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It’s 5:00 p.m. and the weekend traffic is killing me…literally. Why? Oh just because I’m trying to make my way down to Tinley Park to see the concert that I tried to get tickets too since the Spring; it’s the Carnivores Tour. This tour headlines not just one of my favorite bands but two of them! Linkin Park and Thirty Seconds to Mars announced in the spring that they would be touring together alongside AFI to bring this epic tour. So you can understand why being late to this event was killing me slowly as we moved only inch by inch on the highway.
Finally at our destination, Midwest Amphitheatre, and my partner Paige and I had a task. We both work for a music marketing company and we were technically hired by Linkin Park to promote their contest that is going on with their tour. This did mean that we didn’t get a chance to see AFI but based on what I could hear and the roar of the crowd, I’m going to guess they rocked it.
It wasn’t until I could hear the cheers of the crowd calling out Thirty Seconds to Mars where I knew I had to run in. The only thing stopping me is that we couldn’t remember where we parked our ZipCar and there were a ton in the parking lot. Paige insisted I go into the concert so I booked it inside to see Jared Leto swinging around the U.S. flag and singing Do or Die. I looked around at the crowded and with the stage lights you could see everyone standing, singing, and some even had flag with the band’s triad logo. I found my seat and took on top of mine to see a glorious view of the band; the tickets that my job gave me were amazing! I had made it just in time to hear one of my favorite songs ‘City of Angels’ live. I have only seen this band live once before but with each show they give it their all and I also love that they try to interact with their fans so much. Jared even went into the middle of the amphitheater to play an acoustic version of ‘The Kill’ which he had a young boy probably no older than six years old join him.
Just before he went back to the main stage he even stated that they would be at the merchandise tent after their set to sign every CD a fan had. You can imagine the crowd of people that left their seats to run to merch. I’ll admit I left mine as well but I returned just as quickly with my triad flag to wave while the band played their final song. The crowd cheered while some ran to join the line at the merchandise tent.
It wasn’t long until my friend Paige joined me to see Linkin Park take the stage. Linkin Park is the kind of band that knows how to put on a really solid live performance. Why do I say that? Well I’ve been to my fair share of concerts and they are the band that knows how to build a good set list of their classics and their newer material. They’ve perfected the art of a live performance, because the fans got hyped up on their classics and well-known hits like ‘Numb’ and ‘In The End’ but also songs from their latest album like ‘The Final Masquerade’. What I also enjoy about Linkin Park is that they bring attention to each member’s talent. For instance, the guitarists and bassist, can interact with fans and whatnot. However, for Joe (turntables) and Rob (drums), they can’t do that but they both got to perform solos.
What Linkin Park does that very unique, and honestly musically creative, is that they sometimes they blend two songs or even three together. They did that at this show where they took two songs of their past albums and blended into one of their newer ones. It’s rather impressive to see them do this flawlessly. I’m always floored with Chester’s (vocals) talent from singing to screaming and then back to singing without a problem. Then you have Mike (vocals/ guitarist), who is hands down one of my favorite rappers and he did something I didn’t except but hoped to see one day. Mike asked the crowd if there were any Fort Minor fans in the house and he performed a bit of ‘Remember the Name’.
Fans cheered loudly to every song and I still think that it really takes a lot of energy to see Linkin Park; by the end of the performance I was completely exhausted. But I could go home knowing that I not only got to see a rock concert but a bit of hip hop and EDM in there as well. Carnivores Tour, one of the best tours I’ve seen in a long time.
