Following Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington’s untimely death back in July, fans were wondering just how the band were going to continue, and how they were going to pay tribute to the late singer’s life. Now, thanks to a phenomenal all-star memorial concert, fans have had their chance to see the band celebrate the rocker’s life in the best way possible.
Just over a month ago, Linkin Park announced that they were set to honour the life of frontman Chester Bennington with a memorial concert featuring some of their closest friends and contemporaries. As the band said at the time, the gig was set to be “an unforgettable night of music to honour the man that touched the lives of so many around the world”.
The band had initially spoken of this event back in August, with Mike Shinoda also indicating that the band may indeed continue on without their famed frontman.
As Rolling Stone reports, taking place at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Friday night, Linkin Park took to the stage for the first time since Bennington’s death, surrounded by a huge array of close friends to celebrate the life of the esteemed musician.
Bringing out guest after guest to help perform each of the band’s hits, the group were joined by the likes of Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes, Alanis Morrissette, members of No Doubt, System Of A Down, Sum 41, and Avenged Sevenfold, as well as Blink-182, who helped to deliver a fitting version of their 2003 hit ‘I Miss You’.
Other highlights included the band recruiting the crowd to sing the entirety of ‘Numb’ to a microphone stand with no one in the spotlight, and Mike Shinoda requesting that the whole crowd join in to help provide vocals for the band’s breakthrough hit ‘In The End’.
However, one of the more touching moments of the evening probably came from the performance of the song ‘Looking For An Answer’. Written in the week following Bennington’s death, the track saw Mike Shinoda take to the stage solo to perform the track with only a sparse piano backing to accompany him.
Easily one of the most emotional moments of the whole event, the entire crowd listened with intense silence as Mike Shinoda opened his heart to the entire audience. While Shinoda clarified that he’s still not sure if the band is set to continue, he admitted that ‘Looking For An Answer’ would be one song that he would hope to expand upon in the future.
Check out footage of the entire concert below, in addition to the setlist, to gauge the massive scale of the event.
Watch Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington memorial gig:
Linkin Park – Hollywood Bowl, California Setlist 27/10/17
‘Robot Boy/The Messenger/Iridescent’
‘Roads Untraveled’
‘Numb’
‘Shadow Of The Day’
(with Ryan Key of Yellowcard)
‘Leave Out All The Rest’
(with Gavin Rossdale of Bush)
‘Somewhere I Belong’
(with Takahiro “Taka” Moriuchi of ONE OK ROCK)
‘Unicorns & Lolipops’
‘Castle Of Glass’
(with Adrian Young, Tom Dumont & Tony Kanal of No Doubt, & Alanis Morissette)
‘Rest’
(Sung by Alanis Morissette & Mike Farrell)
‘Nobody Can Save Me’
(with Steven McKellar of Civil Twilight & Jon Green)
‘Battle Symphony’
(with Jon Green)
‘Sharp Edges’
(with Ilsey Juber)
‘Talking to Myself’
(with Ilsey Juber)
‘Heavy’
(with Kiiara & Julia Michaels)
‘One More Light’
‘Looking For An Answer’
‘Waiting For The End’
‘Crawling’
(with Oliver Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon)
‘Papercut’
(with Machine Gun Kelly)
‘One Step Closer’
(with Ryan Shuck & Amir Derakh of Julien-K and Dead By Sunrise & Jonathan Davis of Korn)
‘A Place For My Head’
(with Jeremy McKinnon)
‘Rebellion’
(with Daron Malakian & Shavo Odadjian of System Of A Down)
‘The Catalyst’
(with Deryck Whibley & Frank Zummo of Sum 41)
‘I Miss You’
(Sung by Blink‐182)
‘What I’ve Done’
(with Blink‐182)
‘In The End’
Encore:
‘Iridescent’
‘New Divide’
‘A Light That Never Comes’
(with Steve Aoki)
‘Burn It Down’
(with M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold)
‘Faint’
(with M. Shadows & Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold)
Bleed It Out
