It took until their reformation, seven years after the tragic death of their leader Chester Bennington, to see Linkin Park reach the height of their popularity. Number one worldwide, the album “From Zero” allowed the Californian band to organize their very first European stadium tour. Their final summer stop was this Saturday evening in a packed Stade de France. A date for history, where the group had been content at best with Bercy in their prime. It was also a revenge for the band, whose electro-pop turn had annoyed purists and led to a concert under boos at Hellfest in 2017. No boos last night, but a general roar when the six musicians arrived on stage, in all simplicity, to the sound of one of their biggest hits, “Somewhere I Belong.” First classic, first slap!
A roller-coaster first hour
With Linkin Park, there’s no profusion of stage effects à la Coldplay or Beyoncé. A simple screen and two suspended cubes suffice. No dancers, no huge sets, just simple jets of smoke and a few confetti to accompany Mike Shinoda’s sharp riffs. Wearing dark glasses, newcomer Emily Armstrong enters the arena, proudly and effectively assuming her leadership role with infectious energy. She finally convinces the last skeptics by singing (and what a voice!) on the recent “The Emptiness Machine” and “Up From The Bottom,” already classics live. However, just as the audience is asking for more, the band takes a back seat for an interlude, the first of many, notably seeing Emily Armstrong wander from one end of the stage to the other, not really knowing what to do.
Because therein lies the evening’s downside: the concert seriously lacks rhythm in its first half. Every time Linkin Park gets the heat pumping, it immediately collapses. Thus, after literally turning the stadium upside down with the bombshell “Two Faced,” the best track from the latest album, the Americans slipped backstage for another break. The same thing happened a few minutes later after a wild “One Step Closer,” with Taka from the Japanese band One Ok Rock, who opened the evening as a surprise guest, followed by five minutes of filming the fans in the front row on a big screen. We could have done without it. The same goes for the sometimes faltering routines, or some interactions that tasted like private jokes between the six musicians, sometimes leaving the 80,000 Parisians on the sidelines.
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Emily Armstrong impresses!
Despite everything, the group takes undeniable pleasure in savoring their newfound success. While Mike Shinoda draws a fan’s tattoo, raps while hanging from the barrier, or gives his cap to an ecstatic spectator, Emily Armstrong is acclaimed as the true new icon she is. After a slow mid-season, the show picks up again for a sensational second half. “What I’ve Done,” which Armstrong beautifully re-appropriates, hasn’t aged a bit, and the everlasting “Numb” and “In The End,” the band’s two biggest hits, sung back-to-back, transform the stadium into a giant choir. “Do you still have a little energy?” the guitarist asks. The crowd exults. “Faint” triggers new pogos before an explosive encore to the sound of “Heavy is the Crown” and “Bleed It Out.” Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Alex Feder join Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong on the front before leaving the latter alone for a moment, to enjoy a final round of applause in front of 80,000 adoring fans. A (rock) star is born.
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