Projekt Revolution - Linkin Park, Chris Cornell...

[mrwax]

Capital Beltway Entertainment
Check the Photo Section for pictures from the show.

Lineup - Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Ashes Divide, Street Drum Corps, Atreyu, 10 years, Hawthorne Heights, and Armor for Sleep

Shinoda and Bennington didn't play to the crowd. Shinoda didn't enter the crowd. No mellow versions of songs sung to Shinoda's keyboard.

What are 3 reasons that Linkin Park's performance wasn't as good as it was last year at Projekt Revolution?

In fact, the whole day was sort of a drab in comparison from last year. The lineup really didn't seem too impressive. This year the crowd didn't seem to be to into the music until later into Chris Cornell's act. I will admit I didn't even get in until 10 years was just coming on, having missed Hawthorne Heights and Armor for Sleep (thanks Will Call) but I still feel last years show had more energy and entertainment this year.

Don't get me wrong though, the bands this year did a great job for the most part, but they just had the feel of amateurs compared to last years Taking Back Sunday, HIM, and My Chemical Romance. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this years bands though. 10 years was previously unheard of to me before this concert. Needless to say though, I bought a new CD the day after the show. Although they were not even near the top billed, they should have had a spot on the Main Stage right before Linkin Park and Chris Cornell. The band had the charisma and stage presence that the later bands in the night really didn't seem to bring. They had a strong rock sound that compared with 3 Doors Down sound, and they had no problem breaking down into an acoustic sound with the crowd winning "So Long, Good-Bye".

Atreyu came on after 10 years and I couldn't tell from where I was, but many of the people I spoke with said they weren't feeling them. They didn't carry a hardcore look, but they had a hardcore rock sound, and many people seemed bored by them. I had to do the runaround during their set, so aside from the couple of songs I saw while I was taking pictures, I didn't really see much of them though, so I can't accurately say they did a poor job or didn't get the crowd moving.

I can say that for The Bravery and Ashes Divide though. While sitting through their sets, you can't help but notice that no one really gives a ####. Yeah, they're on stage with loud speakers and subwoofers, playing music, but you really wouldn't tell from looking at the thousands of people in the arena. Their wasn't a lot of dancing, moshing, or even people standing, as you might expect to see at a concert. The crowd was all seated, reacting to a message board that displayed your text messages above the stage, booing and rahing at messages such as "Go Skins".

Chris Cornell (I haven't forgotten about Street Drum Corps) came back and made people remember why they came to this show. Linkin Park did a great job when they picked Cornell to follow second bill to them in this show. He has more years in the music game than anyone out there that night, and knows how to rock a show and please a crowd. It was flawed though. When his set first started, you might have thought that he had a rubber microphone, or that some clown forgot to put batteries in, because you couldn't hear anything as he was singing. He obviously wasn't lip syncing, because his lips where moving, there just wasn't any words to be heard throughout the pavilion. I know I know, that wasn't his fault, but after I saw someone run out and tweak the microphone levels, I still couldn't really hear. And what I could hear, I still couldn't understand. What I heard of his performance, sounded like he was trying to sing with his mouth full of marbles. Chester Bennington of Linkin Park came out for a duet of Hunger Strike with Cornell, and honestly, Bennington killed him on his own ####. Now again, don't get me wrong. The music was great, and the songs from what I could hear were amazing, and the crowd loved it and finally got off their feet and started getting into the show, it just seemed that he and his crew needed to have put in a little more effort that night. But Cornell did get the crowd going crazy after he started walking through the crowd, and then hopped on the hedges below the jumbo screen and gave the audience a huge surprise (and security a heart attack).

Before I get into Linkin Park, I'll give you a quick rundown on Street Drum Corps. The plan was for them to play early on the Revolution Stage, but sets were pushed back due to the rain and hail storm that came through earlier, so they opened for the Main Stage. They had a unique sound with emphasis on percussion, and they had trashcans set up for a little different sound. I wouldn't say that they were horrible, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them. When they performed their set, they were just another band, with a different look. But they came out and opened Linkin Park's set and blew me out of the water. They didn't just come out playing drums, they where actually performing! Black lights on the stage illuminated face paint on the band while they came out and drummed with intensity to crescendo until Linkin Park took the stage. Now, if you want to see a band at their best, singing their asses off, putting on an awesome performance, then Linkin Park did a great job. As far as playing to the crowd, talking to them, getting the crowd involved... They didn't do ####. Maybe touring for the past few years has taken its toll on the band, but they just didn't seem into it like they were last year. Last year during Numb, Mike Shinoda hopped into the audience so and held up the microphone so we could be part of the song. He sort of did the same thing this year, except only he held the microphone stand from the bottom and pointed the microphone into the audience, keeping his distance. Nobody stopped and talked to the audience, asked "what the #### is up DC" or anything. I don't care how long you've been touring, if you came into my work you'd ask me to have a smile and pretend to want to be there. A great perk though was watching Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell sing duet to Crawling, the crowd went into a wild uproar as Cornell waltzed on from the side of the stage.

All in all I enjoyed Projekt Revolution 2008 from a musical standpoint. I'm glad I was exposed to 10 Years as they are quickly growing on me. The beauty of a concert is that it's more personalized than listening to a CD. Sure, a concert isn't exactly one on one. It's more like one on 25,000. But when a CD is one on millions, you really see how a concert allows artists to get personal with their fans. So it was nice to get to see the performers live... But I just put on my copy of Minutes to Midnight on the way home and it was just like being the show...