2019.03.09 - Paris, France

[RogueSoul]

The Post Traumatic Tour continues in just about one hour in Paris, France! Mike and the rest of the crew will be hitting the stage at Le Zénith.

 

Mike hasn’t performed in Paris yet, but this will be the second time he’ll have played in France as a solo act. Back in the summer, Mike’s very first European show took place at the Rock en Seine festival, which featured a great setlist featuring ‘Kenji.’

 

Who’s going to the show? The tour continues through Europe over the next few weeks, with shows in London, Budapest, and Milan coming up.

[Darkstryder]

I was at the show yesterday. What a wonderful experience !

 

In random order, my personal highlights :

 

- First, a shout out to the opening act, Coco Bans. I did not know them at all, and for me they were the first opening act ever that I genuinely enjoyed during their set (usually at concerts I just grumpily wait for the main act to begin, thinking about how useless opening acts are). I actually went to to the merch booth to buy their EP, which is a first for me.

 

- Mike actually invited Allison (the singer from Coco Bans) back on stage to perform Make It Up as I Go. The rendition of the song was absolutely stellar, the best surprise of the show for me. She (almost) stole the show, and the back and forth between her and Mike actually reminded of the back and forth with Chester back in the old days. If I'm allowed a digression, this performance made me more confident in a thought I've had for a while, that I would like a new singer for Linkin Park to be female. It would be meaningful as LP was never macho, it would make sense musically as a female singer would be more natural at reaching the higher range of Chester vocals, and Mike have proven times and time again that he could take the lower range when necessary. End of digression.

 

- I loved how the show was upbeat overall. Mike was super talkative which I appreciated a lot, at times it almost felt like stand up comedy. Fans near the stage throwed a Pikachu hat at him (among other things !), and he wore it during a couple songs after that. The overall feeling of the night was very light-hearted, which was no easy feat given the context.

 

- Going in, I feared the homage part about Chester would feel weird, but the crowd was absolutely wonderful during it. We sang In the End first, and on a whim, Mike decided to play Numb next as he seemed taken aback by the fervor of the audience (it did not feel planned, and the song was not on the setlist). Everybody just sang really well, it sounded more like a choir than a rock crowd. I thought it would be cheesy but it was one of the most emotional rendition of Numb I've heard since many years. I'm grateful to have been part of it.

 

- I listened to the Fort Minor album in the morning, which I hadn't listened to for a few years. I forgot how much I loved this album, and I was super happy that Mike played quite a few songs (High Road and In Stereo were both fantastic) off of that record.

 

- Overall I loved the setlist, which borrowed seamlessly from Post-Traumatic, Fort Minor and LP. It really showed how consistent Mike has always been as a songwriter. But I really feel the concert was a whole experience, and merely reading the setlist doesn't do justice to what happened here. For those of you that did not catch the tour yet, I hope you will !

 

- I want to kick myself for not having being aware of the #YouMakeUsProud flashmob going in, but at least it made the impact on me greater. Well played, LP fans !

 

Overall this was a concert tailor-made for the superfans that we are, and I am so grateful to have been part of it. Thank you for reading.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Darkstryder
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