2026.03.08 - Melbourne, Australia (Night 1)

[LPLStaff]

After two great shows in Brisbane to kick off their first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 13 years, Linkin Park is well-rested with two full off days before heading into Melbourne for another two night run!

 

Starting the tour off at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, a venue all-too-familiar with them (both kicking off and ending tours there previously), the band already has started pulling out some fun songs throughout the shows. But we'll get to that in a bit. The first thing to mention is the very strong social media reaction and rock press coverage of the Brisbane shows. Rock outlets and music fans in general in Australia are walking away impressed from the band's first shows there in over 4,000 days. 

 

There is quite an outpouring of reviews and opinions on the Brisbane shows, with big high fives and celebrations all around. scenestr said, "Armstrong sprays fans with foam streamers, tossing the can to a fan who clutchs their keepsake for dear life. 'In The End'. I read the faces of the front barrier die-hard fans and I see all I need to know to confirm they are losing their sh.t! Over-singing. Arms slung over shoulders or fist pumping to the beat. One girl crying through the first verse and not wiping it away. A bloke next to her yelling every word like he's trying to warn her about the demon he's trying to outrun. Around 13,000 voices carrying lines that once belonged to one. Loud. Cracked. Human. No sterile arena perfection. Maybe my eyes are stinging too."

 

Music Feeds says, "If Brisbane’s launch show is any indication, it’s equal parts tribute, celebration and fresh start – with a setlist that manages to honour the past while making space for the future. And yep, you will almost certainly lose your voice by the time In The End rolls around."

 

And perhaps biggest of all, Rolling Stone Australia/New Zealand titles their article "Linkin Park Ignite a New Spark at Opening Australian Shows in Brisbane" and adds, "Armstrong is a genuinely extraordinary vocalist" and "The closing stretch — “Numb”, “In the End”, a lung-shredding “Faint” — arrived with the weight of songs that have meant something to too many people for too long to ever feel routine." Bluntmag follows with more celebratory comments about Emily.

 

Comments on Facebook from these same outlets are getting hundreds of comments of people saying things like "best show of my life", etc, which is typical, but the outpouring of support in Australia across the board is pretty strong just from these two shows compared to what we usually see.

 

 

So what even happened in Brisbane?

 

The band played two shows, one with Set A that included "Points of Authority", "Crawling", "Over Each Other", "Castle of Glass" (first performance of 2026", "Casualty" (also first performance of 2026), "Stained", and "From the Inside" - songs not in every show. Night 2 two days later, sandwiched by an off day with the From Zero Night in Brisbane, brought in a different order and "New Divide", "Cut the Bridge", "Lies Greed Misery"...aaaaand...

 

Linkin Park surprised us all with a performance of the rarity "Unshatter" on night 2. Just when we thought the song could possibly be gone from the show, the band busted it back out. It was not played for 15 shows, which doesn't sound like much until you realize that span goes back 167 days, nearly half of a calendar year. The only three performances of it came on the North American leg 2 run in Los Angeles, San Jose, and Portland. Linkin Park used soundchecks on that tour to get the song worked up as a surprise for the Los Angeles show, and they kept it in rotation for a few more shows before the end of that leg of the tour. However, it was not seen at all in South America, Mexico, the Middle East, or India.

 

 

Now, with the band back in arenas and out of their big stadium/festival/outdoor production for a bit, we are wondering if the other missing songs could possibly show back up this leg too. And by that, we're talking about the newer fan-favorite "Let You Fade" and of course the big representative of The Hunting Party - "Keys to the Kingdom". We will see what the rest of the tour has to offer, but with several two-night runs coming up in Melbourne and Sydney, we wouldn't rule either of these songs out and we think it's entirely possible they both pop up. Fingers crossed! 

 

We say that about hopefully seeing these songs in the show, not just because we like following every show, but because after the From Zero era, you have to think Linkin Park won't carry ALL thirteen From Zero songs into the next era with the sets. Of course, the big songs will carry over and a few favorites (we could see "Overflow" making it into 2027+) will too, but songs like "Let You Fade", "Unshatter", "Good Things Go", "IGYEIH"... the rarest of those could have to spend some time on the shelf in favor of brand new music they are making.

 

And speaking of brand new music, we've seen several shots of Linkin Park in the studio lately too....

 

But back to Australia, we also wanted to point out, like the comments we mentioned above, that Emily's voice right now sounds quite good. Listen to how clean the chorus is here from her on "Cut the Bridge". We're not sure if it's from being more comfortable than ever with each LP show she plays, or the downtime truly is great for her between shows/tour legs, but we are impressed!

 

 

One other thing from Brisbane before we move on - as he sometimes does, Colin showed up to surprise fans at the From Zero Night (exclusively for LPU members) in Brisbane and take photos and sign items.

 

 

Alright, that's what took place in Brisbane. What about Melbourne?

 

Oh, Linkin Park fans know Melbourne well. Really well. VERY well, in fact. The city on the southern coast of Australia is no stranger to Linkin Park and this will be LP's 9th show in the city. And 10th show, because we have a night 2 here as well.

 

Similar to Brisbane, Linkin Park first played the city at the Festival Hall in Melbourne on their crazy US-to-Europe Tour in May 2001. We actually have a pretty rare Hybrid Theory-era setlist from that show. Notably, and while this probably took place at the Sydney show a few days prior in 2001 as well, this is the first confirmed show Linkin Park ever had an encore break at.

 

 

In 2003, the iconic Livid Festival actually performed at the Rod Laver Arena, where Linkin Park is performing again this time. We don't have a setlist from that show but it's very likely they performed the standard fall 2003 set at that time (you know, what you see on Live in Texas, pretty much).

 

In Brisbane, Mike asked fans if Fort Minor played in the city because he couldn't remember, and Emily commented that he was too drunk to remember... Mike said "actually, yes" - ha. We're happy to say that yes, Brisbane and Melbourne both got Fort Minor shows in 2006. Check out that setlist by FM in 2006 - phew. All the deep cuts. In Melbourne, it was actually DJ Cheapshot's (Styles of Beyond) birthday so you know there was some partying going on.

 

The band's first-ever two night run in Melbourne came in 2007 for Minutes to Midnight and it's a routine they have stuck to since then. And this is really where the fun history in Melbourne for the band begins. Night 1 in 2007 featured perhaps one of the rarest sets of 2007, the Set B (if you were following back then) with "No More Sorrow" opening, but with "Shadow of the Day" into "What I've Done" like the album has and "Hands Held High" in the middle.... with a super unique encore of "The Little Things Give You Away", "Cure for the Itch", "One Step Closer", and "Faint". Who wouldn't want to see THAT? And with Chris Cornell opening?

 

Night 2 in Melbourne that tour is one of the most memorable live moments in Linkin Park history. Why? That's the very show where Chester broke his wrist.

 

And then continued on and played the rest of the show. Yes, THAT show. We'll let the LPTV episode do the talking.

 

 

Crazy, right? And the story doesn't stop there. Chester was playing guitar on "Shadow of the Day" on this tour. The next show after this, Mike's tech Kurt played guitar for Chester on it. And the show after that? Chester got a new cast (after his original one) and was right back playing guitar himself on the song. And after that? He started going back into the crowd on the tour with the cast on.

 

What a badass. We miss Chester greatly and that's just one of a million incredible stories about the guy.

 

You should really listen to that entire show - because he didn't even stop the band to look at his wrist until 6 songs later.

 

 

 

The craziness in Melbourne doesn't stop there, either.

 

In 2010, Linkin Park hit the ground running on A Thousand Suns big time with most of the songs on the album. Of the ones not in the show at the time, fan requests were heavy for "Blackout" and "Burning in the Skies" to be played. And that's exactly what debuted at Melbourne night 2, 2010. Thanks to the amazing @mikeatron85, we have an amazing video of "Blackout" from that show.

 

 

And it doesn't even stop THERE! The band returned in 2013 for Soundwave across the country and added headline arena shows in both Sydney and Melbourne.

 

At that arena show in Melbourne, a famous poll happened in the crowd. At the LPU Meet and Greet, some of the fans told Mike they were attending multiple shows on the tour, as is common for the Australian tours by Linkin Park. So during the encore that night, after "Burn It Down", Mike and Chester took a poll. Did fans want to hear "In the End", or did they want to hear "A Place for My Head"?

 

You can probably guess which one the crowd was louder for. And it's obvious in the crowd reaction on video. But Chester said it's time to fucking play "A Place for My Head" and that's exactly what they did. Adding to it, after the show, a fan tweeted him and said they were quite disappointed the band didn't play "In the End", to which Chester said, "Come to the second Melbourne show!" Ha!

 

You'll want to see the full video of the commentary between the songs here:

 

 

So now here we are 13 years later, back in Melbourne!

 

What could happen? Well, as we've seen the last... 6 shows in Melbourne - anything can happen. Any song is up for grabs and we are likely to see a surprise or something fun take place. Linkin Park has treated this city very well for the past 20 years and we expect the same to happen again. We're pretty excited, and you should be too.

 

If you're going to the shows, have an amazing time and we'll catch you on social media and of course for night 2. LP takes a day off between the two shows, and is back on March 10th for night 2 before heading back out across Australia.

 

Cheers to the 7th and 8th shows at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne for Linkin Park - we're excited for these!

[linkindan]

The reason Mike’s smiling at the start of offering the poll? Some crazy ginger near the barricade was screaming “A PLACE FOR MY HEAD!” before the poll was even offered

 

No idea who that was, nope, not a clue, couldn’t tell ya, complete mystery, must be pretty awesome though

[Jack Kristie]

Hey all i bought 2 tickets for tonight as an lpu member and got early access. So early access is only for 1 ticket I assume, didn't know until I re read the email this morning. Are they strick on this type of thing was gonna be my wife first ever live show

[Vinescence]

1 hour ago, Jack Kristie said:

Hey all i bought 2 tickets for tonight as an lpu member and got early access. So early access is only for 1 ticket I assume, didn't know until I re read the email this morning. Are they strick on this type of thing was gonna be my wife first ever live show

 

Yes, one Early Entry per person. In all the shows I've attended, they were very strict about not letting a +1 in the queue

[Jack Kristie]

9 minutes ago, Vinescence said:

 

Yes, one Early Entry per person. In all the shows I've attended, they were very strict about not letting a +1 in the queue

Ah damn guess ill just give up on early access and go in with everyone else. Thanks for letting me know

[MMM]

Let You Fade is back. So now we have all FZ songs played in Australia. Nice. Now please play some deepcuts from HT or Meteora or another album for the second part of the European tour and we will have a beautiful culmination of this long world tour.

Edited Sunday at 12:09 PM by MMM

[LPLStaff]

 

Wow that is an amazing one. Lying From You, IGYEIH, Good Things Go, the return of Let You Fade.

 

The 2 night stands are the best. They treat them quite well.

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

11 hours ago, LPLStaff said:

 

Wow that is an amazing one. Lying From You, IGYEIH, Good Things Go, the return of Let You Fade.

 

The 2 night stands are the best. They treat them quite well.

Let You its my favorite FZ its one of the few that survived the test of time. 

 

Not sure why they don't play it..  Is it hard for Mike? I think that its the only song written for Chester. 

[linkindan]

1 hour ago, JZLP-Benningstrong said:

Let You its my favorite FZ its one of the few that survived the test of time. 

 

Not sure why they don't play it..  Is it hard for Mike? I think that its the only song written for Chester. 

Let 👏 You 👏 Fade 👏 Was 👏 NOT 👏 written 👏 for 👏 or 👏 about 👏 Chester 👏

 

But devotees are still clearly looking for traces of Bennington in the band’s work. Many interpreted Let You Fade, a bonus track on From Zero’s deluxe edition, as a tribute to the singer, but “it wasn’t written that way,” says Shinoda. “People even pulled out the fact that there’s numbers in the song [that align with] Chester’s birthday. I was like: whoops. That’s not intentional.”
 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/18/linkin-park-interview-mike-shinoda-emily-armstrong-from-zero

[JZLP-Benningstrong]

1 hour ago, linkindan said:

Let 👏 You 👏 Fade 👏 Was 👏 NOT 👏 written 👏 for 👏 or 👏 about 👏 Chester 👏

 

But devotees are still clearly looking for traces of Bennington in the band’s work. Many interpreted Let You Fade, a bonus track on From Zero’s deluxe edition, as a tribute to the singer, but “it wasn’t written that way,” says Shinoda. “People even pulled out the fact that there’s numbers in the song [that align with] Chester’s birthday. I was like: whoops. That’s not intentional.”
 

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/18/linkin-park-interview-mike-shinoda-emily-armstrong-from-zero

 

deep down I think that it is, its just that they are so focused on having a new era and not being recognized as Chester's tribute band.

 

 

 

 

[LPLStaff]

Mike wouldn't have said this on the album's release if, at bare minimum, there wasn't at least some thought about Chester at some point in writing it:

 

"Songs mean different things to different people. I want to give everyone room for their interpretation of the lyrics to "Let You Fade," at least for now. We don't need to decide on the "right" meaning behind this song. Just let the song's meaning come from the listener. All of your interpretations are welcome. Feel free to share them below; there are no wrong answers. Your version of the meaning doesn't have to be everyone's version. It can be about different things to different people."

 

The lyrics are obviously about a relationship of some sort, with these lines:

I know I'm the one that you wanna forget, but
I'll remember you
No matter where our ways may take us to
And even when the memories slip away

 

My take is it's not explicitly about Chester but you can think of anyone and anything when writing a song, and those lyrics may have brought feelings of him out for the songwriters (Mike specifically). Who truly knows but him. He hasn't spoken about it but knows there is a big connection between fans and Chester with the song, even if it wasn't written explicitly about him (which it wasn't).

[Hybr1dTheories]

Sunday was epic. From the second Emily arrived on that Youtube stream I was pumped listening to her, but I wish any doubters left out there  could hear her on Sunday. Even my Wife who loves the band, but just as a casual fan, rather than my mania around them said - Emily sounds better on some songs.

 

I said sacrilege but it's also the beauty of her voice now, that it adds a different dynamic.

 

I was so pumped to hear my favourites in a different voice but with the same passion. I felt like genuine PTSD and was really anxious before the show. When the legend passed away, I found it really hard to listen to LP again. They were the soundtrack to my life. 

It took a long time to get back into them without fear of falling into the same darkness. 

 

I felt good about it all, but Sunday night it all came rushing back.

 

But when that light hit in the middle, so did the flow of tears. Like almost bawling, looking like a muppet. A release of pent up history and then it was on like donkey kong. The mix of the audience of ages and favourite songs.

 

Back at it tonight, this time in the pit with Early Entry to just release years of energy in a way that is more intimate and closer. 

 

I'll be the other ginger tonight look to hear High Voltage - I've been petitioning for a verse for the last 2 tours...!

[linkindan]

2 hours ago, Hybr1dTheories said:

I'll be the other ginger tonight look to hear High Voltage - I've been petitioning for a verse for the last 2 tours...!

I thought I was the only one 🥹

[Hybr1dTheories]

10 minutes ago, linkindan said:

I thought I was the only one 🥹

We need to band together... one ginger ninja at a time!

[linkindan]

1 minute ago, Hybr1dTheories said:

We need to band together... one ginger ninja at a time!

I’ve never understood why they say “ginger” instead of “galangal”

 

Anyway, see you in the early entry line!