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Rap-rock lives at Pepsi Center
Linkin Park took the stage in Denver Saturday night, demonstrating that the greatest survivors of the '90s rap-rock phase still have plenty to offer their fans, and pop music in general.
The jack-of-all-alt-rock-trades band almost filled Pepsi Center, no mean feat considering the 15-year-old act was, according to most critics, supposed to burn out a decade ago. While Linkin Park certainly showed off their new, Radioheadish material, they weren't afraid to get back to basics with tracks such as "Papercut," "Given Up" and of course, "One Step Closer." Double-threat frontmen Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, two vocalists who have literally embodied the rock/rap dynamic for years, traded verses just as well as they always have. Like it or not, It'll be a long time before this band becomes another nu-metal novelty.
Openers The Prodigy (who have apparently started insisting upon the "The" in recent years) brought the house, literally. "Breathe" and "Smack My Bitch Up" reminded Denverites that the group singlehandedly transplanted the "big beat" scene from the U.K. to the U.S. back in the day. Does that make them relevant now? Maybe, maybe not. But when a group of British dudes in their mid-40s lights up the Pepsi Center as brightly as Melo ever did, perhaps it's time to start paying attention. — Matt Farley
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