LINKIN PARK COME “ONE STEP CLOSER” @ COMCAST CENTER, MANSFIELD, MA

Opening Acts: Incubus & MUTEMATH

By Justin Perry

When Linkin Park comes around to these parts, it’s a big deal ~ especially when they have an opening act as huge as they did for this summer’s Honda Civic Tour… the mighty “Incubus!”

Supporting their most recent album release, Living Things, Linkin Park is still on top of their game…both live & in the studio. Not only do they still play all their most popular singles, which always get the crowd going, but now they’ve added a bunch of new material which has a more polished sound ~ but still combines the edgy vocals and heavy riffs we’ve come to expect from LP.

Lead singer Chester Bennington’s voice is as good as, if not better than, it sounds on their albums, which is saying a lot. And as always, by the end of the show you’re asking yourself how he can sing that hard…every night!

One significant difference from recent previous LP tours is that the band seems to have opted for a “stripped down” feel to their show. There are no noticeable backing tracks, but the sound isn’t lacking at all since they instead add all the extras by hand with synths, sample pads, and real turntables.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to see Linkin Park live, do yourself a favor and check them out… If you’ve seen them in the past, you still owe it to yourself to see them next time they come around; they’re still on the cutting edge of live rock, and they’re one of the few bands that, while being what some would call “mainstream,” stick to their guns and keep putting out amazing, fresh sounding material. And their latest album is no exception.

08.14.12 SET LIST
1. Faint (Ext. Outro)
2. Papercut
3. Given Up (Ext. Outro w/ Extra Note)
4. With You (2012 Intro)
5. Somewhere I Belong (2012 Intro)
6. New Divide Play Video
7. Victimized (followed by a snippet of QWERTY)
8. Lies Greed Misery
9. Points of Authority
10. Waiting for the End (Until It Breaks Intro, Wall of Noise Outro)
11. Breaking the Habit
12. Leave Out All the Rest / Shadow of the Day / Iridescent
13. The Catalyst
14. Lost in the Echo (Ext. Intro)
15. What I’ve Done
16. One Step Closer

Encore:
17. Burn It Down
18. In the End (w/ Pushing Me Away Guitar)
19. Numb (Intro Mess up; Numb/Encore Tease Outro)
20. Bleed It Out (w/ Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”)

Photos by Justin Perry of Perry-Studio.com