Photos and Review by Rebecca McCoy
Since 2001 the Honda Civic Tour has been putting together a great lineup for Headliners and Supporting artists. Over the years over 50 bands have taken the stage to entertain audiences all across the country.
My first Honda Civic Tour experience took place last year in Atlanta, the line up featured Matt and Kim, My Chemical Romance, and Blink-182. It was a truly incredible show, two big name bands that I have listened to for years together on one stage! It excited me to think of which bands they would chose for this year’s tour. When it was announced that Linkin Park would be co-headlining this year with Incubus & Mutemath supporting, I was beyond thrilled. I always wanted to hear Linkin Park live and friends had mentioned how great Incubus and Mutemath were as well, so I knew it would be a must-see show.
Walking up to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, I had never imagined the number of people that would be filling the venue. A quick gaze over the sea of people and it was easy to see that the number of fans tripled compared to last year; it was astonishing.
Before Mutemath took the stage I had no idea what to expect as I’ve never listened to them. I only knew what people had told me. What caught my attention the most was when drummer, Darren King, came out putting on a pair of headphones then taking a role of tape and wrapping from the crown of his head and under his chin several times to keep the headset in place. It was that action that had my attention going back to him throughout the band’s set to see what he was going to do next. It was very entertaining and an truly expressive performance.
A countdown was placed on the screen counting down to Incubus’ performance. They had a few issues with their stage props at first but those were resolved quickly. Throughout the hour and a half set, not once did they lose the energy of the audience. From “Adolescents” to “Aqueous Transmissions” the crowd was on their feet screaming the lyrics right back to Brandon.
In my many years of attending concerts, I’ve seen a good amount of extravagant stage setups and Linkin Park’s stage made it on the list. Standing in the pit you didn’t really get a feel for the whole of it, it wasn’t until after we had finished shooting, and I had taken my seat that I was able to see how vast it was. The stage made me think of the X-men with the crisscrossed ramps that appeared to be painted with black-light paint and glowed when the lights where off. It just sorta drew you in.
Starting the night with “A Place for my Head” , the band immediately had the audience going crazy. They definitely knew what to play to kick their set off right, getting the crowd involved and energized. Between the music, the lighting, and the special effects they were showing on the screens, there was never a dull moment.
Linkin Park’s set-list was phenomenal, playing a bit of the old classic Linkin Park with “Somewhere I belong”, “Numb”, “Bleed it out”; to Transformers LP with “New Divide” and “What I’ve done”; to the new LP with “Burn it down”, “Lies Greed Misery”, and Victimized”. This was definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen this year. The pyrotechnics used during “Burn it down” and a few other songs, not to mention the shower of sparks was fantastic stuff! I have to say it really made my night when they played several of my favorites, specifically “Breaking the Habit”, “Leave out all the rest/shadow of the day”, “Papercut” and “One Step Closer”.
The one thing that I really loved was watching this group of fans in front of me and how much they got into the show. It was easy to see how much they loved this band. The one guy had his head shaved, tattoos, and glasses almost exactly like Chester’s. There’s something incredible about seeing such dedication in a fan and how much music can really reach and inspire someone.
This year’s Honda Civic Tour was very impressive. Each of the bands really know how to rock the stag and they each have their own flair for keeping the audience sucked in. From crazy drummers with headsets taped to their heads to some wicked special video effects and pyrotechnics, you would not be disappointed!
Full gallery after the jump…
Mutemath
Incubus
Linkin Park
