2025.08.11 - Chicago, Illinois

[GlassCastles]

The From Zero World Tour train keeps on rolling! After a quick stop in Canada, Linkin Park returns to the US for the first show of the cycle in my neck of the woods: Chicago, Illinois!

 

 

Illinois pretty much always gets a visit when the band tours the US, but it's been a while since they've played in Chicago proper, usually opting for the inconsistently named amphitheater in Tinley Park instead, which is where they played their last show in the state. While still part of the Carnivores Tour, their 2014 show also served as the host of 101WKQX's PIQNIQ Festival, which meant fans got to see a couple more openers starting much earlier in the day. Starting at 3:30 and running until just before 5, Junior Prom, Sleeper Agent, and Wild Cub performed on the St. Xavier University Side Stage, and Local H joined the usual trifecta of AFI, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Linkin Park on the main stage. This show got Set B, meaning Act 1 had a full "With You" and Mike's solo (which had the first verse of "When They Come For Me" thanks to a request from a certain someone...) transitioned into the shortened "Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You" instead of "Numb". And of course newcomers from The Hunting Party like "Rebellion" and "Final Masquerade" rounded out the set. A pretty cool moment presented itself when LPLive member Broman got handed the mic to rap the second verse of "Faint"! Looking back at this tour, from the different acts to the solo medleys to the various interludes, it's pretty easy to see the roots of what would eventually become the From Zero setlist.

 

 

"Faint" live from the Tinley Park stop of the Carnivores Tour featuring LPLive member Broman on verse 2!

 

Moving on to the city of the hour, the last time Chicago itself was graced with a Linkin Park performance was all the way back in 2011, 14 years ago, which also happens to be the only other time they've played the United Center! That was an extra special one, considering the band hosted their 3rd LPU Summit before the show, where LPU members could get pretty cool, exclusive experiences like a tour bus tour, the chance to walk the LP stage, and a Q&A with the band! They decided to change things up for the first US Summit, opting to let fans watch them do a soundcheck instead of playing acoustic songs. Considering they got "Burning In The Skies" and 3(!) performances of "Blackout", both of which are tragically rare, I can't imagine they were too upset by the swap. On to the actual show, it was one of A Thousand Suns' trademark killer sets. "When They Come For Me" into "Papercut" to open the encore is filthy beyond belief, and the earlier back-to-back of "No More Sorrow" into "From The Inside" is right alongside it! It was clearly a show worth remembering, seeing as the band collected fan footage of them playing "Waiting For The End" for a live video! 

 

 

Check out this live video of "Waiting For The End" using fan footage of Linkin Park's shows in Chicago and St. Paul!

 

Before that, we have to go all the way back to 2003 LP Underground Tour for another Chicago stint. On top of the novelty of it being a tour predominantly meant for LPU members, something the band hasn't really tried since, the extremely rare "Hit The Floor" and "Easier To Run" also made their only appearances in the state at this show! Snippets of Reanimation also held down the fort here, with "Crawling", "With You", and "One Step Closer" all featuring elements from their remix versions. And of course, Blindside lead singer Christian Lindskog joined the band for "One Step Closer". Always a fun time when the openers get in on some of the LP action! The earlier shows in Chicago have a bit of mystery to them, so if you have any more info than we do, please chime in! The band's first show in the city in 2001 is mostly known, but a firm confirmation on whether or not "Crawling" was played holds us back from saying for certain what the full setlist was. Still, we know the usual pre-Linkin Park cuts like "And One" and "High Voltage" (though the version played was Mike's remix that would wind up on the "One Step Closer" single) filled out the set of what was otherwise pretty much every Hybrid Theory song, including the aptly named "Forgotten". We know even less about the band's next show in Chicago from 2002, really only being confident in "With You" opening, "One Step Closer" featuring members from Cypress Hill and Adema's Mark Chavez, and a handful of other tracks like "In The End" and "My December". Another tidbit we dug up, though, was word of a "DJ Battle" happening on this tour to let prominent DJs from various cities play on the tour between Adema and Linkin Park! For Chicago, that DJ was DJ Z-Trip, who you may be familiar with for his song "Walking Dead", featuring the one and only Chester Bennington! Cool to see the start of these connections!

 

 

An incompletely recording of the band's first ever show in Chicago from 2001!

 

Going back to the present, Linkin Park's run in Canada was one for the books. On top of the normal excitement of back-to-back nights at the Centre Bell arena in Montreal, Emily managed to pull off the full "Heavy Is The Crown" scream not once, but twice! And in the same spot where Chester managed the full "Given Up" scream! Air quality in that building must be sublime. As for the actual sets, it seems like we're back to a more standard A/B/C rotation, but don't think that means the band is taking it easy! For starters, the "Castle Of Glass" and "Lies Greed Misery" slot doesn't seem to be fully set for any of the three sets, though we have our guesses for the pattern. More notably, though, Montreal night 2's Set C saw the return of "Keys To The Kingdom" in the heavy Act 2 slot for the first time on this leg of the tour, last appearing at the band's first night in Frankfurt, Germany! The last time Set C was played, for Boston night 2, that spot was filled by "IGYEIH", and Mike made it clear that "Keys To The Kingdom" was a semi-last minute sub, so they're still changing things up even as the sets get more standardized. And in news that's really exciting to me personally, Lynn Gunn from PVRIS has been regularly joining the band for the second half of "Burn It Down", and she's only getting more comfortable on the song as the tour goes on!

 

 

Check out this last minute performance of "Keys To The Kingdom" live from Montreal night 2!

 

Speaking of PVRIS, they've has had a relatively short run on this tour, but they've pretty firmly cemented themselves as one of the best openers Linkin Park has ever had. Every night they're bringing incredible energy and some truly stellar performances. The opening run of "GOOD ENEMY" and "ANIMALS" kicks off the night with a bang, and I don't think we could ask for a better closer than the "girls, gays, and theys" anthem of "GODDESS". They've even been changing up their set a bit on this run, so they're clearly having fun with it. Between "Hallucinations", "Monster", "HYPE ZOMBIES", and "Oil & Water", PVRIS has a good arsenal of wildcards to throw out there! It really is a shame they're only on 9 dates for this tour, but selfishly I'm pretty glad they're almost done cause that opens up the door for some headlining dates!

 

Linkin Park's "Burn It Down" featuring PVRIS frontwoman Lynn Gunn from Toronto!

 

So who's coming out to the show? I know I am! This is my last stop on the From Zero World Tour for now, and it's been a blast! It was great getting to meet everyone on the northeast run, so if you see me around in Chicago, feel free to come say hey! Word is it's gonna be a somewhat rainy, probably humid day, so make sure to dress cool! As far as what else we should be expecting, the pattern says Chicago should be getting Set B, which means rotations like "Cut The Bridge", "Given Up", and "Good Things Go" are all on the docket. After this, the band makes a pit stop in Detroit before playing a couple shows in Pennsylvania followed by a stop in Nashville.

 

On a different note, we've made it easier than ever to keep up with all things Linkin Park related without having to worry about staying glued to your screens all the time. Introducing The Messenger! It's a newsletter that we'll be sending out every couple weeks or so with all the latest Linkin Park and Linkin Park-adjacent news, so sign up if that sounds at all up your alley! You can even check out previous updates here if you wanna see what you're getting into. 

 

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[SomeRandomPerson818]

I hope everyone at that show has an amazing time.

[LPLStaff]

That sure was fast!