2018.09.08 - Milano Rocks

[RogueSoul]

This is it, folks. After a straight month of touring across both Asia and Europe, Mike's wrapping up the Post Traumatic European Tour tonight in Milan, Italy at the Milano Rocks festival, opening for Thirty Seconds To Mars. And this should be a good one.

 

 

With the tour coming to an end, it's interesting to look back at the very start of it in Hong Kong and see how far this set has come. The good ol' 20 song setlist we thought would change ever so slightly in order at the beginning of the tour... oh, how silly we were. The next show in Bangkok woke us up a bit, Mike adding in 'Petrified' off the cuff without any warning. And here we are, at the end of the tour, with a completely shaken up set. Not only has the order of the songs shifted wildly, but we've seen a bunch of curveballs throughout the entire tour. The debut of another Post Traumatic song - 'Hold It Together' - mid-tour in Singapore. Mike adding in a piano medley around 'In The End' in Köln, playing piano versions of 'Numb,' 'Heavy,' and 'Burn It Down,' and later on 'Iridescent' (as well as 'Wisdom, Justice, and Love') in Moscow. Mike throwing in other goodies, like 'Until It Breaks' in Köln and playing 'Kenji' by request at the last couple of shows after it became a bit of a rarity in Europe. We lost a few songs along the way ('Place To Start' is amongst the fallen soldiers lost to the changing setlists), but we've seen more than we've lost for sure.

 

At the most recent show in Vienna alone, Mike really brought the surprises. Perhaps he wanted to make the last full headlining show of this run of the tour a memorable one - and he succeeded. 'Welcome' opened the show for the first time since Summer Sonic Osaka, having been replaced by 'Introduction' and 'Petrified' thereafter. Despite Dan not being present (he had flown to Israel to perform at the Meteor Festival with his band TATRAN), Mike delivered a huge setlist, surprising from start to finish. And we're not even talking the minor details, like shortened piano versions of the medley songs, the demo verse making a comeback in 'Sorry For Now,' or changing around the setlist. We're talking about the tour debut of 'In Stereo' mid-set. We're talking about Mike taking not one, not two, but three requests during the encore, all of which were on a poll he posted earlier in the day because he didn't know which one of them to add into the set that night (can we also mention that Mike's original setlist poll back in May included 'In Stereo?' Including those four songs, seven out of eight poll songs were played in Vienna): the tour debuts of the live version of 'Cigarettes' and 'It's Goin' Down,' as well as the return of 'Until It Breaks.' Mike does not hold back when it comes to these sets.

 

A moment we've all been waiting for - Mike performing the 2015 Remix Version of 'Cigarettes' for the first time on tour in Vienna, Austria. Let's hope it becomes a staple for the U.S. Tour!

 

It hasn't been long since Mike was last in Milan - Linkin Park performed there just last year at the I-Days Milano festival in Monza. Not only did this set feature highlights like the 2017 Version of 'Leave Out All The Rest' and 'A Place For My Head,' Mike also brought back the 'Reading My Eyes' verse over the bridge of 'Bleed It Out.' Linkin Park first visited Milan in 2001, opening for the Deftones on their 'Back To School' Tour in the spring before returning for a special MTV Live invite-only event later that year on the Hybrid Theory European Tour. Milan was the very first stop on the Meteora World Tour, featuring the world premieres of songs like 'Lying From You,' 'Faint,' and 'From The Inside,' as well as featuring deep cuts 'Easier To Run' and 'Hit The Floor.' The band didn't return to Milan for awhile, but did perform in the country; after a violent tornado cancelled the Heineken Jammin' performance in Venice in 2007, they returned for a make up show the next year at the same festival in 2008. The band performed in Italy in 2011 on the A Thousand Suns Tour in Imola, performing at Sonisphere Italy. Italy was skipped on the Living Things World Tour due to a lack of a proper European Tour, but the band finally returned to Milan in 2014 on The Hunting Party Tour, performing at Alfa Romeo City Sound. The band returned again on the tour, performing in Rome for the Rock In Roma festival, where they performed 'A Place For My Head' to open the encore, dedicating it to a fan who sadly passed away the day before the show. Will Milan bring the energy once again?

 

Let's go old-school for a second. Watch Linkin Park perform 'With You' in Milan, Italy in 2001 at their exclusive MTV Live performance!

 

Now, if you know me, you know I love me some music. If you know me really well, you'll know that I fuckin' LOVE Thirty Seconds To Mars. So you better believe that I'm writing a damn paragraph or two about 'em.

 

Chances are if you're a fan of Linkin Park post-2007, you know Thirty Seconds To Mars. Linkin Park has toured with them several times, most notably (and recently) during 2014's Carnivores Tour. There were a lot of warranted complaints about their set, but I'm here to tell you it's a whole different ball game now... because it's Europe. MARS is currently amidst their second European Tour of their Monolith Tour in support of their latest album AMERICA. Their current set (see what they played recently in Hannover, Germany) features plenty of tracks from the new album, including singles 'Walk On Water' and 'Rescue Me,' as well as other tracks like 'One Track Mind,' 'Love Is Madness,' and 'Live Like A Dream.' Now, if you're not a fan of the new stuff, that's fair. BUT, be prepared for lots more action. The band has been playing a lot of songs they haven't been doing regularly full band in a couple years on this tour. This includes full band versions of my favorite song ever 'The Kill (Bury Me),' as well as 'From Yesterday' and 'Hurricane.' So you'll be met by a lot of great songs with a lot of energy. Just get ready to sing along.

 

Now, Jared Leto and Mike are great friends. And MARS has been bringing artists onstage to join them for the entire tour. It only makes sense that we see an onstage collaboration happen tonight, especially since we didn't get one during the Carnivores Tour. There's plenty of opportunity for MARS to join Mike and vice verse; Jared could sing during 'In The End' easily - he's said before it's one of his favorite songs. Or, Mike could join MARS onstage, and if you've followed MARS' touring cycle, you'll know there's plenty of possibilities for where that could happen. While artists have joined them for 'Dangerous Night,' what may be more likely is Mike joining for the extended bridge of 'Walk On Water,' where everyone from Travis Scott to Post Traumatic collaborator K.Flay to Brazilian local rapper Projota has performed on. At a soundcheck recently, MARS also performed a mashup of their song 'Hail To The Victor' and 'In The End,' so that could be another potential place where some action happens.

 

What we're saying is, the stars are aligning here. Mike's joined plenty of artists and been joined by some too throughout the tour: Taka from ONE OK ROCK joined him for the 'Waiting For The End' and 'Where'd You Go' mashup at Identity LA and Mike joined ONE OK ROCK for 'One Way Ticket' at Summer Sonic Osaka, Mike joined Sum 41 for their cover of 'Faint' at the Reading and Leeds festivals, and, most recently, Mike brought up a fan named Josie Stickdorn in Offenbach to play acoustic guitar with him. Let's end this tour in a big way. (And, for my own personal desire, get a 30STM setlist on the live guide.)

 

Watch Thirty Seconds To Mars perform 'From Yesterday' recently in Vienna, Austria. Their shows are bigger than they've ever been - don't miss them if you have the chance. This is coming from the guy who saw them three times in June. Trust me.

 

Who's going to the show? While this is the end of the European tour, it's not the end of the Post Traumatic Tour by any means. Mike and the crew are taking a month's break before embarking on an even bigger tour across North America next month as part of the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour, which just added two new dates in Cincinnati and Houston. Plus, we can expect Mike to have tour dates in 2019, as well - perhaps he'll even hit the winter festival circuit, hitting stops such as the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. We'll have to wait and find out, I suppose!

 

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 (a couple members from the Discord will be at this show - be sure to say hi)! 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.

[PeppePark]

Oh my God.