Linkin Park Concert: Rock and Roll History - Essay Example

Description of the Performance – the band was quite remarkable because the band members played all their songs all the way back to their start as a band. In other words, the mixture of the songs was eclectic and there was hardly any misstep in their performance. Band members memorized all their songs, even the old ones, and Linkin Park did not limit itself to purely rock and roll songs of the usual rap-metal songs in their albums. For fans of this band, their performance was considered one of the best so far but on the other hand, those who hate the sound of rap may find their music too hard on their ears.

All the thumping and the shouting at times may sound like irritating noise instead of soothing music to unfamiliar ears. The sheer volume of the sound system made the song lyrics inaudible most of the time although many of the fans are already familiar with these songs. On the whole, it was an awesome performance. Instrumentation was good while the articulation of the sound at high volume was excellent. C Description of the Artists/Band (musical genre) –the songs of Linkin Park are associated with rap-metal music and also with nu-metal (or alternatively termed as new metal, neo-metal, or aggro-metal) which is a type of music that is heavy on metal combined with hip-hop music and hardcore punk with additional mixtures from grunge music (characterized by growling vocals and sounds from distorted electric guitars) using apathetic, ennui, or angst-filled lyrics.

The sub-genre of music from the Linkin Park band is somewhat a cross or blend between two styles of music which are hip-hop and rap combined with hard rock and punk influences as the original band members tried to experiment with their music to create something unique (Saulmon 8). Both musical styles reflect the lifestyle of youngsters who use illegal drugs, do a lot of low-paying menial jobs, and heavy on eating fast-foods with life seemingly going nowhere and these feelings are expressed in their lyrics which resonate with the young people.

Lyrics from “Papercut” for example, show how a person got so stressed out, with words like:“Why does it feel like night today?Something in here’s not right todayWhy am I so uptight today?Paranoia’s all I got leftI don’t know what stressed me first . . .” (Linkin Park para. 1).The lyrics from another song “One Step Closer” likewise express this feeling of angst, despair, confusion, vulnerability, and desperation that characterizes most of their songs as rap:“I cannot take this anymoreI’m saying everything I’ve said beforeAll these words they make no senseI find bliss in ignoranceLess I hear the less you’ll sayBut you’ll find that out anyway . . .

” (Linkin Park para. 2)D Description of Personal Reaction to the Concert – everything about this concert was simply an awesome experience and worth the price of admission, so to say. It was an experience of a lifetime as the band performed their best songs to the accompaniment of the best instruments, with the sound quality just at the right kind of mix, and with stunning performances by all the band members. The cinematography was also perfect in that they employed an experienced and versatile head cameraman who was able to capture all the relevant moments in the concert that showed everybody at their best.

The vocals and the mix of the metal instruments were at their best too but the lighting can be hurtful on the eyes at times because of the lights shifting and the shimmering and blinking of all the bright lights practically everywhere. The overhead cameras also showed some incredible footage of the audience members going around in circles towards the end of the concert. The songs performed were done at random and did not follow a certain pattern like being sung in chronological order when these first came out.