For those of you who may need a little background, Linkin Park is a band made up of six kids who came out with a pop-hardcore album called Hybryd Theory in 2001. With hits like “One Step Closer”, “Beneath My Skin” and “In the End,” Hybrid theory became something of a mainstay on alternative and rock stations. Their follow up album is called Meteroa and was released in 2003, featuring the radio friendly hit “Numb.”
While touring in the summer with Metallica, the Deftones and Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park had a camera crew come out and film their two concerts in Texas to be spliced together and released as a live DVD. The release date was set for November 18th, 2003. this should bring you all up to speed.
Tyler and I realized recently that we both share a love for Linkin Park’s music. I felt a love for singer Chester Barrington’s voice and Tyler enjoyed the heavy guitar and driving vocals. On Sunday we were sitting at our friend Jess’s house when Tyler mentioned that Linkin Park was releaseing a live DVD but that there wold be a pre-screening at our local cinema. We checked listings and planned on attending.
Not 24 hours later we arrived at the theatre and purchased tickets. All around us were people with leather jackets, dyed hair and Linkin Park shirts. We must be in the right place. I noticed that some people had flyers and stickers and other assorted Linkin Park paraphernalia. Not one to pass on free stuff I wandered until I found a theatre person and asked him who I needed to talk to about getting said stuff.
The theatre kid pointed me towards a guy in a leather jacket who apparently was working for Q101. He told us that we would have to talk to the Linkin Park Street Team to get the stuff since he was just there to cover the event.
A quick word on the Street Team. Linkin Park’s fan club is called the Linkin Park Underground. Underground members get told about albums coming up, tour dates, they get shirts and such, but when Linkin Park is in their town, 100 Underground members get called up and they get to go backstage and meet the band. Pretty cool until you realize that about ten of those hundred get asked to be part of the Linkin Park Street Team. At events like this one the Street Team comes early, hands out flyers and posters and stuff, get to see the show for free and get a free shirt out of it too. This makes the fans feel ike they’re doing something important and I helps Linkin Park keep the costs down since the Street Team are all volunteers.
The Street Team girl handed us flyers advertising LINKIN PARK: LIVE IN TEXAS. I just glanced at it and thought it said ‘live in Texas’ (as in take up residence in our second largest state as opposed to being there, in person, in Texas) so I nudged Tyler and said “Linkin Park live in Texas? Is that why they’re so angry?”
We entered the theatre and noticed right away that there were two cops standing at the front of the theatre. I asked Tyler if they honestly thought we were going to riot. Ty thought maybe they were there for RIAA enforcement so we wouldn’t pirate the movie and put it up on Napster. We spent the rest of the time before the movie started looking around at some of the beautiful creatures around us and then reminding ourselves that they were probably all about 15. dammit.
The show began with a screening of the “Numb” music video which was awesome on the big screen with the surround sound. The concert footage was amazing but I kept on feeling like there was not enough energy in the crowd. It probably would have been better if we had been in the arena smelling the sweat, seeing the lights and feeling the swell of emotion as the band hit the stage. Even so, it was still a neat way to spend an evening, at least for me. Ty was getting pretty pissed off when I would lean over every song and say “look, He’s singing wrong. he’s doing it from the throat instead of the diaphragm” or “wow, check out that camera work.”
The show ended with a premier of the “On the Inside” music video which was kind of a cross between news footage from Northern Ireland and Akira with a healthy dose of Mutant Academy thrown in.
While leaving the theatre Ty and I debated on yelling “Oh my god, it’s Chester!” and seeing what the crowd would do, but we refrained. Good boy scouts that we are we couldn’t in good conscious cause a stampede, especially when we were at the front.