Linkin Park played the first show of their reunion tour last night September 11th. The band’s Park’s September 5 one-hour livestream of a concert in Los Angeles, the Kia Forum gig had introduced 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 show and will continue to tour with Linkin Park for the foreseeable future instead of Delson.
The new iteration of the band took to the stage at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California and delivered a 26-track set – including classics such as ‘Crawling’, ‘One Step Closer’, ‘Numb’ and ‘What I’ve Done’.
Armstrong showcased an incredible performance with her raging vocals, and gutsy stage presence as they played 2003’s “Somewhere I Belong” to Linkin Park classics including “Lying from You.”
It happened after the group launched its comeback during a live-streamed event last week. The event saw Mike Shinoda and co. debut Emily Armstrong (formerly of Dead Sara) as their singer, and announce a new album called ‘From Zero’.
The band also played its new single, “The Emptiness Machine”, which was released last week. The track will appear on the band’s upcoming album “From Zero”, which will arrive on November 15th. This will mark the band’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.
Speaking to yesterday’s crowd, Shinoda explained that this version of Linkin Park was “not about erasing the past” following the controversy surrounding Armstrong stepping in to replace the late Chester Bennington.
He said that playing to new fans who haven’t seen them live before was “part of why we’re back out here”.
“We are thrilled to be back out here. It is not about erasing the past – it is about starting this new chapter into the future, and coming out here for each and every one of you,” Shinoda continued.
“We love playing for you guys, we love writing this music – we’re very fucking excited about the new record. So thank you guys very much – we’ve had an incredible night with you. Hopefully we’ll see you soon.”