hahninator

Yeah I definitely agree. My favorite Castle was when it had the ATS interludes when I saw it in 2015. Sucks we never got to see it with extra Mike verses on it in 2017... It's Goin' Down would have been great. I bet that's not the last we see of that song though. He will probably play it at Fort Minor shows (if FM continues) or keep rapping it in the LP set somehow. Quite unfortunate most of us missed the return of It's Goin' Down (just a part in Castle) and High Voltage (done what, 3 times at Fort Minor shows?) - I hope they are back again sometime.

I'm ok with a verse like RTN as the WFTE intro, or the POA intros, etc, because Chester did join for Enth E Nd in the FM sets which was badass. And he sang WYG. They are different, which is why I don't like RTN or Welcome full in the LP sets.

Save it for Fort Minor shows, and get Mike to do some more FM. Then he can play that other Castle remix he does at FM shows.

Wow Lee, good find. I didn't know that. Interesting indeed. I'm surprised they didn't do Castle of Dance instead of Castle regular. I guess it's because they wanted a guest on it. Going forward, Mike can handle the whole Castle of Dance by himself no problem.

I really think they are so far into their career that a new singer would be literally almost impossible to find. They are able to survive as 5 no problem, hell Mike can survive as just ONE honestly. They had like almost 20 years of history with Chester, this isn't some case where the singer dies two or three albums in... they had like seven of them. The vibes would be so different that I bet the band this far into their career won't do it. They also probably know the fans would look at a new singer as some sort of replacement for Chester and they'd lose some support, which is likely, but that may not really alter their decision much. Other bands have done it. AC/DC. Queen. LP is certainly of the status of those bands in the world.

Well Rick Rubin suggested it to Mike, and Dave wanted to do it, so there were two sides for sure ASAP that said "let's do it." I can imagine some of them didn't want to at first. Can't blame them. Glad it happened, it was like a celebration of a great life of Chester combined with the closing of that chapter of the band and the opening of a new one. It was essentially exactly what Mike intended it to be - a true memorial for the fans.

Members of Linkin Park have given their first interview since the Hollywood Bowl performance on October 27th. Mike and Dave appeared on the BBC Radio Rock 1 Show with Daniel P. Carter on November 5th. Daniel says he caught up with them after the show, so the interview could have taken place either that night after the show or a few days later. The entire show is streaming on demand. Mike and Dave begin at around 1h11m. Daniel plays New Divide after the interview and then gives his take on the show. He said one of the most emotional parts of the night was the performance of One More Light at the show, because of the band coming to Radio 1 and explaining what the song was about earlier in the year. Following that, he puts Mike and Chester's explanation from May on. Chester and Mike talk about Dave crying when he first heard it, etc. It's all worth a listen. Here is a transcript: Mike: "I don’t think I’ve ever done anything harder than that. It was so close to what I thought it was going to be in terms of a show... now in terms of emotions, like that’s a whole different ball game. I didn’t know what to expect. I don’t think any of us did. I got off stage and was like almost dizzy. It was the weirdest feeling... I still am a little bit, I was like dizzy. It was the weirdest feeling." Phoenix: "Three months ago, maybe two or three days after Chester had passed and I was talking with my wife and realized when the Hollywood Bowl show we were going to be playing which was originally going to be like, October 24th or something, and the thought went through my head of "I think we should still try to play that show." Then the five of us got together a day or two after that, and I told these guys "I don’t know if this is crazy but I really think we should find a way to figure out how to do that show, I think it’s important." I think some of the guys were like "hell yeah I’m in" and some of the guys were like "okay that’s crazy, what does that even mean?" And for me at that point I didn’t have any clue what that meant and I think the last 3 months we have literally gone on a journey to try and figure out what that looks like, what that feels like and how do we do that. And so I think, at this stage right now for me it’s definitely a bit surreal to have gone through that journey kind of co-currently." Mike: "I don’t even know what to tell someone it’s like. We’ve all built so much of our identity and our lives on this band. It’s everything. Then it’s in shambles and then you look at it and you go, "Okay well what can I do? Is there anything I can do?" And one of the reasons we wanted to do this is that we knew that we had had a funeral. We had gone and had a private event with Chester’s family but looking online a lot of fans you know, they didn’t have that and they were still looking for ways to mourn and ways to like, express how horrible they felt. I know that you and I had the idea at the same time, and you said it, and I was like yeah that’s what will feel good to me that’s what will feel good to a lot of people. It was almost that situation where you think "oh crap now I’ve committed." Phoenix: "You feel like you have to commit and then you immediately feel like this is real now." Mike: "Like "oh crap what did I say yes to?" Phoenix: "You’ve got to put it out there and then you have to figure out how to do it." Mike: "Because even just sitting in the dressing room for two hours before the show and he’s not there... it’s so weird. He would be doing his vocal warm up and literally screaming - he was the loudest person I’ve ever met, like he would be warming his voice up screaming in the room and you’re like trying to have a conversation and at the time you’re like…it’s so loud, and of course now you’re like I wish it was in the room. I would give anything for that to be happening right now and it was just that over and over and over the whole night, you know. It was crazy."

Maybe they'll somehow make the Intel VR experience available to fans, otherwise I guess they wouldn't have made it.

Well said. It's interesting that they are older and tour less, no doubt, but that they just had the largest European headlining tour in their career. That's pretty cool. And the USA tour is pretty extensive since they have the break in the middle. I think they can make it work where they hit areas really hard but divide it up so it doesn't kill the band. I don't know, it just seems way better than the LT and THP cycles... they actually were all over the continents with the 2017 scheduling. Seemed better to me. Even had damn stadium shows booked. I think OML put new life in them after a break and they were ready to play. That might be the case again in 2019.

Judging by their comments, the band seems to not even know at this point. And you can't blame them either - it's only been a few months. I bet OML cycle is over completely. I think the most logical way forward is to take a break, write an album, and start fresh there. No matter what, the first world tour back will be like a "memorial tour", whether they intend it to be or not. That's a lot to handle emotionally too so I can understand why they wouldn't play until 2019+. For sure, I mean all of us would want to see them in 2018 but I'm not sure how realistic it is. I'm down with whatever they do.

JD struggled and it's unfortunate they didn't do the Reanimated bridge, but what can you do... 3 hour set and they were rehearsing a TON of shit. No problem. No complaints from me. OSC blew the place up. @Legend, I didn't notice any of that live either on BIO. I was focusing on people all over the stage so I guess it was easy to miss. There were two drummers on Rob's kit at one point lol. Funny how so many (including myself) talked badly about Kiiara in 2017 and she comes out and nails Heavy at the show, better than Julia by far.

You're right. I meant it as more of, this is his first time doing it alone, but you nailed it when you said he's been co-leading the band forever. Yep, if AIC, Queen, STP, AC/DC can do it... LP can definitely do it. They're one of the very best bands of our generation to me. Whatever it takes - pop, more reliance on hip hop, etc... any of it.

There is no need for LP to play a lot of aggressive or heavy songs going forward. Songs like New Divide, Numb, and In The End can be done like they were at the Hollywood Bowl show. What else needs to be done? Mike is a master of medleys, perhaps he does an epic Papercut/Points/APFMH medley. Or integrates Faint somehow. Anything with screaming is out, rightfully so. They don't need it at all. The best thing the band ever did for their future was to change the sound significantly starting with Minutes to Midnight. That's the pinnacle LP album to me because of how important it is to their career, and they hit a grand slam with it (bsides/demos too). Starting there, they've really allowed Mike to handle vocals well through the change of styles... OML and ATS are great examples too but we see it with LT and slightly with THP as well (he can sing Final Masq acoustic as he did on the version they released). I agree. It was really noticeable how much Jon freed Mike up. Like Astat said, if Chester was still around, I'd STILL advocate for Jon joining the band as a touring member because of how much he adds to the show. He doesn't have to sing lead vocals if they don't want him to (although he sounded great on Battle Symphony)... the fact that he plays so many instruments and does backing vocals is enough to allow Mike to roam the stage more to become a bigger frontman in the band. Exactly.

No, before anyone jumps on me, I’m not talking about a replacement for Chester. Anyone who is a semi-hardcore fan of the band that watched the show Saturday likely walked away visibly impressed with Jon Green and what he added to the show. Those in the fanbase know Jon Green for being a writer on Nobody Can Save Me and Battle Symphony on One More Light. At the London Brixton Academy show this past July, Jon also joined the band on guitar for Nobody Can Save Me as well, which was Chester’s second-to-last performance with the band. Jon might be just one of the best (not famous) musicians we’ve seen. Before Nobody Can Save Me, Mike said, “You may have noticed a gentleman kind of sneaking around in the shadows on keyboard and guitar. His name is Jon Green.” Jon then performed a beautiful vocal/guitar intro with Mike and Steven McKellar of Civil Twilight for the song, and stuck around for Battle Symphony...taking lead vocals on the track. He also performed guitar for both tracks. His voice is REALLY good - it almost is unfortunate that he had to work with Linkin Park in the studio because Chester is such a good singer and (of course) handles the lead vocals. But what Jon brought to the table was quite impressive. Jon was featured on at least seven or eight different songs throughout the night. He played keyboards and guitar on The Messenger/Iridescent and even the live debut of Roads Untraveled, played guitar and did backing vocals on Shadow of the Day/With or Without You, (backing vocals on Leave Out All The Rest too?), joined for vocals on Papercut (when have the ending "ahh ahhhs" ever sounded so good?), played Mike’s keyboard parts on The Catalyst, played guitar on Iridescent, and played keyboard on Bleed It Out. Wow. Jon seems on-par with how many instruments Mike can play during the live Linkin Park shows. Comments on LPLive and LPAssociation include, “Jon did absolutely wonderful” and “I would love to see Jon Green and Ilsey Juber to collaborate more often with the band and tour with the band in the future.” Jon Green would be a very fitting addition to Linkin Park to free up Mike on keys and guitar, and to add extra vocals where needed. I’m not saying he’s going to take the stage to sing One Step Closer, but as evidenced by the Hollywood Bowl set, Jon Green is a very appropriate match for Linkin Park as a sort of “unofficial” live band member for touring if they so wish (and can of course write in the studio as well on songs like he did for One More Light). Bands like Muse already utilize members like this. "Seventh member" and "unofficial member" are just terms people throw around... Jon has a lot to truly add to the band's live show if they wish to utilize him. As of right now, Jon is a member of The Bonfires, a British band, but we have no information on what that band currently does or is up to as their social media is very empty. With Chester’s passing, this could be a helpful step for the future of Linkin Park. We are certainly impressed with him.

I will ask them what the status is.

Really good song. It didn't shock me Mike would debut a song because let's face it, it's Mike we are talking about. I look forward to seeing the song evolve. I think it can be a big single for them too if they wish.

The show was truly one of the best events I've ever attended. Not sure what to really say about it other than it ended up being a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I wasn't sure what to even expect. Being around South Americans in the crowd was truly memorable. They exploded the entire place on the Hybrid Theory songs, especially Papercut, OSC, and APFMH. Jeremy KILLED it... singing the alternate APFMH lines Chester did live. Talk about a well versed guest. The run of OML songs about killed me. Super super sad portion of the show. I love Civil Twilight so it was great to see Steven out there, and Ilsey's voice is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Sharp Edges was fantastic. How about that Roads Untraveled debut? Wow. Jon Green was A+ and I was quite impressed with him. All in all a fantastic night that showed LP can move forward from this. I selfishly want to see them a lot on tour now (2018) but surely they need a large break before they continue.

I think Jon Green was basically trying out for the 7th member role (whether unofficially or not) at the show. I have a piece written on him I'll post tomorrow. What? LOL. Because Brad didn't do a non-LPU M&G after the show, he isn't ready to face the fans? Brad, Rob, and Joe are really shy whereas Chester, Mike, and Dave are the outgoing members of the band. Mike and Chester regularly chill with fans after performances, sign stuff, etc. Brad has always been quiet, just look at him at the LPU M&Gs. The last thing I'd want to do if I was Brad would be to face hundreds of international fans after the show hearing all about Chester from them all, that takes a big emotional toll on someone. It doesn't mean he CAN'T face the fans. Brad doesn't do M&Gs almost at all unless it's via the LPU, which is more than fine and there are no complaints about that. LP gives way way way more access to their band members than any other big band in the world and that's a 100% fact. Coldplay, U2, Rolling Stones, Muse, Metallica, Foo Fighters, etc. Of all of those, only Metallica does M&Gs and it's 8-10 people a show. LPU M&Gs are regularly 30+, and at all the non-normal concert events, the band signs after and hangs out. See: Jimmy Kimmel, etc.

If there is one overwhelming conclusion we could draw from the show on Friday, it is that Linkin Park absolutely possesses the tools to continue forward as a band. Perhaps one of the largest talking points of the performance is Mike on lead vocals. Going in to the show, quite possibly the biggest question was if Mike could handle taking over on singing lead vocals. We know Mike doesn’t need to sing One Step Closer, but could he actually sing songs we THOUGHT he could sing as well as piano versions of certain other songs? Right away, Mike put those questions to rest. The very first song of the show, after the Robot Boy intro, featured Mike taking lead vocals on a mashup of Iridescent and The Messenger, both of which he sang live for the first time (outside of his normal parts). Then, he once again took lead vocals on the very first performance of Roads Untraveled ever - five and a half years after it was released. Both tracks sounded outstanding, and we might possibly be the band's harshest critics. When it came time for One More Light, the key of the song was changed and Mike took over that song too. On Waiting For The End, he performed a piano intro with him singing the first verse and chorus. Pretty damn good for the first show ever with him on lead vocals at a Linkin Park show. These songs weren’t even discussed in the “possible Mike songs he could sing live w/ LP” talks over the past few months… which adds even more tracks to what can be played at possible LP 2.0 shows if the band continues forward. Mike showed throughout the show that he has the ability to be the lead singer of Linkin Park, and fans have come out in big numbers afterward to show their support for that possibility. If any reassurance is needed, just look around social media and the fan forums - you don't have to look far. The top/most liked comment on Linkin Park’s post the day after the show says, “Anybody else think that Mike Shinoda did an incredible job with the role of frontman last night?!? He sang Chester's parts really well and did an incredible job. Would love the band to move on as a 5 piece!!” Another heavy-liked comment reads, “There is no doubt he would have been incredibly proud of you but tonight also proved something else ... as a band ... you should absolutely stay together. The energy was electric and you started to enjoy it which is totally allowed, don't ever beat yourselves because you enjoyed it, just look at how it reflected in the audience!!!” In terms of what WILL actually happen, we are unsure exactly. The band has made vague comments in the past few months that they are going to “work on building the future of Linkin Park”, which is reassuring. It sounds like they are wanting to move forward together but haven’t fleshed out how exactly that will happen. Three months is really soon to even discuss what is going to happen, but there is more reassurance to be found in the live debut of a brand new song. Mike before Looking for an Answer said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen to this song…. But if we do continue, I want to continue to build on this song and keep writing it and keep working on it. It’ll be a unique time for you guys, for us to be able to share with you guys a glimpse into how a song gets made. And after this, on our Instagram and Twitter and everything else, we’ll show you how it goes… assuming it goes.” And again on the intro of Bleed It Out, Mike said, “You guys we don’t know where we are going from here, but we certainly appreciate your support as we get there.” There’s a good bit of optimism to be found in that comment. Another comment on Looking For An Answer’s YouTube video says, “Please never stop making music. In memory of Chester please continue this band no matter how much time you guys wanna take we respect that but don't ever disband that's not what Chester would want from you guys.” You’ll always have those who say bands should not continue after tragedies, but in this case it’s about 10-to-1 saying Linkin Park should forge a path forward, with Mike on lead vocals. It is clear that many of us need them, if they wish to continue; when their time comes, we will be ready.

Finally got mine after I returned from LA. Really cool.

In the weeks leading up to the show, there was an air of uncertainty in the fanbase about the impending performance at the Hollywood Bowl. Could Linkin Park even perform well as just five members just a few months after Chester’s passing? Or would the band take ahold of the show, concoct something epic, and leave us speechless? People were split but the second option turned out to be one hundred percent accurate and we were all left with a show that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Walking up to the Hollywood Bowl hours before doors opening, we were greeted with an impressive sight - thousands of Linkin Park fans from around the world had met at the venue REALLY early to hang out, meet up, and celebrate Chester and the one thing that they all shared - a common, strong love for Linkin Park and Chester. There were cover artists with fans singing, there was a massive wall dedicated to Chester that fans could sign, and ribbons were being passed out with lines from One More Light, Invisible, and The Messenger. And the icing on the cake... the Chester memorial banners from Warner Bros HQ, which were taken down due to the tragic passing of Tom Petty. They were hung up outside of the venue so fans could take pictures with them, which meant a lot to those who came from across the world that didn’t get a chance to see them in July, August, and September. We met fans from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, China, England, Mexico, and over half of the U.S., just to name a few. There were fans who had met each other online via the LP Underground over a decade ago that were able to meet in person for the first time and hundreds of stories very similar. Older adults, younger children, people who had seen Linkin Park over seventy times and people who had never seen Linkin Park - everyone was there. Chester probably had no idea and Linkin Park probably has no idea, but the impact they had and continue to have on so many lives is immeasurable. What Linkin Park has built as a band is something more than family, something more than just friends. Their fanbase is truly unique for such a large act. Chester selflessly wore his heart on his sleeve as a musician and father and it reflects with the fanbase. Since day one, Linkin Park has made their fans a priority and it truly showed on Friday. For being an incredibly popular band, Linkin Park has always remained in touch with their fans and prioritizes them greatly. The band has not been seen publicly together at all since Chester’s passing, but what did they do on Thursday after their production rehearsal? They headed outside of the venue to meet and socialize with fans that had traveled in for the show. Linkin Park has zero obligation to meet anyone, especially in a time that requires great privacy, but they stuck around and met fans on both Thursday and again Friday after the show. It’s almost unheard of in music. Starting earlier in the week before the show, fans flew in from across the world to host their own meetups at famous Linkin Park “landmarks” around Los Angeles. From the Griffith Observatory, to the Rock Walk at Guitar Center and many more, the entire week felt like a celebration. How many other bands can say they have a similarly grand respect FROM their fanbase? Not many. Thousands of fans from across the world even coordinated a pink glowstick movement for the performance of One More Light that turned out beautiful. During Chester’s Birmingham, England speech that played during the show, people from different walks of life that spoke different languages were hugging each other, crying, and celebrating life. And that is what the true meaning of the show was intended to be. That, combined with all of the surprises and guests made the night truly something special and rounded out an evening that Chester would undoubtedly be very proud of. Great job to Linkin Park, the guests, and the fans that attended from every corner of the globe.

I asked their management when LP got them if they had more or if they were able to be bought anywhere. They said they only made them for the band and that's it. I really want one.

Ha. Damn Wesley you really pay attention.

Looking forward to the show. No idea what to expect. Can't believe this is actually something that is happening, but onward we go.

See you there.