Linkin Park concert at the Hollywood Bowl, photo by Bojan Hohnjec
It’s a rallying cry that resulted from the shocking, tragic and heartbreaking death of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington: #FuckDepression.
The hashtag has been embraced by Linkin Park fans and those distraught after the loss of the band’s vocal powerhouse, who ended his own life July 20 after a battle with depression. And it played a key role in Friday’s emotional concert tribute to at the Hollywood Bowl.
Bennington’s wife Talinda, graciously took to the stage near the end of the show which honored the global band’s fearless leader among friends, family, industry folks, musicians and most importantly, the fans for over three hours of live music. Talinda said, “It is time that we recognize that our mental health is as important as our physical health.”
The fans shouted, screamed, laughed, cried and raised their arms with glowing wristbands provided by the event, igniting the flame for “One More Light,” the emotional peak of the evening, celebrating all-things Linkin Park with a sea of lights – a reminder that every life is precious.
Co-lead vocalist/rapper Mike Shinoda led the night’s loose but orchestrated program with a vein of hope and healing and shared that Chester would want everyone to celebrate, playing songs with the remaining members of Linkin Park (Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn) but mostly incorporated a variety of acts from the rock, pop and electronic worlds – reflecting the reach and inspiration Chester and Linkin Park have had not only on the world but on other musicians.
Mike Shinoda, photo by Bojan Hohnjec
Following an opening from DJ Robot Boy, Linkin Park kicked off the night with “Iridescent” and a mash-up of “Messenger” with Jon Green (co-writer of “Nobody Can Save Me” and “Battle Symphony.”) They continued with Jon Green on “Roads Untraveled” and then played the anthemic “Numb.” The musicians then stood back from the mics as the sold-out audience sang—and screamed—every word to the song. It was one of the many highlights of the evening.
Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key joined Linkin Park for the emotional ballad “Shadow of the Day” which blended into a video of U2 performing “With Or Without You.” Bush’s Gavin Rossdale made a surprise appearance during “Leave Out All the Rest” and the show continued with One Ok Rock’s lead singer Taka Moriuchi smashing his vocal on the electric “Somewhere I Belong,” sounding eerily similar to Chester. Moriuchi’s band was supposed to tour much of the U.S. with Linkin Park on tour this fall, and flew in from Japan to appear at on this special night.
Announced performers Tony Dumont, Adrian Young and Tony Kanal of No Doubt were all joined by another surprise guest, Alanis Morrisette for a cover of “Castle of Glass.” Alanis was then given a moment to share her new song “Rest,” dedicated to Chester. She illuminated the crowd with the reality that a lot of people in the public eye fight depression and she offered empathy to all of them collectively.
LP’s Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Dave Farrell, photo by Randall Michelson
The night continued with South African band Civil Twilight’s singer Steven McKellar joined by Jon Green, who took on newer songs “Nobody Can Save Me” and “Battle Symphony” with the band. Folk-pop singer Isley Juber (who co-wrote “Talking To Myself” and “Sharp Edges”) joined Linkin Park members for “Sharp Edges” and Isley led “Talking To Myself” blended with Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower.” The lead single from the recent “One More Light” album was performed by the single’s singer Kiiara alongside songwriter Julia Michaels.
“One More Light,” which Chester Bennington and Linkin Park memorably performed following the death of his longtime friend and fellow frontman Chris Cornell was a profound moment of the evening. Beyond the glittering of lights in the crowd, Shinoda stood behind the keyboard in a stripped-down performance and delivered the vocal with imperfect perfection – he’s of course more of a rapper – a singer as well, though not nearly the technical, or often operatic vocalist that Chester was. Shinoda’s vocal was raw and scarred and beautiful though and emphasized just how much the band and the world are at a loss without their main singer. But the takeaway is that the songs are so impactful that they will live on either way.
Shinoda and Bebe Rexha, photo by Randall Michelson
Following “Looking For An Answer” on piano, Echosmith singer Sydney Sierota floated through the glitchy “Waiting For The End.” Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon then joined Zedd for the massive “Crawling” and Machine Gun Kelly (who was also set to tour with Linkin Park) packed a punch on “Papercut.” Korn frontman Jonathan Davis was joined by Ryan Shuck and Amir Derakh (of Julien-K, members of Orgy) for “One Step Closer” and A Day To Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon stepped in for “A Place For My Head,” while the crowd sang along to the antagonizing song.
Shinoda shared that Linkin Park played their first show at The Whiskey for System of A Down, introducing band members Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian for the song “Rebellion.” Sum 41’s Deryk Whibley was a perfect addition for “The Catalyst” joining Linkin Park for the chaotic song. Blink-182 (yet another act originally scheduled to tour with Linkin Park) made their “Miss You” hit more poignant than ever followed by “What I’ve Done” joined by Mike Shinoda and Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn.
Shinoda gave a spirited shout to the crowd asking, “Are we having fun yet? It’s a weird thing but he’d want us to have fucking fun!” He implied that there were many artists on the stage but said that his favorite guest of the night is “you guys.”
The anthemic “In The End” followed, possibly the most spirited snapshot of the night with everyone in the crowd singing along. “New Divide” was next and then surprise guest Steve Aoki took over the stage with Sum 41’s Frank Zummo and Bebe Rexha for the electronic-heavy “A Light That Never Comes.” Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows joined Linkin Park for both “Burn It Down” and “Faint” and the night commenced with “Bleed It Out” with all of the special guests hugging and singing along with extended cheers from the fans.
Mike Shinoda and M. Shadows, photo by Randall Michelson
There were multiple clips of the band and behind-the-scenes moments that were light and full of warm and fuzzies, including a vocal exercise where Chester was singing “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma,” to which one of his band members said: “That’s some Freddie Mercury shit!” Another included Chester on guitar riffing about “unicorns and lollipops” and then turning it up a notch and rapping it.
The weight of Linkin Park’s influence on American rock music, pop culture and the global music industry was felt again during a video with icons from Metallica to the Leto brothers of 30 Seconds to Mars to Paul McCartney, Guns N Roses’ Duff McKagan and Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan all paying their respects. In the same moment on the jumbotrons one guy was singing along while another girl was crying.
The takeaway from the night is the message that Talinda Bennington and the Linkin Park family continue to exploit, which is to #MakeChesterProud. The memorials around the world, social media messages and the music have brought together the Linkin Park fan base in an unexpected way. With Music for Relief and the One More Light Fund top-of-mind, all involved hope to shed a light on mental health because One More Light does matter.
