LINKIN PARK played the second concert of its comeback mini-tour Monday night (September 16) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The show featured LINKIN PARK performing a two-hour set on a high-tech stage shaped like an aircraft carrier, allowing for a unique production as well as a greater-than-usual number of tickets sold at the venue.
As was the case with LINKIN PARK‘s September 5 one-hour global livestream of a concert in Los Angeles and the September 11 concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, the Brooklyn gig showcased new singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, who have joined returning members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave “Phoenix” Farrell and Joe Hahn in the band’s new lineup. Guitarist Alex Feder was filling in for Delson for the livestream and the Kia Forum and Barclays Center shows and will continue to tour with LINKIN PARK for the foreseeable future instead of Delson.
LINKIN PARK‘s set at the Barclays Center kicked off with “Meteora” cut “Somewhere I Belong” and included “Hybrid Theory”-era track “My December” and “Keys To The Kingdom”, the opening song from 2014’s “The Hunting Party” album. LINKIN PARK also played its new single, “The Emptiness Machine”, which was released earlier in the month. The track will appear on the band’s upcoming album “From Zero”, which will arrive on November 15 via Warner. It will mark LINKIN PARK‘s first full-length effort since 2017’s “One More Light”, which was the last LINKIN PARK album before the death of lead vocalist Chester Bennington.
Fan-filmed video of the entire Barclays Center concert can be seen below.
Feature songs:
00:00 Inception Intro C
02:16 Somewhere I Belong [short intro]
05:49 Crawling
09:16 Lying From You
12:49 Points Of Authority
16:19 New Divide [Moscow intro (short)]
22:33 The Emptiness Machine
25:53 The Catalyst [shortened (no third chorus/breakdown)]
32:30 Burn It Down
36:27 Waiting For The End [2024 intro]
41:09 Castle Of Glass
44:36 Joe Solo [w/ Colin]
46:10 Empty Spaces
48:44 When They Come For Me / Remember The Name [Mike solo; mashup; w/ Colin]
51:33 A Place For My Head
55:40 Given Up
58:52 One Step Closer [2024 intro; ext. outro w/ chorus riff]
01:03:00 Collapse Transition
01:07:44 Lost [Piano Version; Shortened (first verse/chorus only)]
01:09:36 Breaking The Habit [piano start]
01:13:13 What I’ve Done
01:16:42 Kintsugi Transition
01:17:29 Leave Out All The Rest [2017 version; ‘Iridescent’ intro sample]
01:22:39 My December
01:27:58 Friendly Fire
01:30:59 Numb [‘Numb/Encore’ intro]
01:34:31 In The End
01:38:12 Faint [ext. outro]
01:43:54 Resolution Intro C
01:44:56 Papercut [2024 intro]
01:49:17 Keys To The Kingdom
01:55:18 Bleed It Out [ext. Bridge W/ ‘There They Go’ verse; ext. outro]
The Los Angeles and Brooklyn concerts were the first two nights of a short international tour that will be followed by stops in Hamburg, Germany; London; Seoul; and Bogota, Colombia. A longer tour is promised for 2025.
In an interview with Billboard about LINKIN PARK‘s comeback, Shinoda explained that drummer Rob Bourdon — who had founded the band with Mike and Brad — had decided to exit LP.
“Rob had said to us at a point, I guess it was a few years ago now, that he wanted to put some distance between himself and the band,” Shinoda said. “And we understood that — it was already apparent. He was starting to just show up less, be in less contact, and I know the fans noticed it too. The ‘Hybrid Theory’ re-release [in 2020] and ‘Papercuts’ release [this April], he didn’t show up for anything. So for me, as a friend, that was sad, but at the same time, I want him to do whatever makes him happy, and obviously everybody wishes him the best.”
According to a press release, Shinoda, Delson, Farrell and Hahn “quietly began meeting up again in recent years” and “rather than ‘trying to restart the band,'” they worked with numerous musicians and “found a special kinship with Armstong and Brittain.”
Regarding the band’s new lineup and future plans, Shinoda said in a statement: “Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was XERO. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future — embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead.”
“The Emptiness Machine” is said to “channel the DNA of LINKIN PARK.” Shinoda said the band feels “really empowered with this new lineup and the vibrant and energized new music we’ve made together,” adding that they are “weaving together the sonic touchpoints we’ve been known for and still exploring new ones.”