One More Light World Tour Setlist Ideas

[hahninator]

With Linkin Park's world tour kickoff in Buenos Aires, Argentina rapidly approaching in less than one month, we decided to get our staff together to come up with some ideas for the band's new setlist(s) on tour. The band has not toured at all since 2015, taking all of 2016 off to focus on writing the new album. It was the first year off with zero shows in the band's career.

 

Stylistically, the setlists changed quite a bit on the world tour for The Hunting Party. While Linkin Park went with three (sometimes two) rotating setlists from 2007 to 2013, the infamous Tucson 2014 show rolled with a new, 27-slot setlist that was in the form of a DJ set in several ways. For the world tour, setlists featured solo spots for Mike and Joe as well as shortened versions of quite a few songs.

Moving forward, here are some ideas we think that would work for the band's live show as well as the fan experience at the shows. The band on average performs 100 to 105 minutes at concerts these days, the longest of their career.

- Return to distinct, rotating setlists. These were a big hit amongst fans in 2007 when they debuted and remained so for over seven years because Linkin Park managed to consistently keep them exclusive and unique - each set contained several songs not in the other two. When this changed in 2014/2015, fans lost the incentive to see several shows on the same tour. Yes, there were two sets used in the later part of 2014 and two planned for 2015's arena tour, but the variety was lacking from years past (same openers and closers, same general set structure with 1-2 song changes). With the catalogue bigger than ever before, now is a chance to really shine with three unique setlists. Yes, it takes a lot of rehearsing but we've seen the band hit home runs (grand slams, even) on setlists in years past. LP is a very creative band when it comes to intros/outros to songs and can consistently put together great, unique setlists.

 

- Piano versions / stripped down forms of older songs. We saw with Mike and Chester's promo tour recently that they are capable of stripping down older songs in the catalogue. Burn It Down, Crawling, and What I've Done sounded quite nice in a piano form. With the quieter feel of One More Light (album), maybe a stripped down song or two would fit in nicely into a setlist. Or there is a good bit of quieter material already released, like Burning In The Skies. There's also the option to play a lot of rarer or perhaps even never before performed tracks like 'Powerless' and 'Roads Untraveled' in this slot, as putting together a piano version would be considerably easier than putting an entire song together - we know how much work that is.

 

- Rotate songs thematically or by album. This is more or less a combination of the previous ideas. The selection of songs is huge now with seven studio records. Rotating setlists with unique songs is a great idea to help diversify the shows and keep fans coming, but with a limited amount of songs that can be played in every set, it might be hard to choose which ones to play. Perhaps try rotating songs through some sort of theme. The band experimented with this in a cool fashion in 2010, where they started rotating heavy songs (Lying From You and Papercut) and softer songs (The Messenger and Leave Out All The Rest) after reading a thread on our site about setlist diversity. Perhaps try grouping some songs up; in one set, play Leave Out All The Rest, and in another play Shadow Of The Day in the same slot. This can be even easier with piano versions - a bunch of songs rehearsed in this form can be traded out every show to make it a sort of "surprise" for fans to hunt down and go to shows in hopes of seeing. There's many possibilities!

 

- Don't rely on 99% singles. We know fans will erupt if In The End or Numb is dropped from the set. And we're not saying "play High Voltage and By Myself!" Plus, we have Fort Minor shows to handle the deeper hip hop cuts for us now - greatly appreciated. But there are non-single songs in the discography that are loved by a lot of fans, such as No More Sorrow (maybe swapping it for Given Up for a change). Or Wretches & Kings and Lost In The Echo. Lastly, we know Guilty All The Same probably can't be performed any longer, but there was something special about A Line In The Sand in 2015. Debuted late in the touring cycle, it was only performed in North America a few times + a short European Tour. Solid live song.

- 75% of the setlist doesn't have to be/need to be "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora" songs. This is the largest selection of songs the band has ever had in their career. There are great, under-appreciated tracks and double the material available on "Minutes To Midnight", "A Thousand Suns", "Living Things", and "The Hunting Party". In this setlist from the first show of 2015, there is a heavy reliance on the first two albums. Don't feel pressured to keep performing those songs over and over if you don't want to (the same goes for certain singles if you're tired of them). There are songs like When They Come For Me that were fantastic live as well as songs that we scratch our head as to why they weren't performed live...like Powerless.

 

- This is the 10 year anniversary of "Minutes to Midnight". No, the full album doesn't need to be performed live like Hybrid Theory was. Besides, One More Light is being released soon. But maybe dismantling the medley of Leave Out All The Rest/Shadow Of The Day/Iridescent to perform Leave Out All The Rest in full again, or adding No More Sorrow or if you want to dig deep - even The Little Things Give You Away would be a nice celebration of the album. If there are 22 slots for songs, rotating a rarer cut that the band feels comfortable playing into one of those would be welcoming.

Again, the band has traditionally excelled with writing setlists. We're just saying they don't have to feel constricted by basing their live show on so much material from (1) singles, and (2) Hybrid Theory and Meteora songs. Rotating setlists are fantastic and encourage fans to travel all over to see the shows. What about you? What would you like to see the band do live?

We are looking forward to the world tour and covering it for everyone. Announced tour dates for 2017 can be viewed here. Tours in Asia and North America will be announced within the next four to six weeks - stay tuned.

[RogueSoul]

Really hope some of these ideas get implemented into the set. Would be great to see some actual fan-input in the set rather than just assumptions that "hey, they'll probably want to hear this" based on Tweets and stuff. Maybe setting up a poll would work. Muse did this in 2016, and include every song in their setlist (including their hits), at a FESTIVAL show. Still, two heavier deep cuts ('Assassin' and 'Butterflies & Hurricanes') were chosen by all the fans. I think something like this would work out.

 

Another option I think would to just have a loose setlist idea that the band decides on the day before or something that they can play. Radiohead does this - the first three or four songs of every set are the same ('Daydreaming,' 'Desert Island Disk,' and 'Ful Stop') then they play whatever the hell they feel like. Different songs every show, fans love it. Tour debuts left and right. I'd say rehearse a selection of maybe 30-50 songs (Radiohead rehearsed their entire discography, more or less) and play them as you see fit. Try different options, different pairings, and work from there. Rehearse tracks at soundchecks. That's something lots of bands do - Muse, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Radiohead, etc.

 

This last point is pretty related to the previous one: don't have such a mechanical approach to the set. 2014-2015 was a great idea in that it was one big experience rather than song-by-song, but a lot of fans really started getting bored after awhile. In early 2015, the two sets were identical until the fourteenth song (that's a little more than halfway through) and after that one song was played, we knew what to expect. There's nothing wrong with having planned setlists (as long as there's a selection) as long as they're varied. A more laissez-faire approach to this as I said before would make every night more interesting not just for the fans, but for the band, too. It's easy to get into the groove, but there's a certain adrenaline that comes with that uncomfortable vibe. The guys don't like getting comfortable when recording new music, so I don't see why live should be any different.

[hahninator]

It's easy to get into the groove, but there's a certain adrenaline that comes with that uncomfortable vibe.

 

Usually that happens with the one song we all like (which I'm not even saying has to be a part of the setlists this cycle if they don't WANT to play it)...one time it was The Messenger. But yeah this video pretty much proves your sentence true...

 

[AdamArtz]

I think it's pretty clear to me they're gonna add a few new songs from OML and just keep playing most of HT and M...

[davidkyoku]

Really nice topic... Let me write down my ideal set with the current released songs:

 

1. Don't Stay

2. Somewhere I belong

3. No More Sorrow

4. Papercut

5. Numb

6. Battle Symphony

7. Breaking the Habit

8. Burn it Down

9. Heavy

10. Castle of Glass

11. Pushing me Away/shadow of the day/Iridescent

12. Waiting for the End

13. What I've Done

14. New Divide

15. A Line in the Sand

16. Faint

17. A Place for My Head

18. In the End

----

19. The Messenger

20. One Step Closer

21. Bleed it Out

[RickLPL]

I agree with all points in the op. It's time for the band to let the newer stuff shine in the live shows

[marzo23]

I think they need a setlist with songs from all of their albums. Two weeks ago I was at a KoRn concert here in Berlin and they only played two songs from the newest album and nothing from last 5 albums that they made before.

 

LP should play a little mix of all like

HT: 2 songs (ITE and OSC)

M: 2 songs (Numb and Faint/SIB)

MTM: 4 songs (BIO, WID, GU/NMS and one soft song like LOATR/SOTD/LTGYA)

ATS: 3 songs (BITS, W&K/ WTCFM, WFTE)

LT: 3 songs (BID, LITE, Powerless/COG )

THP: 3 songs (Rebellion, Wastelands, FM)

OML: 5 songs

 

Plus New Divide which they always play since 2009

But I don't see any opener songs on the new album with enough energy. So they can create a new intro.

[JoshuaWhy]

That is kind of the "perfect" setlist I came up with, at least for me that is:

1. The Requiem/ Wretches and Kings
2. Papercut (Short Intro)
3. Given Up
4. Don't Stay (Gacela Intro)
5. One Step Closer (Ext. Outro)
6. From the Inside
7. Wastelands
8. LOATR/SOTD/Iridescent
9. Battle Symphony (Piano Version)
10. Waiting For The End (w/ Until It Breaks Intro)
11. Numb
12. The Radiance/ Breaking The Habit
13. Hands Held High
14. No More Sorrow
15. What I've Done
16. Somewhere I Belong
17. Heavy
18. Lost In the Echo
19. Faint (Ext. Outro)
20. In The End
21. Bleed It Out (w/ A Place For My Head)

[Encore]

22. The Little Things Give You Away
23. Fallout/ The Catalyst
24. New Divide
25. Crawling (Krwlng Intro)
26. A Line in The Sand

[marzo23]

A line in the sand is no closing song and why should they play it any longer?

[LinkInThePark]

A line in the sand is no closing song and why should they play it any longer?

I agree, even If I like the song (I'm glad I saw the song live). I can see NMS + ext. Intro as an opener.

 

And they might play a song that have a lot of energy and power as their last one.

[JoshuaWhy]

A line in the sand is no closing song and why should they play it any longer?

For me it is a very epic song and I think it is actually very fitting for a closing song

For me it is a very epic song and I think it is actually very fitting for a closing song

Maybe could also play Bleed It Out as the last song instead of A Line In the Sand, place One Step Closer as the last song before the encore and add A Line In The Sand somewhere in the middle of the setlist... That'd be an alternative for example... But for me, I'd still go with my original setlist post ^^

[RickLPL]

But I don't see any opener songs on the new album with enough energy. So they can create a new intro.

What if they opened with a slow song (from OML)? That would be a nice change of pace

[marzo23]

I attened at the Berlin show 2008 with the slow keyboard intro for WID and that was the worst beginning of a concert of LP

 

The shows of LP should stay rock concerts and not a funeral. A slow part like they did in the midset in 2007 and 2008 was the best idea. Heavy start, slow songs in the middle and the encores were great if epic staff like CFTI and QWERTY.

[morfeo]

I can see them trying to do "setlist by request" in the future like Metallica did in the past. I think it would be great idea with such huge and variable fanbase like this, because of:
- safeness for big hits like ITE, Numb, Etc. - big ammount of fans will vote them

- band reservation of slots in the set for songs from currently dropped album.

- some exclusives would've appear occasionaly, but still. So it wouldn't be a big problem to throw them into set imo.

 

It should look kinda this way:

- Band is announcing a tour with "by request" idea,

- You can vote only if you've bought a ticket for specific show (wouldn't be a problem nowadays)

- Voting for setlist ends ca. 1-2 months before the show, so they would've time for rehearsals.

Edited April 8, 2017 by morfeo

[hahninator]

A line in the sand is no closing song and why should they play it any longer?

 

That's the only song released post ATS (referring to Catalyst) that could be a good show closer IMO. Lost In The Echo could work if they wanted it to. ALITS is a pretty epic song....the perfect replacement for Bleed It Out closing IMO.

[castro78]

These are some pretty good ideas, but they won't happen. It will be mostly singles, new songs, and ballads. Which sucks because they have so much great material to work with at this point. I just really hope they stop doing partial songs. And please stop playing BID....please.

[Kilmer]

I think it would be good to get a different song as the opener, not necessarily from the new album, just new in that slot. And I agree A Line in the Sand would be THE closing song, there's a reason it was originally called Odyssey, and that's because it's fucking epic.

[Kruspe]

Why don't start with Bleed it Out?

 

It has a great pace and atmosphere to start a concert with. And yeah, they would probably have to drop the extended outro and bridge, but come on, they have been playing these extended versions for 10 years now. Just extend the solo a little bit and maybe a "Are you ready for tonight?!"-sing a long in the bridge, and just open with such a great song.

 

I really like Hahninator's opening post btw. Linkin Park can make such great setlists if they want to. Rotating setlists are always great, but here's one that I would really love to see:

 

1. Bleed it out (extended intro)

2. One Step Closer (extended bridge)

3. Rebellion

4. From the Inside (extended intro)

5. Numb

6. Piano medley: Crawling (no second verse)/Heavy (no second verse)/One More Light (full)

7. The Catalyst (Fallout intro)

8. No More Sorrow

9. Papercut (extended intro)

10. Wretches and Kings (new intro)

11. Waiting for the End

12. In the End

13. New song (Talking to Myself?)

14. Battle Symphony

15. What I've done

-------------------

16. New Divide (extended intro)

17. New song

18. Given Up (extended outro)

19. Faint (extended outro)

-----------------

20. Breaking the Habit (extended outro)

21. A Line in the Sand

 

I can hardly imagine that any LP-fan doesn't feel this setlist.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Kruspe

[AdamArtz]

I really wish they would play I'll Be Gone and Powerless live

[GeekShadow]

 

Lastly, we know Guilty All The Same probably can't be performed any longer

 

Why is that ?

[RogueSoul]

Why don't start with Bleed it Out?

 

I can hardly imagine that any LP-fan doesn't feel this setlist.

 

That setlist isn't great, to be honest, at least in my opinion. BIO could be a good opening track but it would have to be executed right. It's a much better closer no matter how you look at it. The extended parts really make the track what it is and dropping them feels like you're weakening the track. The set doesn't really flow well either; 'Numb' is still a relatively heavy song and going straight into a piano medley is fine if there are more softer tracks backing it. Going straight into 'The Catalyst' afterwards feels far too climactic and interrupts the flow. The second encore feels pretty weird too, 'Given Up' wouldn't sound too great that late into the set considering the strain it puts on Chester.

 

Good ideas, but it feels much too idealistic rather than realistic. It could work, but it'd be pretty hard to pull off and I'm sure it'd be kind of awkward pacing wise.

 

Why is that ?

 

Rob basically injures himself playing it.

[Jesper]

I would love the setlist to be build with songs with around the same tempo/sound. A song like Robot Boy wouldn't sound out of place in a section with Battle Symphony. A song like Given Up doesn't sound out of place with most Hunting Party material.

 

Also I hope they just gonna be like 'screw it' and actually just choose 18 to maybe 21 songs they feel they can play in mainly full, rather than playing 28 songs in verse-chorus duration.

[marzo23]

But 21 full songs are only 85-90 minutes and after 7 albums they should be able to play at least 100-110 minutes.

 

So 25 full songs or more please, Mister Mike!!

[Mesck547]

There are some great ideas here, but the only one I can see implemented is the stripped down songs. Mike talked recently about how they like to make the setlist "an experience" (I guess that means they'll have one set with acts again) and he keeps saying the "fan favorites will be played" meaning they're not going to cut on the HT/M songs.

[Kilmer]

Keeping the piano Crawling for the shows would be a way to bring it back in full song structure without making it so hard on Chester's voice