And then there was Linkin Park

Have you ever had that absolutely face-melting feeling? Where your heart kind of slows down to polygraph-decieving beat and you can hear it in your ears, drowning out all other noise until it's everywhere. That moment when you believe that truly you have never been more excited to be somewhere. When you feel dizzy and on the brink of crying, like the tears literally prick at your eyes and the steady pounding just gets louder. That, dear misfits, this is the sensation that so very unexpectedly hit me when Chester Bennington hit his first impossible scream at the Linkin Park show in Cape Town on Saturday.

You can say what you will oh Britney-pop idiots, usher-worshipping morons, Bieber fever disgraces.
Shake your head, you Ecstasy-popping, wall dancing, knoppie music dumbasses. And even you sirs, yes you, my lost souls of metal & rock everywhere, even you can throw your weight as you wish. But it must be said, I don't care who you are, I don't care who you think I'm supposed to be - Linkin Park is fucking awesome. Deal with it.

After a lifetime of waiting for them to hit our South African shores, I was completely overwhelmed as they mutilated the stage. Every song, every note, was a testament to my teenage angst filled childhood. The background music to my growing up was exploding only a few metres away from me. It was unbelievable.

We arrived at the stadium about 12pm, thinking that now we are so gonna get a good spot. Pfff, so much for that thought. There was already a line stretching past half the continent. And after many, and i do mean maaaaany, technical failures (ticket-check machines, wristband handouts due to said machines, etc), hours later, we finally got in. Inside, we waited, again. But waiting was fine, everyone was way to amped to care.

Finally Kongos kicked off the show with, as always, a brilliant performance. But then, oh then, out came our interesting sensation - Jack Parow. This unlikely pairing then proceeded to sing 'Come Together' by the Beatles. Yes, Kongos & Jack Parow sang the Beatles. Only in South Africa.

After their 5 songs, we waited a bit more. And then struck the horror - I needed to pee. I can assure you, never in my life have I ever ran so quickly to a loo. I wasn't even back to my spot - which was an absolute nightmare to get too, since no-one likes a 'indrukker' - when the lights dimmed, and the crowd went bonkers. At this point my absolutely mad best friend - Ms Lisa Dlamini - had somehow advanced us to the 'thirdish row' I guess you can call it? I could smell Shinoda's sweat bitches!

The set list was perfect - mixing old and new, with Chester proving that he could still scream like a fifteen-year old boy. They didn't do Crawling- but hey, if your throat felt like mine the next morning -you wouldn't mind the exclusion.

After the main leg of the show was done, we were crying, sweating, living the music. It's rather obvious that shows like this don't happen often, cause half of the people were up and leaving when the encore started. They did three more songs - I nearly died during 'In the End' - and they ended with 'Bleed it out', leaving the entire Cape Town and every one of my senses screaming for more.

I think it must be unbelievable standing on stage having the entire audience sing along every word of every song. I had goosebumps the entire time as I heard the mass of people behind me sing their hearts out. Damn I love live music.

This night of euphoria did, however, not commence without tragedy. Upon heading home we were informed of an advertising board collapsing on 20 people - leaving 19 injured and one woman sadly passed away. The culprit being the unpredictable Cape Town winds.



The woman is yet to be identified, but LP did release a statement with their condolences:

“Following our performance tonight at Cape Town Stadium, we were advised that several people were injured as a result of the collapse of an advertising tower erected by Lucozade in the parking area outside the venue.
“We wish to express our deep sadness and concern for those injured and our heartfelt condolences to the family of the fan who died as a result of her injuries.

“Though we have had no relationship with the sponsor or the entity responsible for erecting the structure, we take the safety of our fans very seriously and our thoughts are with all of those who were affected by this tragedy.”

Despite this horrible tragedy, the show was amazing & the atmosphere electric. Everyone on this earth MUST go to a Linkin Park concert at least once in their life. Period. If you don't believe me - follow these links to people that was a lot better than me at putting this expierience into words:

http://music4meez.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/linkin-park-live-in-cape-town-concert-review/

http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/review-linkin-park/

As I'm still regaining full use of my voice - enjoy some music that's a bit easier to sing to:

http://soundcloud.com/kongos/im-only-joking-1#new-timed-comment-at-171822


Long live teenage angst! Lei out!