Review and Photos by Kate Drexel
Linkin Park Show Photos HERE
Thirty Seconds To Mars Show Photos HERE
AFI Show Photos HERE
The sun beamed down, intensifying the heat on those who were dressed in black, waiting in the very long lines for the gates to let them in. The excited chatter between the fans back and forth on what songs AFI, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Linkin Park could be playing in their sets. Finally, the gates opened and the people in the very front of the line sprinted, as if their lives depended on it, towards the stage area, grabbing their spot in front of the barricade. They were ready for the Carnivores Tour to melt their faces off. Surely enough, it did.
To kick off this killer tour was AFI, starting their set with a jungle-like ambiance booming in the large overhead speakers. One by one, each band member emerged from the smoky haze across the stage, their fans cheering very loudly as front man, Davey Havok, appeared last. Not a moment was wasted as they started off with “The Leaving Song, Part II,” “Girl’s Not Grey,” and during “I Hope You Suffer,” Havok walked off the stage towards the screaming fans, climbed on top of the barricade and pulled an Iggy Pop crowd walk. He then made his way back to the stage to continue the set with “Medicate,” “Love Like Winter,” and “17 Crimes.” They finished off the right way with “The Days of the Phoenix,” “Silver and Cold,” and “Miss Murder.” They left the stage with the crowd begging for more of that sweet nectar known as rock. Now it was 30 Seconds to Mars’ turn to take the stage.
The ever-adoring fans raised their 30 Seconds to Mars flags high in the air, waiting for the arrival of the band. The music playing overhead came to a screeching halt as Carl Orff’s epic masterpiece, “Carmina Burana: O Fortuna,” took over, shaking the venue with its powerful vibrations. Through the smoke rolling across the stage, the band members made their presence known. Front man Jared Leto, the last to arrive, began their set with “Up in the Air,” “Night of the Hunter,” and at the end of “Search and Destroy,” large colorful balloons were unleashed into the crowd, bouncing off their eager hands. The balloons kept bobbing up and down throughout the crowd as 30 Seconds to Mars continued with “This is War,” “Conquistador,” their latest single, “Do or Die,” and with a sing-a-long intro, “City of Angels.” After the performance of “End of All Days,” they switched to an acoustic set for the remainder of the show with a snippet of “Hurricane,” and “Attack.” They ended their set with full versions of “From Yesterday,” “The Kill (Bury Me),” and for the last song, “Closer to the Edge,” they brought some fans onto the stage, really putting them on Cloud 9 (possibly higher than that). It was a perfect way to end the set, however it was Linkin Park’s turn to close off the evening with a big bang.
The night began to cool off and the world outside the amphitheater enveloped in darkness. The stars began to show, the lights inside the amphitheater light up and the crowd cheered loudly as the crew began to set up for the main event. Suddenly, the lights shut off and surely enough, the band started off with their beyond epic intro, a mash-up made up of song snippets from their previous albums including their recent one: “Session” (Meteora), “1 Stp Klosr” (Reanimation), “The Requiem” (A Thousand Suns), “The Summoning” (The Hunting Party), “The Catalyst” (A Thousand Suns), ending with the intro to the opening song, “Guilty All the Same.” They continued their set with “Given Up,” “With You,” “One Step Closer,” “Blackout,” accompanied with the outro of the beat to the transitioning shortened version of the song, “Papercut.” The crowd rocked out, singing along passionately, reaching out for Chester as he ran from side to side on the stage. Linkin Park was certainly just getting warmed up, and so was the crowd, this killer night was far from over. One of the singles off the new record, “Rebellion,” was next to be played followed by the shortened version of “Runaway,” transitioning smoothly into “Wastelands.” The band brought something new to the table and it brought the band’s performance to a whole new level. They played a Recharged Remix of “Castle of Glass,” quickly followed by a beautiful medley of “Leave Out All the Rest,” “Shadow of the Day,” and “Iridescent.” The crowd in the lawn area had their cell phones and lighters in the air, waving them around to the rhythm of the songs.
A few of the band members left except for Mike Shinoda, who played “Robot Boy,” then made his way off the stage for a brief break, leaving Joe Hahn to do what he does best, his killer solo. This featured song snippets of a Mike Shinoda remix of “Victimized,” a Reanimation remix of “Buy Myself,” “Cure for the Itch” (Hybrid Theory), another snippet of “Session,” ending with “Plc 4 Mie Haed” (Reanimation). The band returned to the stage, beginning their set again with a false start to the collaboration done with rapper, Jay-Z “Numb/Encore,” going right into their hit “Numb,” ending it with another snippet of “Numb/Encore.” Not another moment was wasted as they played “Waiting for the End,” with an intro from the second verse of “Until it Breaks.” This was followed by “Final Masquerade,” another mash-up of “Wretches and Kings,” “Remember the Name” from the Fort Minor days, and a snippet of “Dirt off Your Shoulder,” transitioning quickly to the tour debut performances of “Lying from You” and “Somewhere I Belong.” Bennington occasionally hopped off the stage throughout the set to run over to the outreaching fans, high fiving, fist bumping and hugging, giving them a night to remember. After the performance of “In the End” and “Faint,” the band left the stage, the crowd begging for more and chanting their name.
The band returned for their incredible encore set with shortened versions of “Burn it Down,” “Lost in the Echo,” “New Divide,” and a full version of “Until It’s Gone,” with an added verse from “With You.” They ended their set on a mind blowing note with “What I’ve Done,” and “Bleed It Out,” with an epic drum solo by Rob Bourdon as well as a refrain from “The Catalyst,” definitely the right way to end the evening. The crowd left with giant ear-to-ear grins plastered on their faces, excitedly talking about how amazing the night was and how beyond epic Linkin Park was.
To say this tour was “beyond epic” proportions is a huge understatement. There are no words to describe that evening. To witness this event, be sure to check out the tour dates, take this into serious consideration when it is said that you do not want to miss this tour!
Linkin Park at Jiffy Lube Live – VA
