Fresh of a summer on the Main Stage of Projekt Revolution, A Perfect Circle’s, Billy Howerdel and his solo project ASHES dIVIDE is gearing up for fall touring season! Don’t miss it!

9/24/2008 The Fillmore Detroit – Detroit MI
9/25/2008 Newport Music Hall – Columbus OH
9/26/2008 Valarium – Knoxville TN
9/27/2008 The National – Richmond VA
9/29/2008 The Norva – Norfolk VA
9/30/2008 Crocodile Rock – Allentown PA
10/1/2008 Northern Lights – Clifton Park NY
10/6/2008 Amos’ – Charlotte NC

Photos and write-up by Keith Mokris

Just as the sun was coming out, Street Drum Corps opened up their set on the main stage at Projekt Revolution. The drumming was relentless and the crowd loved every second. The trio brought a style all of their own to the Revolution.

The most interesting of the trio was clearly frontman Bobby Alt. He cruised the front of the stage, jumped on a drum set of his own, and then hopped in the middle of the crowd. The mohawk-sporting performer certainly brought the heat.

At the end of the third song, Alt brought the crowd to a frenzy as he stormed the stage whipping his microphone across the center platform. For their entire set, Street Drum Corps proved they have the style and intensity to be part of Projekt Revolution.

Bobby Alt, Adam Alt and Frank Zummo are currently taking the nation by storm playing the mainstage of the Projekt Revolution Tour and then joining Linkin Park on stage for their headlining perfomance. And due to popular demand SDC will be adding a few dates on their own to keep the party going.

Read Static Multimedia Street Drum Corps Extend Tour Past Projekt Revolution Music News

Photos and write-up by Keith Mokris

Scream-core heavy hitters Atreyu dominated the Revolution Stage as the fourth show of the day at Projekt Revolution. Just after a downpour, the band came out swinging to work the crowd into a frenzy.

Without a doubt, every member of a Atreyu brought the energy and intensity during their entire show. Lead singer Alex Varkatzas moved around the stage like he was in a title fight. Pumping his fists, jumping in the air, and throwing punches galore to excite the crowd.

At the same time, guitarists Travis Miguel and Dan Jacobs poured on the heat with their skill and finesse on the strings. Bassist Marc McKnight wielded his bass like a tomahawk. Drummer and vocalist Brandon Saller pounded his triple bass kit with ferocity.

For the rest of the week, look for sets by Street Drum Corps, Ashes Divide, Chris Cornell, and Linkin Park!

After attending my first Projekt Revolution tour last year, the Linkin Park concert definitely exceeded my expectations. Coming not long after the release of their most recent record, Minutes to Midnight, it was one of the earlier opportunities to hear many of the new songs live as well as enjoy a lot of the old ones. With this year’s tour wrapping up their M2M touring cycle, their final single, “Leave Out All The Rest”, and one of the last dates on the schedule, they certainly went out with a bang. While there really wasn’t much in new material, the entire concert was non-stop energy with very few breaks. There were a few new intros to classic songs, a couple of remixes, changed-up setlist, and a surprise or two that kept things fresh and interesting. The entire band puts so much of themselves in the performance for the fans, it never dragged and it was actually surprising when the concert ended. Add to that their second consecutive year offering a digital download of the show, and that makes for a truly memorable experience. Picking up where I left off in Part One, Linkin Park was, of course, the highlight of the experience.

Their set started out big with a visually impressive introduction by the three-man Street Drum Corps that included an amazing percussion cadence, lighting work, and an industrial look and sound that precluded the surprising opener, “One Step Closer”. Usually used as the closer, the song really energized the crowd and the set from the get-go. Other favorites like “Lying From You” was remixed a little bit and “Somewhere I Belong” kept the energy flowing. While PR’07 opened up with an exciting intro to “No More Sorrow”, it was still great to hear it again. The guys didn’t have much to say, instead leaving the music to do the talking for them. However, Mike did briefly mention wanting to go out (of the tour) the right way before heading into “Papercut” which just caused even more crowd reaction. As the first track off of their debut album, Hybrid Theory, it gives a nice first impression of the band and is always fun to hear live. Points of Authority also had a surprising remix/intro with Mike Shinoda’s hip hop side project, Fort Minor starting things off with a verse from “In Stereo”. They even went into this nice rock freestyle that changed things up a little bit. They didn’t stray too far from the rock vibe, but it was a change of pace.

Mike Shinoda’s musical talents include piano, guitar, rapping, and singing.

They went into “Wake” with an exciting new intro, which just built up more excitement for “Given Up”. Although “From The Inside” may not be one of their bigger songs, it’s one of those concert favorites that’s always really great to hear live. They slowed things down a bit in their next section of songs, but changed it up from their set. After going into their current single, “Leave Out All The Rest” with Mike on keyboard, they went into another popular hit, “Numb”. But perhaps my favorite song in the whole concert was “The Little Things Give You Away”. It’s the last song on Minutes to Midnight and has so many amazing little details and an ethereal atmosphere that I’ve rarely heard captured as well as this performance. With Mike starting out with a piano intro, it all just gelled perfectly. Chester’s vocal work was spot-on and Rob’s drum solo built up to Brad’s guitar solo. In the studio recording, Mike layers his voice to create a three part harmony with Chester to finish the song. Bassist Phoenix normally joins in to recreate this, but it has never sounded so amazing until now. “Breaking The Habit” was moved around, but ended instead with Chester singing the chorus a capella. “Shadow of the Day” is another great slower tempo song from M2M that closed out their mini-section.

Mike Shinoda (left, rhythm guitar) and Phoenix (bass) playing together.

Mike once again changed things up a bit by adding a verse from “Hands Held High” to the intro to “Crawling”. This was one of the first songs I heard from the band, so it’s another song that’s great to hear live. It was made even better when Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave returned the favor from earlier in the show and came out to sing with Chester. They officially ended their set with “In the End”, but came out for an encore with a new intro to “What I’ve Done”. Another live favorite, “Faint” closed out the encore, and a handful of people actually started to leave. But then another drum set was set up at the front of the stage where Rob Bourdon proceeded with an amazing drum solo. That led into a great finish with “Bleed It Out”, which really fit with the overall tone and energy. It was made even more exciting when Street Drum Corps came out again to join the band with marching band percussion instruments in tow. While they had their own percussion break, Rob joined the group to close out the song in this epic drum finish that was pure adrenaline. It ended on a great note that had the sold-out crowd cheering.

It may not have been packed with new material or anything revolutionary, but it was a concert for the fans that never felt old or stale. The new changes and additions were fun and all of the big songs were played. I was hoping for a couple of down tempo tracks like “My December” or “In Between”, but Linkin Park played non-stop and kept the crowd excited and the energy coming. The elevated stages, varied instrument positioning, and the amazing light work all added to a great experience that felt unique from the previous year. The entire Projekt Revolution tour is really solidifying its position among the other great music festivals and offers a nice injection of alternative rock.

Photos and write-up by Keith Mokris

Tennessee alternative rockers 10 Years were the third to play on the Revolution Stage. With their throbbing melodies and heavy basslines, the crowd was loving every second.

Lead singer Jesse Hasek certainly caught the most attention as he bounded all over the front of the stage. 10 Years was a great follow-up to Armor for Sleep and Hawthorne Heights.

This is from the booklet they gave out at the entrance and not specific to the Dallas show. Keep in mind that show times could change.

Just Blane and I went to this one. Since it was just the two of us, we got gold seats which means they mailed us a package with a couple of metal Linkin Park water bottles, LP bandanas, and a lanyards to wear. The seats were pretty close to the stage and I am getting quite good at sneaking my DSLR into concerts. Haven’t uploaded anything yet, but I’m sure I got at least one decent photo of the hundreds I took.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It threatened to pour down rain, but all we got was a cool breeze the entire evening.

This is the first year LP takes this tour to Europe and I understand they sold more tickets to each show there than they did in the States. Maybe we are too spoiled with all the great music that comes around here.

Linkin Park’s performance was just as energetic as last year’s show but the voices were a bit worn as the they hit Dallas late in the tour this time around. Still excellent, but not as flawless as last year.

Ohio rockers Hawthorne Heights played second on the Revolution stage to follow up Armor for Sleep. Their mix of melody and screaming continued to pump up the audience.

While the entire band pumped up the audience, Micah Carli was the craziest of the four. He jumped, gyrated, and grooved across the stage like a man possessed. As a photographer, he became an instant focus due to his intense expressions.

Photos and write-up by Keith Mokris

With an overcast sky, Armor for Sleep started the show for Projekt Revolution in St. Louis. Just as the crowd started to roll in, A4S kicked up their amps and got the show rollin.

“When the bass drum hits, we want everyone to get fuckin crazy!” screamed frontman Ben Jorgensen. Jorgensen was really the center of the show as Armor for Sleep got the crowd screaming.

This is just the first set of all the shows at Projekt Rev. Check back throughout the week for more.

Photo by Keith Mokris

Linkin Park brought the house down to end the Projekt Revolution stop in St. Louis.  The Amp was there for photos and reviews of all the bands on the ballot.  Check back throughout the week to see what went down.

It’s been so long since my last post and a lot has happened.  Two weeks ago, Linkin Park brought Atreyu to my hometown with them.  At first I was resistant but eventually came around to going to see JUST Atreyu.  And that’s what we did.  We got there in time to see a little bit of Hawthorn Heights and too much of 10 Years.  10 years wasn’t bad, but they really weren’t that good.  I can see how a crowd that came to see Linkin Park would like them, but I just could not enjoy it.  They almost made me want to fall asleep.  They sounded a lot like TOOL, and I wasn’t sold on their image.   Overall, they didn’t make me want to buy their album or see them ever again.  And the worst part was that they were opening for the best band on the tour.  ATREYU.

When 10 Years’ set was finally over, we inched our way to the front.  The sun beated down on us, and it had rained earlier so the ground was muddy.  There is nothing like a hot, humid muddy day to go see your favorite band, however, I’ll take a cool air conditioned club anyday of the year

Atreyu came out and they seriously rocked it.  I was totally impressed by the set, and their interaction with the crowd.  I suppose Alex has his voice back from his time off in between Taste of Chaos and Projekt Revolution.  The band just simply rocked, and we had an amazing, sweaty, grimey time.  My only complaint were the fans.  I noticed that there were too many guys that liked to catapult male crowd surfers, in the most dangerous of ways.  And also too many 15 year old girls that didn’t realize that if you’re going to crowd surf with your bikini on, it’s going to end up coming off by the time you get to the front..

But I digress.  It was a great time. They played many of the songs we loved including The Crimson.  The sound was really great, and I was impressed by how close to the record they sounded.   At the end of the set, we saw our band, went home right away and jumped in the shower

All in all, it was a great Sunday. Check it out.

Projekt Revolution 8/1/08

Originally uploaded by elfpunk999

This concert was AMAZING! I love Linkin Park with every ounce of my being. I don’t think there is any better band in the WORLD. My awesome mother got me seat tickets too. I was pretty close. Not like front row close but I could see them on stage without straining myself. It was awesome. Of course I loved every bit of it. There’s nothing better than going to a concert for a band that makes you go crazy.

Also, right after I got home from the show, my BEST FRIEND EVER was waiting for me with the new Stephenie Meyer’s book Breaking Dawn. I stayed up all night reading it. It was also AMAZING! I’m so sad that the saga is over. But she’s writing Edwards POV and I’m freaking out about that. Edward is my favorite fictional character of all time. He ranks up pretty damn close with Peter Pan if not higher (Peter Pan is definetly higher, he’s tattooed on my back).

But enough about that. I’m at work so I should probably get to it. Later.

Skope checked out two festivals down here this weekend:

First… Rock the Bells, a hip-hop extravaganza…

Ghostface and Raekwon at Rock The Bells (Courtesy skopemag.com)

Then… Projekt Revolution, a modern-rock package tour founded by Linkin Park…

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington lets loose at Projekt Revolution. (Courtesy skopemag.com)

So this past weekend was so great, for so many reasons! I was able to take off from work at 2:00 and still have extra hours for OT pay, was able to relax with Kelly down in Henry County where we basically planned on having no plans! We were able to relax at the pool, shop a little at the outlet mall, have dinner with her sister and brother-in-law, watch Step Brothers and Meet the Robinsons and just … be. It’s kinda sad to have to plan on a weekend where you don’t have to have plans but we did it and it pretty much rocked!

Sunday was great too because Nickerson, Mary, Blue, Megan, Yalock, and myself all went down to Lakewood for Projekt Revolution put on by Project 96.1. The annoying part of all that was the fact that all four guys there had the first name of Matt; that’s why most of us have nicknames. We hung out in the parking lot and sat around in the hot sun with a cooler full of beverages, Doritos and Powerbars! A dinner to be truly jealous of! We hung out on the lawn at Lakewood and had a chance to meet up with Brother Chris and Karen. They had ticket seats, just like us, but were acutally using them instead of just copping a spot on the lawn. Chris Cornell and Linkin Park pretty much rocked the socks off the place! Chris Cornell has sung with Soundgarden and Audioslave. He did several songs from both bands then at my utter amazement dropped his mike and jumped in for some crowd surfing! I’ve never seen a ‘lead singer’ -type person do this; it friggin rocked! Linkin Park sounded so good and I was realieved to hear songs played from back in the day. Back when I first started working at Carustar, was going to college and had a part time job, trying to make ends meet. It was so great to remember all that and see how far I’ve come. After the concert it was back to Nickerson’s house for some Hawaiin Pizza and then catch some zzz’s.

Monday was great too! Got to run down to one of Nickerson’s complexes three pools. This thing had four fountains in it! It was AWESOME! Then Matt, Marry and I headed to Sweet Tomatoes for some lunch then I was off back to Dallas, GA to get some house stuff done. Got to hang out with Michael Fairall a bit Sunday afternoon then pack up for Monday’s events.

On top of all this I finalized my schedule with my classes at Mercer. Hopefully, this time next year, I will have a Major in BS in Information Systems and a Minor in Criminal Justice. I’ve been fortunate enough to find two of my books for sale on-line in “Excellent” but used condition which helps chop down the price a bit

Photos by Alex Rauch

Salve a tutti ragazzi. Mi presento, il mio nome è Gioele Coviello. Sono un grande fans dei mitici Linkin Park. Per questo ho deciso di registrare questo blog. Tutti i fans del gruppo statunitense qui potranno leggere le news sulla band. Per ora oggi vi riporto solo la biografia degli LP.

Nel 1996 il rapper ed MC Mike Shinoda e il chitarrista Brad Delson si diplomarono insieme alla Agoura High School, e con l’amico batterista Rob Bourdon formarono i “SuperXero”. In precedenza, Delson e Bourdon avevano suonato per un anno nei Relative Degree. Il primo faceva anche parte del gruppo The Pricks.

Poco dopo Shinoda passò all’Art Center College of Design di Pasadena. All’università Delson divenne amico del bassista Dave Farrell, detto Phoenix. I due furono compagni di stanza e spesso suonavano insieme. Farrell faceva già parte dei Tasty Snax – poi “The Snax” – insieme a Mark Fiore, futuro curatore della videografia dei Linkin Park. All’Art Center College of Design, Shinoda incontrò Joseph Hahn.

Farrell ed Hahn entrarono poi nei SuperXero, il cui nome fu poi accorciato in “Xero“. A loro si unì poi il loro primo lead vocalist, Mark Wakefield. Insieme registrarono nel 1997 un demo eponimo con i brani “Fuse”, “Reading My Eyes”, “Rhinestone” e “Stick N’ Move”, che però non fu molto stimato dalle case discografiche, e perciò non firmarono alcun contratto. Nel 1998 Wakefield lasciò la band e divenne manager dei Taproot.

Shinoda aprì le audizioni per cercarne il sostituto. Nel frattempo Delson per i suoi studi di comunicazione contattò un rappresentante della Warner Bros. Records, Jeff Blue. Il manager consigliò ai due di assumere Chester Bennington, proveniente da Phoenix e già con i Grey Daze dal 1993 al 1997. I due Xero mandarono a Bennington un nastro con le basi strumentali del gruppo, e il cantante vi registrò proprie parti vocali, il giorno del suo compleanno. A quel punto telefonò a Shinoda e provò la canzone al telefono. Il rapper apprezzò la sua esecuzione e così Bennington entrò nel gruppo.

Poi gli Xero si rimisero alla ricerca di un contratto. Nel frattempo cambiarono nome in Hybrid Theory, perché Xero era già il moniker di un vecchio gruppo australiano, in attività negli anni settanta ed ottanta. Dopo che Farrell li aveva lasciati per dedicarsi di nuovo agli Snax, Delson chiamò come suo sostituto temporaneo il bassista Kyle Christener. Così realizzarono nel 1999 Hybrid Theory EP, di cui furono stampate solo 1000 copie. In quel periodo arrivò al basso Scott Koziol, apparso nel video di “One Step Closer“.

Grazie a Jeff Blue e al loro primo EP, gli Hybrid Theory firmarono per la Warner. Tuttavia furono di nuovo forzati a cambiare nome, per problemi di copyright con il gruppo electropop britannico Hybrid. All’inizio erano indecisi tra Clear, Probing Lagers, Platinum Lotus Foundation e Ten P.M. Stocker (quest’ultimo si riferiva al fatto che la band era abituata a registrare il materiale dopo le 10 di sera).

Alla fine Bennington suggerì il moniker Lincoln Park, da una zona di Santa Monica (ora Christine Reed Park) dove passava in auto durante le registrazioni del primo album. Il cantante pensava che ci fossero tante “Lincoln Park” negli Stati Uniti e che perciò dovunque suonassero diventavano, per i loro futuri fans, un gruppo locale. Per pochi mesi usarono il nome Lincoln Park; poi, quando decisero di registrare un proprio dominio Internet, scoprirono che “lincolnpark.com” già esisteva. Poiché non potevano permettersi di acquistarlo, ne accorciarono l’ortografia da “Lincoln” a “Linkin” e comprarono così il dominio “linkinpark.com”.

[modifica] Primi anni 2000

Il 24 ottobre 2000 uscì Hybrid Theory, prodotto da Don Gilmore. Dalla sua lista tracce fu scartato solo il rifacimento di “High Voltage”, già su Hybrid Theory EP. Molte altre tracce dall’EP dovevano essere rifatte per l’album, ma poi l’idea fu scartata. Hybrid Theory è stato il disco d’esordio più venduto del 21° secolo, con 20 milioni di copie all’attivo^[5].

Il gruppo sostenne il suo primo grande concerto il 17 dicembre 2000, per conto del programma KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. Shinoda scrisse per l’occasione una canzone nuova, “My December”. Entrò nell’album natalizio di Kevin & Bean, due dj KROQ. Inoltre fu rilasciata come b-side sul CD del loro singolo di lancio, “One Step Closer”, ma anche in varie edizioni di Hybrid Theory.

All’inizio del 2001 Farrell tornò nei Linkin Park ed uscì il loro secondo singolo, “Crawling“. Poi partirono per l’Ozzfest, insieme a Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot e Black Label Society. A metà del 2001 la band rilasciò come singolo “In the End“, la loro canzone più famosa e tra le più di successo di quell’anno. Il suo video fu diretto da Nathan “Karma” Cox e dal dj Joseph Hahn, e mostrava i Linkin su una statua circondata da un ambiente surreale. Premiato come miglior video rock agli MTV Video Music Awards del 2002, si avvaleva molto della computer graphic.

Il 21 novembre 2001 uscì il loro primo DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival, con i primi video del gruppo e un documentario del tour promozionale per Hybrid Theory. In alcuni file potevano anche assistere a video nascosti: in uno di questi era suonata nel 1999 la prima versione di “A Place For My Head”, intitolata “Esaul”. Nello stesso mese la loro amica Jessica Bardas li aiutò a fondare il fan club ufficiale Linkin Park Underground. I suoi membri ricevono ogni anno (ma solo ad iscrizione rinnovata) una confezione contenente una t-shirt, un CD e vari gadget, tra cui plettri di chitarra, adesivi e poster. All’epoca rieditarono per LPU Hybrid Theory EP, con un nuovo artwork.

All’inizio del 2002 la band avviò il tour Projekt Revolution. Alla sua prima tappa parteciparono Adema, Cypress Hill, Apex Theory e DJ Z-Trip. Collaborarono anche con gli X-Ecutioners, per la canzone “It’s Goin’ Down”. Durante il lunghissimo tour decisero di registrare un nuovo album. Perciò portarono la maggior parte degli strumenti sul tourbus e Shinoda decise di produrre una raccolta di remix. All’inizio voleva solo remixare due canzoni per un EP ma, incoraggiato da Hahn e Delson, alla fine optò per un album con 20 tracce. Così il 30 luglio 2002 uscì Reanimation, contenente i remix di “My December”, “High Voltage” e di tutti i brani da Hybrid Theory. Dalla sua lista tracce Shinoda scartò tre rifacimenti di “Points of Authority”, “By Myself” e “My December”, rispettivamente di Crystal Method, Marilyn Manson e Team Sleep. All’album lavorarono anche Motion Man, Kutmasta Kurt, Chali 2na dei Jurassic 5, Stephen Richards dei Taproot, Kelli Ali degli Sneaker Pimps, Aaron Lewis degli Staind, gli Humble Brothers, Jonathan Davis dei Korn, Aceyalone, Pharaohe Monch, gli X-Ecutioners, Black Thought e Jay Gordon degli Orgy. Quest’ultimo realizzò “Pts.of.Athrty” (suo remix di “Points of Authority”), unico singolo estratto da Reanimation. Il video per “Pts.of.Athrty”, girato da Joseph Hahn, venne realizzato completamente in computer graphic e presentava una fazione di alieni in guerra con una di robot.

In quel periodo il singolo “Crawling” vinse un Grammy, come Best Hard Rock Performance. Inoltre, agli MTV Europe Music Awards del 2002, i Linkin Park furono premiati per la prima volta come “Miglior Gruppo Rock”.

A novembre uscì LPUnderground 2.0. L’EP fu rilasciato insieme alla seconda confezione del fan club, e conteneva il remix di “Points of Authority” dei Crystal Method e gli inediti “Dedicated” (registrato nel 1999) ed “A.06″ (demo strumentale di 50 secondi, che in origine doveva far parte di Meteora).

[modifica] Meteora, Live In Texas, Collision Course

Già a metà del 2002 avevano registrato canzoni nuove, per un secondo album in studio. Il suo titolo fu mantenuto segreto fino a dicembre. Allora dissero di essersi ispirati a Meteora, una serie di monasteri su formazioni rocciose in Grecia, di cui vennero a sapere su una rivista di viaggi. “Un posto molto mitico e spirituale,” disse Delson, “guardando quelle foto abbiamo avuto l’ispirazione, comprendendo quanto fosse epico. Credo che qualche nostro fan non abbia ancora visto le foto quando ha sentito il nome Meteora, e credo che ora comprenderanno il perché di quel nome. Siamo convinti che quel nome descriva in modo adeguato le emozioni che abbiamo provato a creare con questo nuovo disco.”^[6]. Il suo primo singolo, “Somewhere I Belong“, fu pubblicato tra buoni consensi nel febbraio del 2003; fu accompagnato da un clip diretto da Joseph Hahn, e premiato come miglior video rock agli MTV Video Music Awards dello stesso anno. Il 25 marzo uscì Meteora, prodotto anch’esso da Don Gilmore, che nella prima settimana vendette 810.000 copie e debuttò al primo posto di Billboard. Ad oggi ha venduto circa 11 milioni di copie, di cui oltre la metà nei soli Stati Uniti. Forti delle vendite del loro secondo lavoro in studio, furono premiati come “Miglior Gruppo Rock” anche ai World Music Awards di quell’anno.

In seguito la band partì per la seconda tappa di Projekt Revolution, insieme a Blindside, Mudvayne ed Xzibit. Finito il tour, uscì il secondo singolo “Faint“, accompagnato da un video diretto da Mark Romanek. In estate partirono per il Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, insieme a Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Deftones e Mudvayne. In Gran Bretagna si esibirono anche al Reading Festival insieme ai blink-182, suonando davanti a 65.000 fans (vi hanno partecipato anche Metallica, System of a Down, Blur ed AFI).

Joseph Hahn girò a Praga i video per i singoli “Numb” e “From the Inside“. Il primo fu rilasciato nell’autunno del 2003, il secondo nel 2004. Bennington si ammalò prima che il video per “Numb” fosse completato, così il resto fu girato in una chiesa di Los Angeles, dove attualmente ha sede il gruppo.

Il 18 novembre 2003 i Linkin Park pubblicarono il CD/DVD Live in Texas. Conteneva video e brani delle loro tappe per il Summer Sanitarium, ad Houston e Dallas. Tre giorni dopo uscirono la terza confezione di LPU e LPUnderground 3.0, con cinque tracce escluse da Live in Texas. A dicembre suonarono di nuovo al concerto KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas. Tra le 17 canzoni dal vivo vi era anche “One Step Closer”, eseguita insieme a Sonny Sandoval dei P.O.D..

Nei primi mesi del 2004 prese il via il “Meteora World Tour”, a cui si associarono anche P.O.D., Hoobastank e Story of the Year. Nel frattempo uscì il video per “From the Inside”. Poi uscì un altro singolo, “Breaking the Habit“, diretto da Kazuto Nakazawa e Joseph Hahn e disegnato in stile anime. Premiato come migliore scelta dello spettatore agli MTV Video Music Awards del 2004, il video mostrava l’anima di Bennington che viaggiava per un vecchio palazzo e s’imbatteva in varie persone che cercavano di abbandonare i loro vizi (come nel tema della canzone). Prima che uscisse come singolo “Breaking the Habit”, “Lying From You” era stato già mandato in sola trasmissione radiofonica.

I Linkin Park aprirono anche la terza edizione di Projekt Revolution. Si esibirono in due sezioni chiamate Revolution Village. In quell’occasione usarono un design simile a quelli per Ozzfest e Vans Warped Tour. Vi parteciparono nella prima fase Korn, Snoop Dogg, The Used, Less Than Jake, e poi Ghostface, Funeral for a Friend, M.O.P. e Downset. Anche DJ Z-Trip si unì al tour, per trattenere il pubblico da una sezione all’altra. Durante le sessioni hip hop ballò Ivan the Urban Action Figure. Il Revolution Village comprendeva sale giochi, parchi per lo skateboard, gabbie da lotta e zone per remix. Il tour è stato il più di successo di quell’anno.

Agli MTV Europe Music Awards del 2004, furono di nuovo premiati come “Miglior Gruppo Rock”.

Il 21 novembre 2004 uscì la quarta confezione LPU. In LPUnderground 4.0 vi erano anche due inediti, la strumentale “Sold My Soul to Yo Mama” e “Standing in the Middle”, collaborazione con Motion Man registrata nel 2001 e che in origine doveva far parte di Reanimation.

Alla fine del 2004 il gruppo annunciò di aver iniziato a collaborare con Jay-Z. Per conto di MTV realizzarono insieme Collision Course, uscito il 30 novembre e contenente mash-up di alcune loro canzoni. L’EP debuttò al primo posto di Billboard, e il suo singolo “Numb/Encore” rimase nelle classifiche per sei mesi di seguito.

Last night, Linkin Park and friends brought their “revolution” to Hartford, CT, and I must admit: It was somewhat underwelming.

After a public tailgating ban (a bash of the city of Hartford and the Dodge Center to follow…”) and a few hours of drinking, I stumbled inside to check out Atreyu, playing on the Revolution Stage. Though I’ve seen them twice and thought they were a solid act (even for the third time…), none of their performances have ever struck me enough to go to the store and buy a record. It was rockin’, cuz I was drunk…but I’ve never dropped money intentionally with hopes of seeing/hearing them. All 3 shows were accidental run-ins…for seeing them three times, and receiving 0 funds or interest from me…they’re clearly doing something wrong.

I was dying to see The Bravery, but the arena setting totally squashed the magic that was supposed to happen. I missed out on an earlier Hartford gig at The Webster, and I still regret not getting there…but their set was very disappointing and dare I say, dull.

But wait…just when all was lost…BUSTA BUST would come and tear it up.  Right? …

Right?!?!

It’s not that Busta was bad, but these “medleys” that artists do for the Grammys and like performances are totally bogus. Busta got on-stage for like 25 minutes and spewed…something…and only did Woo Haa for like 10 seconds….and it was just boring. We were bouncing around and having fun, but we quickly grew less and less interested as the short set continued. I would totally check out a Busta Rhymes show, though. That’d be sweet.

Cornell: Not for me. Everything he does sounds the same. It’s not even worth discussion.

Linkin Park. Entirely fun and entirely excellent. I couldn’t believe that a band as “mainstream” as Linkin Park could make a show feel so unique. They came. They saw. They conquered. The dead-all-day crowd was finally awoken with the Linkin Spark (haha, get it?) as the band tore through a set that was extremely inclusive of all 3 of their records.

On a Linkin Park high and feeling like I was 16 again, I had to wonder: Though Linkin Park saved the day, was this really what we’re tagging as “revolutionary”. It’s sad that I’m not old enough to have seen Zeppelin, The Doors, The Beatles, Journey (just kidding…though I am seeing them in August at a GOAT. SHOW.)  When will Rock ‘N Roll experience that 1 band that will start the next rock revolution?

While reading this book, the answer was clear:

Guns N Roses. REUNION TOURRR.

Ok, it’ll never happen. But think: What if it did? Riots, broken cop cars, drugs, fires, insane mobs, more drugs. The sky would absolutely be the limit. Seeing Velvet Revolver last August was quite a treat, but it would’ve been even more memorable had it have been GNR with its prime line-up.

With the rock scene at such a lull, reading the GNR history in the words of Slash might just be as close as I’ll get to seeing what it was really like to witness a true Rock and Roll band in my lifetime.  I took some time to enjoy the fantasy about it would be like if Slash, Izzy, and Axl did bury the hatchet start anew.

I imagine it would truly and defiantly start a real, post-modern rock revolution.

If you recall a few months back, I wrote an open letter to Atretyu, one of my favorite Orange County bands, explaining my disapproval of their decision to go on tour with Linkin Park, the KISS of our generation.  I even went as far to say that I wouldn’t be attending the show or condoning their tour.  Well, I’m reluctant to say that I’ve gone against my word and will in fact be attending Projekt Revolution this Sunday, July 27th.  Now, the only consolation is that we haven’t gotten tickets yet, but the plan is to just get the cheapest lawn tickets possible when we get there on Sunday and then immediately leave after Atreyu plays.  I just can’t bear to miss seeing the guys in my hometown… can you blame me??

I’m pretty sure that they will be playing a bunch of songs off their newest album, with minimal screaming, but you never know, they might throw in some songs from The Curse or Deathgrip for their true fans.  But I guess I can’t find out unless I go.

You win this time Linkin Park…  you win this time.