RogueSoul Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Linkin Park continue the Asian Leg of their From Zero World Tour tonight with night two in Saitama, Japan at the Saitama Super Arena - and if night one is any indicator, we may be in for the best performances on the tour yet for night two! Night One in Tokyo was perhaps the best the band has sounded since they returned. No major surprises came in the form of changes to the set, but fans in Japan witness the band in full form nonetheless. Set A4 returned, featuring 'Castle Of Glass' lyrics in the interlude, 'Casualty' in the mid-set rotation and 'A Place For My Head' in the encore rotation. While nothing much changed on the surface from the set's last appearance at the tour kick-off in Mexico City, the show featured many little details that made it a whole new night. The show took place on Mike's birthday (and only three days after Dave's), so the crowd took a few minutes to sing 'Happy Birthday' to them both before they blew out candles on a cake brought out by the crew. This heartwarming moment was followed immediately by 'Casualty.' The band dimmed the lights for the last song on their pre-show playlist, invigorating the crowd with the Pokémon Theme song ("I wanna be the very best that no one ever was") -- as a big Pokémon fan myself, this is a phenomenal moment to be alive. The set was riddled with further Pokémon references throughout the night, including Mike shouting "I choose you, Pikachu!" (to which Emily responded, "I look like Pikachu.") right before kicking into 'A Place For My Head.' The band definitely felt right at home and had a lot of fun at this show - Joe even came back out from the encore break adorning a guitar, pretending to play a little before running back to his station. One thing you can always depend on a Japanese crowd is to be the right amount of respectful - singing at the top of their lungs when they need to and showing respect and being quiet during more intimate moments. This practice lead to some truly incredible moments, such as the stunning renditions of the half acoustic/half full-band version of 'Lost' and 'Good Things Go.' Songs like 'Overflow' got moments to truly shine for perhaps the first time, while the classics like 'One Step Closer' and 'In The End' exploded with more meaning than ever before on Japanese soil. Emiy was at the top of her game, delivering huge screams on 'Two Faced' and 'Heavy Is The Crown.' Another cool moment was during the extended bridge of 'Bleed It Out,' where the normal "Bridgeception" mashup with the 'Cut The Bridge' bridge actually featured lyrics from the demo version of the song (the lyrics can be seen written in artwork on From Zero)! One final detail is that the 360 stage setup returned for this show, but with the end-stage production; what this means is that the band performed with a modified version of their current arena setup at the end of the arena but with seats on all sides. The 360 setup from 2024 will return this summer in the United States and Canada. An absolutely stunning performance of 'Lost' at night one in Saitama, Japan's Saitama Super Arena on February 11, 2025. Night Two in Saitama holds a lot of promise and opportunity - but what set will the band deliver? Set B4 features 'Iridescent' vocals in the interludes and 'Keys To The Kingdom' and 'Lying From You' as rotation songs, while Set C4 includes 'Burn It Down' vocals in interludes and 'Given Up' and 'From The Inside' (the latter of which is being performed with the new lineup for the first time this year). It's not too late to switch things up for a surprise in Japan, though. Last year's 'QWERTY' single release was boosted by a live release from the song's iconic performance from the short but legendary 2006 Japan Tour -- there's no time like the present to whip this one out of the bag, especially after debuting 'All For Nothing' last year for a one-off in Arlington, Texas. On the topic of heavy music and The Hunting Party, no music from that album nor One More Light (barring an intimate performance of 'Heavy' featuring just Chester and Mike in 2017) has ever been performed in the country, as the band's last visit there was in 2013 for a series of shows for the Summer Sonic festival. The band had a three-night residency planned in 2017 at Chiba's Makuhari Messe, but the shows never ended up happening due to Chester's passing. It's the perfect opportunity to bring out 'Keys To The Kingdom' to give Japan some well-deserved Hunting Party action, and even perhaps 'Friendly Fire' to give them the One More Light action they missed out on equally as much. We're still waiting to see Emily, Colin, and Alex take on more numbers from these records, especially 'Guilty All The Same,' 'Final Masquerade,' and 'Talking To Myself.' The band has rarely ever performed a single night in Tokyo when headlining in the city, always playing at least two (and sometimes three!) shows in the city back-to-back. This practice goes all the way back to 2003, where the band played three nights at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan. The second night featured the addition of 'My December,' being performed for the first time since Projekt Revolution 2002. The third night featured a further addition of 'Nobody's Listening,' marking the first time the regular studio version had ever been performed after having been extended earlier in the year. The band played two completely different setlists in 2007's two shows at the Saitama Super Arena, bouncing between tracks like 'Hands Held High' and a 'No More Sorrow' opener on night one and a 'One Step Closer' opener plus 'Leave Out All The Rest' on night two. The band's 2011 venture to Chiba saw both different setlists and the 5th LPU Summit, a tradition we'd like to see return soon. LPU members entered the venue early to explore the band's live setup and get up close and personal with them, asking questions and sometimes even being treated to an acoustic performance or soundcheck. These shows are remembered for them being the debut of 'No Roads Left,' which had its first verse and chorus performed over the bridge of 'Bleed It Out' for a few shows around this time. Will 2025 continue the band's legacy of unforgettable back-to-back nights in Tokyo? The band delivered what was perhaps the best performance yet of 'Overflow' at the Saitama Super Dome in Saitama, Japan on February 11, 2025. Which songs will shine in night two? Who's heading to the show? Weatherman Rogue Soul here to report a chilly but sunny day in Tokyo, so dress warm and get ready to jam! A reminder that there is no opening band AND the band will be taking the stage quite early, with doors at 4:30pm and show time at 6:00pm. After this show, Linkin Park's wrap up their Asian Leg this weekend on February 16 with a show in Jakarta, Indonesia before heading home to rest and gear up for the real gauntlet of touring they have coming up. With no shows for the rest of the month or March after Jakarta, the band will return to the United States to kick off their first of two legs in April. And don't miss the stripped down performance of 'The Emptiness Machine' that Emily, Mike, and Colin performed on the Japanese morning show DayDay! We'll have you covered on the setlist and all the fun stuff that happens at this show, so be sure to sign up on the forums and follow us on social media (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook)! Quote
LPLStaff Posted February 12 Posted February 12 That Overflow performance night 1 is REALLY good. Mike's singing voice is getting quite good compared to pre-2024, and Good Things Go is a great example of it. It looks like Tokyo was their most solid show yet. Also noticed they performed endstage but with seats behind the stage, so 360, but not like the 2024 360 (which returns in August in the US/Canada. QWERTY or bust for N2! Quote
JerseyShore Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Audio quality was excellent in that first show. They absolutely nailed Lost. Looking forward to waking up and listening to QWERTY in the 2nd half of the show. Don't disappoint us LP. Quote
javignacio Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Someone made a playlist with POA instead of Crawling KTTK and LFY in the rotation spots source: https://x.com/TokyoPrison0909/status/1889632530438971728?t=at0TjPxeL_hwgBctNlT-Pw&s=19 Quote
Qwerty18 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 KTTK at this show went especially hard. So glad they're playing it! Quote
vinifeijo Posted February 12 Posted February 12 (edited) Emily forgetting lyrics and having to look at the prompter all the time hahhaha Show note, believe it or not: Emily played turntables in Two Faced intro. Edited February 12 by vinifeijo Quote
Yucker Posted February 12 Posted February 12 15 minutes ago, vinifeijo said: Show note, believe it or not: Emily played turntables in Two Faced intro. And Mike playing In the end intro on Joe's pads while Joe hitting a cymbal on Colin's set. Quote
LPLStaff Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Great swap with POA instead of Crawling. No point to keep Crawling around so much if Emily is letting the crowd sing so much of it. Make that a Hybrid Theory rotation spot and throw in another song - Runaway? Tokyo shows looked quite fun for the band. Love Keys getting some plays. Hard to believe no Hunting Party or One More Light songs have been played in Japan outside of the Mike/Chester piano TV performance until now with Keys. That's wild. The guitar on Points is still off... it feels... "clunky" from Alex but he got APFMH under control so there is hope for Points. Quote
BartBart91 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 1 hour ago, wslwins said: POA back again. that's quite boring tbh. POA is back, it's great, it's one of the best LP live songs. Quote
Chesterchaz Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I consider donating to Erynn for his quality uploads all around the world, lol. Really amazing. Also I hope the Japanese 'professional' bootleggers do these concerts some justice! Quote
xxHybridXeroxx Posted February 12 Posted February 12 28 minutes ago, Chesterchaz said: Also I hope the Japanese 'professional' bootleggers do these concerts some justice! Me too!!! I’ll be on the hunt on the Japanese bootleg sites!! Hope someone did record it. Quote
LPLStaff Posted February 12 Posted February 12 What is the show intro they used before Inception? Full show: Quote
JerseyShore Posted February 12 Posted February 12 1 hour ago, Chesterchaz said: I consider donating to Erynn for his quality uploads all around the world, lol. Really amazing. He's 3 feet away from the stage and the sound quality is better than some of the official live videos it feels like. And somehow he avoids a crazy loud fan right in his ear. Amazing uploads. Quote
hybridcloudyfz Posted February 12 Posted February 12 9 minutes ago, JerseyShore said: He's 3 feet away from the stage and the sound quality is better than some of the official live videos it feels like. And somehow he avoids a crazy loud fan right in his ear. Amazing uploads. seriously. i noticed that immediately too, the quality surprisingly good Quote
bloodbath Posted February 12 Posted February 12 6 hours ago, LPLStaff said: Great swap with POA instead of Crawling. No point to keep Crawling around so much if Emily is letting the crowd sing so much of it. Make that a Hybrid Theory rotation spot and throw in another song - Runaway? Perhaps Emily has some troubles with it (even Chester had them!) or she isn't a big fan of the song. I like the song being played so soon and sung by majority of the crown. That's refreshing for me Quote
JZLP-Benningstrong Posted February 12 Posted February 12 7 hours ago, LPLStaff said: Great swap with POA instead of Crawling. No point to keep Crawling around so much if Emily is letting the crowd sing so much of it. Make that a Hybrid Theory rotation spot and throw in another song Man Emily acts like Jared Leto too many karaoke moments for the crowd, i get it LP has some moments that are for us like the ITE bridge. She should sing atleast 90% of the show Emily's karaoke attitude and the low volume at the shows suck. Quote
javignacio Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I love POA but they need to bring back the rap-intro from Mike. they could add many cool verses. As for crawling, I got the idea from the comeback show that 'that' was the part we connect to 'being in the role of Chester'. But I do agree that Emily let's too much for the crowd to sing, but maybe it's her style. Quote
xxHybridXeroxx Posted February 13 Posted February 13 1 hour ago, javignacio said: But I do agree that Emily lets too much for the crowd to sing, but maybe it's her style. I think it actually is her style… from what I heard from Dead Sara fans and seeing videos of the live covers they sometimes did. Quote
c3bebuilder Posted February 13 Posted February 13 10 hours ago, LPLStaff said: Great swap with POA instead of Crawling. No point to keep Crawling around so much if Emily is letting the crowd sing so much of it. Make that a Hybrid Theory rotation spot and throw in another song - Runaway? Tokyo shows looked quite fun for the band. Love Keys getting some plays. Hard to believe no Hunting Party or One More Light songs have been played in Japan outside of the Mike/Chester piano TV performance until now with Keys. That's wild. The guitar on Points is still off... it feels... "clunky" from Alex but he got APFMH under control so there is hope for Points. I've been listening and it really seems the guitar/amp tones (specifically for the Hybrid Theory songs) sound really off and strange. The tone for POA sounds really off and it doesn't seem like the way he's playing it is wrong , it seems more like an amp tone thing. Also the chopping effect on the guitar on POA sounds really off too. The guitars also sound really low on every video I've watched. Quote
LPLStaff Posted February 13 Posted February 13 It's not just you - the earlier songs are really off with the guitar. It's Points, Papercut, OSC, Lying From You, those heavy early songs. Either Alex is off or the amps are off. He fixed APFMH in 2025. Having hope the rest can be improved. You can hear it immediately on Points. In-person at the first show back it was VERY noticeable with him and it's driven me crazy every time I've seen them since. Quote
Ravok Posted February 13 Posted February 13 1 hour ago, LPLStaff said: It's not just you - the earlier songs are really off with the guitar. It's Points, Papercut, OSC, Lying From You, those heavy early songs. Either Alex is off or the amps are off. He fixed APFMH in 2025. Having hope the rest can be improved. You can hear it immediately on Points. In-person at the first show back it was VERY noticeable with him and it's driven me crazy every time I've seen them since. Seems like the sound was much more massive on Tokyo night #2 as well. Very weird stuff going on all around. Quote
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