The chaos that is ‘Projekt Revolution’

July 30th, 2007 | Ramblings of the Dan

Yesterday Keli and I went to the Projekt Revolution concert in Mountain View, California. We live in the western portion of Sonoma County and so it was a bit of a drive to the show. We left early, were the 5th car in line to get enter the parking lot, were within the first 50 people in line for the show.

This is where the chaos began. We called the venue the day before the show to find out exactly what we could bring into the concert, as some shows have more stringent restrictions that the venue itself. We were told we could bring blankets, fold-up lawn chairs and so forth. When it was our turn to have out bags checked we were told that our chairs were not allowed. I also noticed that some people in other lines where let in with their blankets, while others were being told that blankets were not allowed. It seemed to me that the people working at The Shoreline were clearly not all on the same page. To our dismay, our tiny stash of generic Diet Coke and our small hip flask of rum was discovered. Apparently 3 ounces of rum is too high a risk in a venue that serves Jack Daniels and margaritas. I told Keli to head in and find us a spot on the lawn, while I’d make the trek back to the car to drop off the items we couldn’t bring in.

About 30 minutes later I was finally able to get into the venue. Now, what happened next may very well have been due to this being our first time to a Projekt Revolution show. I located Keli, who was standing in line to get into the lawn section of the amphitheater. Everyone was told that they were not letting people into the bowl until 4pm. It was shortly after 1pm when we found this out. The staff’s suggestion was to lug our bags and blankets over to the first stage that was in the parking lot. Keep in mind; we had all just been standing on the sidewalk and parking lot for about an hour just to get in. We decided to walk around and check out the merch booths and see what stands seemed to have the best food deal for the price. I nearly had an aneurysm when I learned that The Shoreline was charging people $8.00 for a “large” cup of watered down, urine-colored fluid the likes of Bud Light, Miller or Coors Light. Or if you were a big swinger, you’d be dumb a pay $10+ for a cup of Corona.

We finally decided to camp out in line to get into the lawn area. About 15 minutes later the staff told us that we couldn’t stand in line. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Let’s get this straight: We pay for the ticket. We make the drive, stand in line and tactfully deal with the staff, who apparently missed a company meeting or two, and now we’re told that we can’t stand in line? This was the most asinine thing I do believe I’ve ever experienced at a concert. We were told to go and watch the bands playing on the parking lot stage. No offense to those bands (Mindless Self Indulgence, Saosin, The Bled & Madina Lake) but if I wanted to see those bands perform, instead of just listen to them from the other side of the amphitheater, I wouldn’t need someone in a shirt with “STAFF” on the back a walkie-talkie kindly “suggesting” it to me. I found myself wondering if The Shoreline was some sort of independent sovereign nation where an individual’s right to form a line was forbidden.

We’ve attended all day, multi-performer events at The Shoreline before (Live 105’s BFD & the Bridge School Benefit) and never encountered this, which left us feeling cheated and used. We decided to park our tired selves on a grassy area with others and munched on some $5.00 french fries. Fast forward to about 3:20pm when we were walking around some more and I happened to look up to the lawn area and saw about 1/4th of it filled up already. Double Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Opening it up at 4pm my ass!

We found a spot and by 4:10 the first of the main stage bands began to perform. First up was Julian-K. I was decently impressed but wouldn’t run out and buy their CD. Next up was Placebo and they were really good. I’ve never listened to them before but they were good with the crowd and had a unique sound. After Placebo, HIM took the stage. Now, let me be quite clear: I did not like HIM going into this show. I don’t care what Hot Topic tells us, heartagrams are lame. I think HIM’s videos(s) are devoid of creativity and imagination. Least of all, their music sucks. But to see HIM on stage, it was quite clear that they were taking suck, redefining it and taking it to an entirely new level. The lead singer spent more time smoking and trying to sing like Chris Isaac than was good for his own health. Strike that: HIM’s vocals were what left me wanting to rip out my own eardrums with the car keys in my pocket. I do think HIM is one of those bands that should refrain from singing, and release instrumental-only albums. Their drummer was really good and, when I wasn’t distracted by actually watching the annoying mannerisms of the guitarist and bassist, I found myself enjoying the instrumental portion of their songs. Clearly I’m not one of “those people” who gets the rabid fascination with that group. Which is fine, I can live with that.

Soon up, after HIM, was Taking Back Sunday. I’ve seen their videos and have friends that are die hard fans. While I was unfamiliar with much of their music, I was definitely awestruck with how good they were with the crowd. Their stage presence was extremely high-energy and they ramped the audience up with seemingly very little effort. Their set was very good and now everyone was getting into the show.

My Chemical Romance was up next. Once the first burst of fire shot skyward, I knew we were in for something amazing. I have no clue how long MCR was on stage, and it didn’t matter. They were amazing. Gerard, in his twisted, charismatic way, took hold of those present and made us his own captive audience. He was entertainingly foul-mouthed and the entire band brought their A-game to the stage. Suddenly thousands of onlookers were on their feet, grooving away and singing word-for-word. As all good things do, MCR’s set had run its course and their time to exit stage right had come. This was bittersweet because as much as the fans wanted them to continue, we knew what was to come up next: Linkin Park.

It was during this time that Keli and I decided to pack up some of our garbage in bags we brought. For the split second we had our backs turned, someone passing by our blanket decided to steal the $20 Projekt Revolution tour poster we purchased earlier that day. We looked around, and it was nowhere to be seen. Our bags were smaller than the width of the poster, so we knew one of us had not put it away. Needless to say, that was a crappy topper to an aggravating day, but, what are you gonna do? If someone is determined to be a scumbag, there’s not a whole lot you can do about that, is there?

Linkin Park took the stage and from the instant the first chord was played, all irritation over the stolen poster had vanished. We’ve all been disappointed with bands who we think are our favorites, up until we see them live and then come to the sudden realization that they only sound as good as they due because of all of the post-production in the studio. Linkin Park is not like that. They sound spot-on as they do on their albums. Their show was a pure adrenaline rush. Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington, as they always do, perfectly contrasted each other: Shinoda with his hip-hop bobbing and weaving and Bennington with his thrashing and writhing. All the while, guitars seared and the bass was given a good thwaping. Mr. Hahn’s button-pushing was in full effect and the drumming was delivered in thunderous perfection.

There’s nothing quite like standing in the dark of night watching one of your favorite bands do their thing, with the moon rising over the amphitheater tent. An impromptu, and somewhat disappointing, mosh pit broke out in the middle of the lawn area. Being a veteran of punk rock shows, I wanted to head in there, but when I watched handfuls of people rush in, who have no earthly business being in a mosh pit, I decided against it. It may not look like it, but within the “mosher” community, there are necessary courtesies and common practices that a soccer mom and little league dad, hopped up on entirely too much over-priced piss beer, would be unlikely to know. And that could just end up with someone getting hurt.

The two most kick ass parts of Linkin Park’s set was when Mike Shinoda sang “Hands Held High” with backup “Amen” vocals provided by Chester. That performance literally had chills racing up and down my spine. The very last song of the night, at the tail end of what I believe was a four-song encore, was “Bleed It Out” - my favorite track off of “Minutes to Midnight”.

Sunburns and sleep deprivation considered, we’re extremely happy we went. I challenge you to find a better way to end your weekend than to watch Linkin Park live in concert.

Obviously, there will be venues much more organized and less confused at upcoming stops, as the Projekt Revolution tour has just begun its conquest of North America. Still, I think you’d be best served to call your venue of choice ahead of time, and specifically ask things such as “When we get in, when can we expect to get to our seats?”, “Are you SURE we can bring in blankets?”

Share this post: