2018.08.26 - Leeds 2018

[RogueSoul]

"SHINOHDAH! MIKE SHINOHDAH! ARE YOU GOING TO PLAY THE READING OR LEEDS FESTIVAL? THE FESTIVALS, MIKE! ARE YOU GOING TO PLAY THEM? READING OR REEEE-LEEDS?"

It doesn't really have the same charm two days in a row, but ya know, its Re-Leeds time.

After delivering two incredible back-to-back performances to kick off the Post Traumatic European Tour, Mike's ending this triple festival run of shows at the Leeds festival in England today!

 

Mike's last two shows have been nothing short of electrifying. While both have been incredible, they both had very different atmospheres. Rock En Seine in France was the first of them, complete with an epic setlist and an emotional crowd. Many awesome moments were captured on livestream: the first proshots of Mike performing the full versions of 'When They Come For Me' and 'Roads Untraveled,' as well as the very first proshot of 'Kenji,' which graced an extended intro with 'Hands Held High.' 'In The End' was incredibly emotional, half the crowd (both in France and at home watching) in tears.

Skip to the next day in Reading, back at 'In The End,' and the vibe is completely different. A crowd of nearly 30,000 people are singing and loud and proud in celebration of Chester. This show had a brighter air of celebration around it, people singing and dancing all throughout to show. That's not to say Rock En Seine wasn't special and hard to enjoy - both were highly interactive and engaging. But Reading felt more... celebratory. Whether that's the result of the performance or the 30,000 people there, it's hard to say. What we can say is that Mike really gave it his all at both of these sets. Though shorter, Reading still opened with the iconic 'Petrified' intro, as well as featuring great performances of 'Castle Of Glass' and 'Make It Up As I Go.' Mike really set the bar high for all the acts following him.

An amazing show all around. Watch Mike's full performance at the Reading festival above.

Speaking of acts following him, it seems he actually watched and made sure he was the best act of the night! Kidding... but, he did enjoy the night. Sum 41 performed after Mike, and it was certainly special. They've been ending each of their shows with a cover of 'Faint' in honor of Chester, and at this show, Mike joined them for an awesome performance. They performed more or less the full song (minus the bridge), even including the live extended outro. It was a great performance, and you could really tell Mike was happy to be performing the song that way again. Sum 41 is performing after Mike at Leeds as well, so we can likely expect the collaboration to happen again!

As far as what we can expect for this show... we still can't say for sure! Mike's opened the last four shows with 'Petrified' - it's been a minute since 'Welcome' opened. The songs have switched places and 'Welcome' now opens the encore of full performances... If 'Welcome' doesn't open this set it might be safe to say that 'Petrified' has replaced it as the opener. We haven't seen the festival 'Welcome' set - or the normal 'Welcome' set for that matter - since Summer Sonic Osaka. Mike said the festival sets would be exclusive - that could mean that the two sets he plays are different from each other. We'll have to see when it happens. It's the first time he's played the Leeds festival since 2003 when Linkin Park headlined, so he'll definitely want to put on a great show. We've been discussing all the potential songs Mike could play on this tour, so be sure to check that out. Maybe we'll start seeing some of those songs brought out sooner than we think!

Watch Mike rock the stage with Sum 41 for their cover of 'Faint' at Reading! We'll hopefully be seeing the same thing unfold at Leeds.

Is anyone heading to the show? This is Mike's last festival performance (barring Milano Rocks at the end of the tour when he opens for Thirty Seconds To Mars), so we'll be getting back into full sets - with daily surprises - soon. Mike's taking a three day break after this three day run of shows before heading to Köln, Germany for the show on Wednesday. From there, it's through the rest of Europe, from Russia to Sweden for the rest of the European Tour. After this tour wraps up, he'll be taking a month off before returning to the stage in October for the extensive Monster Energy Outbreak Tour across North America.

We'll be keeping you updated on everything that happens at this show, so be be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates, and join the LPLive Discord for discussion with fans around the world! We just launched the new LPLive Archive YouTube Channel that is loaded with hours of rare content from the Linkin Park world, and we'll also be uploading videos from the Post Traumatic Tour there, too. Be sure to subscribe!

Check out the rest of Mike Shinoda's touring schedule here.