is my favourite song that Linkin Park have put out since their first 2 albums. It was also the song that started an incredible run of songs and kicked the concert into another gear last night. They had been playing nothing but hits and were slaying all of them but when they cracked out "The Catalyst" shit got real. The song is a chug-along, build-up march to war. Lead singer Chester Bennington screamed his way through the opening verses and hit an even higher level on the choruses and closing "God bless us everyone's". I have never in my life seen a better rock vocalist when it comes to really howling and screaming. He literally gave 110% on every single note of every song for over 2 hours. Either the dude has Superman's vocal cords or will be using a Frampton talk box by the time he's 50!

The rest of the band was in excellent form as well. MC Mike Shinoda was magic behind the mic, DJ Hahn was a fucking wizard zoned into his tools, giving the band that extra zest, and the lead guitarist and rhythm section were tight as fuck, proving that these guys truly are a great live rock band. I actually now like them even more after seeing them live, something I truly did not anticipate happening.

We missed the first opening band, MuteMath. I quite like one of their songs, "Typical", but not enough to miss out on the pre-gaming lol. Then we got to see about 2/3's of Incubus' set. I was disappointed when I found out that I'd missed my fave by them, "Megalomaniac", but an insane version of their classic, "Drive" and some awesome extended instrumentals made them a solid and worthy opener. But opener is truly all they were as they did not have much of the crowd's attention. 

Now for the rant, I mean venue, Rogers Arena: it sucks. For starters it is just too big for a band like Linkin Park. Our tickets were immediately upgraded when we got there and only the lower bowl ended up filling up. A large part of this I blame on the ticket price, $90 for the cheapest tix!?!?!? Incubus suffered greatly from this, playing to an empty cavern. But for Linkin Park it absolutely did not matter as they got the crowd going immediately and made us forget about the vacant upper deck (kind of like going to a Vancouver Whitecaps game). The next shitty thing was the fact that you could only buy ONE beer at a time! Fuck that shit! (I don't feel the need to explain any further why that is brutal). They wouldn't even give me my water bottle lol and had to pour it into a cup. Finally, and by far the worst thing about the venue, was its zero-tolerance for pot. We were debating sparking up when these two dorks sat in behind us and convinced my buddy that now was the perfect time (during Incubus). Within 30 seconds, security was coming in from both sides, yelling and running at them. They were in there faster than a fat kid at the Old Country Kitchen Buffet, goin HAAAMMMMM on their asses. All 3 of them got kicked out, along with (most) of the pot... what a bummer. 

Rogers Arena just doesn't get it... it's a concert for Fuck sakes! BUT there was some sort of riot or something a couple years ago with ties to the building and organization... So I guess it's all those assholes in Vancouver's fault ie. All of us. I have a saying that there's always an asshole and that this asshole often ruins it for everyone. Unfortunately in Vancouver there are always 10 assholes. And it HAS been ruined for the rest of us.

Overall I had a great night watching one of my favourite bands that I have always loved and now have an even greater appreciation for them due to their EpiclyUnreal live performance.