*Joelle
PNC Bank Arts Center
Review by Glenn Cameron
Skin tight jeans, long teased hair, black and white chuck tailors and thousands of over anxious teenagers roaming an over crowded venue. No, it’s not a scene from the glory days of the Sunset Strip during the mid eighties. It is however, the scene from the Projekt Revolution tour featuring My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park.
Thousands of fans showed up adorning the classic punk rock style of the eighties infused with today’s emo garb. The scene looked like a mix between Edward Scissorhands meets Madonna meets grunge. From what I could tell this seemed to be the youth of America trying to stand out all in one place.
On this years tour Linkin Park played host to a slew of bands ranging from Madina Lake to HIM as well as the pop punk band Taking Back Sunday. The show was an all day event and many new bands had the opportunity to play on the second stage during the afternoon hours.
On the pristine day of August 29, 2007 there were hardly any fans tailgating in the parking lot of the Arts Center. With no doubt due to the alcohol ban instituted only a week before. However, this was still an eerie feeling. One gets used to the ruckus usually found in the parking lot of a large venue before a show.
The crowd was very young and very hyper, running sprints up and down the lawn, jumping over people and wreaking havoc as any other 14-year-old does. They were excited and they were here for the two main acts, My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park.
The crowd was very unresponsive for the first few acts and especially for HIM who played a very melancholy set of “love” songs. It wasn’t until Taking back Sunday hit the stage that the crowd became enthused. Playing to a fairly large crowd of A.D.D. riddled youth, TBS put on a powerful show that captured the mind of even the most restless youth.
As the sun began to fade away, the roar of the crowd began to rise. The next band was to be My Chemical Romance. Playing to a packed house, My Chemical Romance dazzled and surprised many with a powerful live show packed with lights and pyrotechnics. As a band hailing from New Jersey they made sure that everyone there knew that this was their home by screaming “Jersey” every time they had a chance.
As My Chemical Romance finished their set the crowd was pumped and ready for Linkin Park. Past reviews of the bands performances were barley anything more than lackluster so I expected this to be another typical Linkin Park show. Nevertheless I was proved wrong.
The band hit the stage and rolled through hit after hit with astonishing precision. There was tension in the air as well as the roar of the crowd. Linkin Park fed off of this energy and packed their performance with the ferocity of a veteran band. The band left the stage that night leaving everyone satisfied and yet still hungry for more.
Project Revolution is a tour that is bringing the youth of America out and giving them an outlet to be themselves. This is a show for the young and the young at heart. For the MTV soaked culture of today this was a show worth their while.
Bands – Main Stage
Linkin Park
My Chemical Romance
Taking Back Sunday
HIM
Placebo
Julien-k
Second Stage
Mindless Self Indulgence
Saosin
The Bled
Styles of Beyond
Madina Lake
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