My Chemical Romance
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By Julio D. Anta
Photos by Giselle Portuondo
Started as an annual summer tour by multi-platinum rock outfit Linkin Park as a way to help bridge the gap between rock and hip-hop, the Projekt Revolution tour is on its fourth year running with arguably the best line-up to date. Past tours have featured the likes of Snoop Dogg, Less Than Jake, Xzibit and The Used to name a few.
Boasting two stages and a festival atmosphere, this year’s South Florida stop welcomed an almost sold out crowd, which was potentially the most diverse I have seen at a SoFla concert. Goths, punks, emos and pretty much any subculture you can think of were represented at this year’s tour.
Unfortunately for myself and most concertgoers who bought their tickets at the door, I was plagued by lawn seating. My issue with lawn seating is less about the obnoxious drunks who claim residence to the area, or the crack dealers who think straight-edge kids would be interested in buying rocks. It’s more about how impersonal these concerts can feel from the sidelines. If you're blessed with a good view of the stage, it seems more like a TV show rather than a live concert. And forget about feeling an ounce of energy from the band. On top of that, the screens built to aid with the viewing issues were always a beat or two behind the music.
Revolution Stage
First up on the Revolution Stage was Styles of Beyond. Essentially Fort Minor without Linkin Park front man Mike Shinoda, SOB put on a less than stellar performance drenched in self-importance and an overall sloppy delivery. Next up were The Bled and Saosin. Playing tracks off their respective latest albums Silent Treatment and Saosin, both bands were the climax of the “Revolution Stage.” Circle pits, hardcore dancers and everything you'd expect to find at most “scene” shows was on display, but seemingly out of place to those who knew anything about the next and final band of the stage, Mindless Self Indulgence. Currently holding two spots on the dance charts for songs released in 2005, MSI was easily the most commercially successful of the bands on stage, but not necessarily the most well received. With a set running over an hour long, MSI played most songs off Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy and their most recent album You'll Rebel To Anything.
Ryan Shuck of Julien-K
Main Stage
Once 4:30 p.m. came along, Main Stage openers Julien-K hit the stage. Featuring Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck of industrial/synth rock band Orgy, Julien-K is an electronic side project four years in the making. Although they have yet to release a proper studio album, and most of this year’s attendees were unfamiliar with the band, fans gave them a descent welcome.
London rockers Placebo weren’t so lucky. Yes, their last album Meds was released to critical acclaim and completely dominated the charts all over Europe, but unfortunately Placebo is virtually unknown to most American alt-rock fans, and it showed in the form of blank looks and awkward silence in between songs. Finally when HIM came on stage, I had my chance for a good bathroom break (tmi- but thanks for sharing). I've never liked HIM, and didn't stick around for long. But I can honestly say without bias, what I did see of their performance was the worst of any band on either stage. Sorry “heartagram” fans, but I'd take Styles of Beyond any day over HIM.
Taking Back Sunday
The first of the headlining bands was Taking Back Sunday, one of my absolute favorite bands and the only reason I agreed to go to this year’s Projekt Revolution. Since this was my second time seeing them live, I had huge expectations that were unfortunately shattered. With two members away for a family emergency and injury (guitarist/vocalist Fred Mascherino and drummer Mark O'Connell), Saosin's Cove Reber (vocals), Justin Shekoski (guitar) and a touring drummer took over the duties, which made for a great once in a lifetime experience for some, but didn't make for a good performance in my eyes.
Already disappointed with the concert, I was ready to leave before My Chemical Romance even hit the stage. Luckily for me, I stayed and enjoyed my biggest surprise of the night. MCR's Gerard Way (vocals) and crew were absolutely great and full of energy from start to finish. Mixing theatrics with tracks off The Black Parade, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, and even I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, MCR's set was the most solid of the night, but it didn't compare in crowd reaction to the founders of the tour, Linkin Park.
LynZ of MSI
LP is a band whose impact and influence in the alternative music scene can be compared to few. Case in point, Hybrid Theory is still to this day the highest selling debut album of the 21st Century, selling 24 million copies worldwide as of 2006. Meteora, the band’s sophomore attempt went on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide, and Minutes to Midnight, the band’s latest effort has already sold one million copies since it's mid-May release date. There’s no denying those numbers, and their live show puts to use all the experience they’ve gained over their ten years of existence. Linkin Park is definitely a band you want to see before you die, or at least before you're required to wear hearing aids from all the other concerts attended.
Though Projekt Revolution was an overall disappointment, the performances put on by My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park made it all worth it. I can't say I'll go next year, but this was definitely a concert I won't forget for some time.
Traveling to track your favorite bands? Tell Julio at outloud@outloud.com
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