First time to the Coors. Heard good and so so things about the venue. Was amped when I saw that my $comp$ tickets where actually pretty good (thanks Michelle). Went with our summer intern Isaac Ramirez. Took pictures with iPhone (didn’t know I could bring my point and shoot).
Julien K – Walked in the middle of Julien K. Initial thoughts: not my cup of tea. But I did appreciate their fast paced continuous playing. These guys transitioned seamlessly from one song to the next. It seems that they played every minute of their time allotted because the roadies immediately started breaking down their equipment as they played their final song. Kind of distracting, but funny at the same time because as soon as they finished playing the roadies disconnected their guitars and pulled them off their shoulders.
Next was Placebo. These guys sound live just as they do on their recordings. Really enjoyed their show. These guys have been playing together for many years, so it was no surprise that they too kept a fast pace. I must note that at times it did feel the bands leading up to My Chemical Romance were moving a bit to fast through their music. After a few songs HIM lead vocalist says: “We are ladies and gentleman of Placebo.” Not sure what he meant by it, but he got me looking for a female band member.
Following Placebo was HIM. Friend of mine told these guys were good. Not really feeling HIM in the beginning. But as I looked around it was clear a fair size of the audience was. Saw a few HIM t-shirts in the crowd, including one on the back of a ten year old boy. Vocalist Ville Valo lit up a cigarrette as soon as he walked out on stage and would continue lighting up during the peformance. A girl appears to have fainted early on in the show. Security responds within minutes, but it took medics a little longer than expected to arrive. Valo mumbles something and points to the girl. The first medic casually walked to the scene. The crowd disperses as the fallen girl vomits her breakfast. Not pretty, but she got plenty of breathing room after that. Ville Valo wore a grey wool Kangol. This guy looks like Johnny Dep. HIM closed better than they opened. Just as Julien K did for Placebo and Placebo did for HIM, Ville Valo right before the finale took a timeout to rally the people for My Checimal Romance.
Taking Back Sunday took the stage next. These guys came out of the gates strong. From a distance, vocalist Adam Lazzara kind of looks like Jim Morrison and sounds like Steven Tyler when he interacts with the audience. Famous for his swinging microphone, Lazzara kept his mic in motion throughout the show. The guitarist and bassist seem to have developed a sense for staying clear of Lazzara’s flying mic. Enjoyed listening to Liar (It takes one to know one). With only one song to go, Adam Lazzara took a time out to rally the audience in anticipation for My Chemical Romance. No encore.
With each performance, an extra touch was added to the stage. For Taking Back Sunday they hung a marquee with the name of the band over a maroon backdrop. In preparation for My Chemical Romance, more equipment was wheeled on to the stage, including lights.
My Chemical Romance was on fire from the start. They had machines pumping huge fireballs into the air with fireworks in the background. It was a “spectacle” like Cat Dirt said. And the ringmaster of this spectacular spectacular was MCR’s vocalist Gerard Way. If you have seen their videos than you know these guys go big. And their live show is even bigger. Gerrad gave the audience what they wanted and equally got in return what he wanted. Always keeping the energy high. Loved it when he said: “I’m gone steal your boyfriend tonight.” He momentarily dazed and confused the trio of 10-year-old girls standing in front of us. My Chemical Romance nailed it at Coors.
It’s about 9-ish and an orange curtain hides all the preparations being made for Linkin Park.
Thanks to awesome seats we got from our friends in LA, I can see they are setting up an LED curtain of lights for Linkin Park.
Big moment has arrived, Linkin Park takes the stage and quickly you forget about MCR. No fireballs or fireworks. Instead Linkin Park brought with them a megawatt of energy and with it they lit up the stage, the huge jumbo LED display, and the best of all the fans. Been a fan of LP since Meteora. Bought $Meteora$ CD during the Napster times. Thought it was cool that Chester Bennington knew he was in Chula Vista. Unlike other bands that only play music from their new material, Linkin Park played exactly what we wanted: mix of the new and old. But they didn’t just play the old material. They innovated; they made the old new again. Awesome!!!
Mike Shinoda thanked the fans for always supporting Linkin Park over the span of their career, this being their ten-year anniversary. Mike gives props to the mosh pitt, which has been ongoing since the start. Only slowing down for the slow songs.
Linkin Park big finale is off the charts. Coors is on their feet, screaming, clapping, making noise for an encore. After a what feels like 10 minutes, but in reality was maybe only 5. We get the encore. Audience goes wild. Joe Hahn gets behind his turntables and does his thing. An image of him appears on the LED display and spreads around to each corner in a counter-clockwise rotation. Soon afterwards the rest of the band takes the stage and they play “In the end.” Coors goes crazy. If you are going to Projekt Revolution in your hometown, do what it ever it takes to get an encore from Linkin Park. In Chula Vista, we got four songs from Linkin Park. The encore was better than everything that we saw before it. Linkin Park rules!!!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
My coworker told me that Brian Molko of Placebo “lip-synched”.
Sounds like concert was awesome. The pictures from the iPhone where better than I expected.It’s no point & Shoot but amazingly kool snaps.