The fans who gathered at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, on Wednesday night (September 11th) came for a Linkin Park show. Despite the fact that the band that took the stage looked very different from Linkin Park's heyday, the crowd embraced the revamped lineup. In fact, they stayed on their feet for a solid two-hour, 27-song setlist of both classic favorites (mostly stacked towards the end of the show) as well as new single 'The Emptiness Machine' and a handful of tracks that have rarely or never been played live.
Following last week's announcement of a new album and tour, as well as a livestream performance, the introduction of Emily Armstrong as the band's new lead singer to the Forum crowd was handled in a matter-of-fact way. Co-vocalist Mike Shinoda offered a wry and casual, 'Los Angeles! Thank you. Have you met our friend Emily yet? That's Emily.' Armstrong kept moving around the large central stage, her focus always on winning over the General Admission fans standing up close.
Shinoda - like he insisted during last week's invite-only livestream concert - once again stated that it's the fans taking on the role of Bennington. 'I know a lot of you saw the livestream, yeah? You already know that you guys are singing for Chester tonight, right?' You already know that. The crowd cheered for that.
The crowd cheered for everything, with their whole hearts. It's rare to see such a strong connection between band and audience, with said audience experiencing no confusion over what band they'd come to see play: There were at least four, maybe five organic 'Linkin Park!' chants that rang out.
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