photo credits: the 88 miles west.

For starters, this is the biggest show weworemasks has ever been asked to cover. A personal feat to say the least, it was even greater of a feat after arriving to the venue. We were given very close seats (Section 121, check the map!) which entailed us having our own bar and bathroom. So we definitely send our gratitude to our connect Renee at Machine Shop.

After having to cancel a slew of dates due to singer Chester Bennington’s vocal cords being compromised, Linkin Park had returned to their rescheduled date at the Toyota Center to end their world tour for their latest album, A Thousand Suns. It was a packed house to say the least, and the band brought on some of Houston’s best and worst Linkin Park fans to join the festivities for their tour closer.

Hit the jump for the review.

-grizzly

The opening band was supposed to be Prodigy, which, I’m not gonna lie – would’ve been awesome to see. In lieu of the band, our opener was Paper Tongues, a very generic and contrived rock band from North Carolina. After a set that flew by, the band left the stage to allow room for the headliners. As the lights dimmed and Linkin Park hit the stage, it was pretty clear-cut that this show would be a huge production, both aesthetically and audibly.

The band trickled onto stage slowly while the two intro tracks of A Thousand Suns played over the monitors, and the band immediately kicked into gear with “Papercut,” the leadoff song from 2000’s Hybrid Theory. After a slew of old songs to set the mood, the band began to showcase their refined, downtrodden and piano and synth based blend of rock and roll found on their latter two records, both produced by Rick Rubin. Personally, I wasn’t huge on the two albums, but the songs definitely make a strong case for themselves on stage. Tracks like “The Catalyst” and “When They Come for Me” provided for some of the night’s best highlights.

All of the members of Linkin Park were made to play in a huge rock band. Bassist Phoenix donned a cowboy hat (We appreciated that) and Guitarist Brad Delson made sure to utilize the massive stage, often running from end to end to keep the fans entertained. Vocalists Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington had made sure to be a part of a setlist that wouldn’t leave new and old Linkin Park fans bored for too long. A smooth blend of twenty five songs, which spanned across their entire discography, Transformers songs included.

By now, I’m sure you have a good idea of what a Linkin Park fanbase consists of. A lot of beer, fist-pumping and yells and cries for any number of songs that I’m sure you could guess. The band breezed past the hecklers and played a gigantic set, backed with a massive LCD backdrop that split time between on-stage cameras and cryptic visuals that match the new sounds. For a band that has been on tour for the majority of 2011 thus far, the band showed no signs of fatigue, considering their set ran nearly two hours long.

Not to detract from the rest of the set, but it was obvious why this band came to the Toyota Center, which was basically for the songs that ended the set (“Crawling,” “One Step Closer). Not to mention, the encore, which had some of the band’s biggest, but undermined hits like “Shadow of the Day,” “New Divide” and “In the End,” all of which couldn’t have possibly excited the crowd anymore. However, one of the most noteworthy performances of the night came during “Iridescent,” which showcased a singing Mike Shinoda, among many other things. Fans of Hybrid Theory were treated late in the show, where the band broke into “A Place for My Head” in the middle of “Bleed it Out.” It’s safe to say that there aren’t many bands of this stature who I would be able to leave a show with a great impression. Linkin Park managed to put on a great performance and an enjoyable show all the same.

[SETLIST]

The Requiem/Radiance
Papercut
Lying From You
Given Up
What I’ve Done
Empty Spaces
When They Come For Me
No More Sorrow
Jornada Del Muerto
Waiting For The End
Burning In The Skies
Numb
Breaking The Habit
Fallout
The Catalyst
Crawling
Faint
One Step Closer

—

ENCORE:

Wisdom, Justice & Love
Iridescent
Shadow Of The Day
New Divide
In The End
Bleed It Out/Place for My Head

credit: setlist.fm