I meant to post my review earlier for Linkin Park’s 2012 Honda Civic Tour. I attended the show at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. I have to say, this will probably be the last show I go to at the Tacoma Dome. If I happen to go to that particular venue again, I will NOT get reserved seating. I hadn’t attended a concert at the Dome in some time, but I don’t recall the seats being so uncomfortable or cramped. Reserved seating there is a joke! I can’t see how it could have been comfortable for anyone unless maybe they are five feet tall because there was literally no leg room between rows.
The first half of the concert, during the Incubus performance, we couldn’t even see the large Titantron-type screen because there were banners of some sort blocking them? Terrible, terrible set up all around. As for Incubus’ performance, it was just okay, and I’m not sure why, but the band catered more to the floor crowd and stayed isolated in the middle of the stage, rather than moving from one side of the stage to the other. That was pretty odd to me. During the Incubus show, the music often drowned out the lead singer. And it was all too familiar for me, as I’d seen them live, many years ago when they first came out. They didn’t play any new material that I recognized. It was all the same old, same old, and that to me was not at all impressive. Fans in their 20s who were beside me, acted as though Incubus was this great new band – rising stars I guess – and their material was new. But it wasn’t. It was more like a case of bad deja vu because after listening to their entire set, I was reminded why I never went to see them again. The material and performance was just, well, bland.
Once Incubus was done performing, Linkin Park finally came on and played for over two hours. They were a refreshing change to have on the stage. The banners were removed so we were able to finally see the large background screen at the back of the stage area. However, they too seemed to be more focused on the floor crowd than moving around a lot on stage? I’ve never been to a show like that before. Most artists make use of the spacious stage area and go from side to side, as well as focus on the middle area. None of that really made sense and it didn’t give for much photo opportunity to us fans in the reserved seating area either. Maybe I wasn’t seeing something as far as the stage setup went. Maybe they had limited room or something? I honestly don’t know?
As far as Linkin Park’s performance went, it was phenomenal. There is no other word to describe it. There are not many bands who sound that good live! It was almost like listening to their album, except it was actually a live concert. Chester Bennington’s voice is truly something to be appreciated. When you see him, you wouldn’t think that those big, powerful vocals would come out of such a skinny, little guy. He is really one of a kind. Mike Shinoda was also spot on with his rhymes and harmonies. Linkin Park played numerous older tunes and there was something included in the show from each of their albums. That to me, was a nice touch. So many of their songs are loved by many, and I appreciated that they didn’t try to focus too much time on their newer material since not everyone is familiar with it.
The main setlist included the following songs:
- With You (Game of Thrones Intro + 2012 … more)
- Faint (Ext. Outro)
- Given Up (Ext. Outro w/ Extra Note)
- Victimized (w/ QWERTY)
- Lying From You
- Somewhere I Belong (2012 Intro)
- New Divide
- In My Remains
- Empty Spaces
- When They Come for Me
- Waiting for the End (Apaches Intro w/ Until It … more)
- Breaking the Habit
- Leave Out All the Rest / Shadow of the Day / Iridescent (Ballad Medley)
- The Catalyst
- What I’ve Done
- Burn It Down
- In the End
- Numb (Numb/Encore Lyric Tease Outro)
- Bleed It Out (with Mike Einziger) (Ext. Bridge w/ Beastie Boys’ Sabotage; Ext. Outro)
Then, the encore included:
- Lost in the Echo (Ext. Intro)
- Papercut
- One Step Closer (Ext. Outro)
My advice – go see Linkin Park live in concert if you get the chance. But, be wary of the venue they’re playing in. If it’s not a good set up, I don’t know if I’d waste my time. I almost wish I’d gotten general admission tickets because then I could have at least had an opportunity to move around the venue without feeling like someone was going to chop off my arms or legs. The people on the floor seemed to have a great time, although you could tell they were a little crushed for room, too.
