Music For Relief and Power the World present Linkin Park at the House of Blues in West Hollywood

By: Irene Krygowski (LPU: Irene_K, twitter: @irenekrygowski)

I was one of the lucky LPU members that were able to score tickets to their sold out concert at House of Blues in West Hollywood, California on Friday May 18, 2012. The concert was announced on April 29, 2012 (which was just 2 days after my birthday) and the tickets were to be sold the next day on Monday April 30. Being announced shortly after my birthday I decided that I had to go to the show no matter what it took! The capacity of the venue is around 1200 people and tickets to the show were in high demand and sold out in minutes! The show was definitely the best show that I have ever been to and let’s cross our fingers that they do another LPU exclusive concert sometime in the near future!
Before the show, Chester and Mike arrived to unveil the 2012 Linkin Park designed Honda Civic and Motorcycle that will be raffled off throughout the Honda Civic Tour and awarded to one lucky winner at the end when the tour ends in September. Both the car and bike are designed beautifully with a  hybrid of black, orange, and white with Linkin Park’s logo and I was there along with the press to get a prime view as press took photos.

I was also lucky enough to have VIP tickets which also included a Pre-show party with members Phoenix and Joe Hahn. A small group of us each received a very personal high five from Mr. Hahn as he made his way all around the room. Phoenix and I shared a fun conversation which will be posted as a blog on the lpu forums. (find me: irene_) As I returned back to the venue with 15 minutes until show time, I found a full house of dedicated fans ready to rock the House of Blues and “Burn it to the ground!” The venue was so small that no matter where you stood you were sure to have a great time.

The band kicked off the show with their never before heard song “Tinfoil” from their upcoming Album “Living Things” which was shortly followed by the always lively “Faint.” The crowd erupted with deafening applause as they jumped up and down with excitement and sang along with every word.  Songs “Paper cut”, “With You”, “Runaway,” “Given up” and “Blackout” were next on the set list. I, along with everyone else, was very surprised to hear some classics from their debut album “Hybrid Theory.” I haven’t heard 2 of the songs at a live concert since 2004. The energy given by the band was just so mind blowing that I imagine everyone was already pleased with the set list so far. They also brought pleasant surprises in each song such as a different intro, bridge, or outro. These little changes definitely brought smiles, cheers, and even tears to all the fans in the audience. Then, DJ Hahn mixed the intro for “Blackout” and did his thing on the turn tables which changed up the intro and it was a fun change.

The next songs played were “Somewhere I belong”, “New Divide”, and another oldie “Points of Authority”. They then played a part of a new song from their new album called “Until it Breaks” with Mike rapping in his classic fashion from the early days and proceeded into a different version of “Waiting for the end” and an alternate “apaches” outro with Chester repeating the line “I’m holding onto what I haven’t got” with a faster tempo as Rob  Bourdon set the pace for the band.  They then played “Breaking the Habit” which I hadn’t heard in years and the crowd went crazy. The best thing about their shows is that they are always surprising us with small changes and set lists that you never know what to expect but know that you won’t be let down!

The next part of the show was a very wonderful surprise and one of my highlights of the show. Those of you that know me will know that I have a tattoo of Linkin Park’s logo with “time is a valuable thing, leave out all the rest” around the border. It’s a song with a lot of meaning to me and I haven’t yet heard it live. As Mike did his magic on the keyboard, I heard the acoustic notes to “leave out all the rest” and I instantly cried with tears of joy to finally hear the song live. Then after the chorus, the band evolved into notes from “Shadow of the day” with Rob playing his heavy drum beat pounding in the background and surprised us yet again to evolve into “Iridescent.” It was such a treat to hear the band mix these songs seamlessly into one! It was a beautiful mix and I hope that they do something like that again for anyone going to a concert this year. Just the way that the sounds were mixed around for all the songs, how DJ Hahn does his magic on the turn tables, and the stage crew’s work made this show an unforgettable night.
They then proceeded to play high energy “Catalyst”, “What I’ve Done”, and two more favorites from Hybrid Theory “Crawling” and “One Step Closer.”  It was a great way to end what we’re supposed to believe was the end of the show.

As the band takes a break, members of LPU, including myself, have been planning for about a week to flash mob Linkin Park with operation balloonia.  LPU members passed around balloons to many willing participants and then proceeded to inflate their balloons and began to “party in the pit.” The band came on stage and Mike Shinoda put his hands together and the words “thank you” were spoken as he bowed to the fans for the “party” (see video at approximately 15 seconds)

Widely anticipated to be played for the first time, the intro to “Burn it Down” started as Chester, Brad, and Phoenix also playfully partied along with the audience and the floating balloons. They smiled and were very happy with the little surprise we had for them! The audience was absolutely thrilled to be the first ones to hear the song played live. As the song ends Chester jokes and says “that song is no longer a virgin!”

They  closed out the show with 3 more of their hits and favorites “In the end” , “Numb” and finally the highly energetic “Bleed it out” with a bonus tribute to Beastie Boy’s Adam Yauch as Chester covered “Sabotage”. The energy in the venue for the encore was so high and heart warming that I was proud to call myself a fan. Watching everyone sing along to each and every song was such an amazing experience in such an intimate setting. This is why LPU is such an honor to be a part of and what being a Linkin Park fan is all about. They always give an amazing show and it was evident that they were excited and eager to be doing what they do best… Playing their music for us.

Adie: Big thanks to Irene for this awesome review! No only Irene shared her experience and a few pictures, but her friend Karina also sent me her pictures from the show. She had a great place right in front of the stage and pretty much all the live pictures in this review were shot by her (How awesome is the pic from Mike in the audience?!). Please support Irene and Karina in the share to earn program and preorder Linkin Park’s new album “Living Things” via Irene’s link or Karina’s link and follow her on Twitter.