Concerts Reviews
Linkin Park Balance Legacy and Renewal in Vancouver with From Zero World Tour
Linkin Park’s return to Vancouver felt like something out of an alternate timeline ; one where the band weathered tragedy, reassembled, and reemerged with a different voice but the same electricity. On Sunday night, September 21, Rogers Arena was packed to the rafters for the From Zero World Tour, a two-hour, career-spanning spectacle that proved the band’s legacy isn’t just intact, it’s still evolving.
But first: chaos. JPEGMAFIA opened the evening with a blistering 30-minute set that sounded like it was beamed in from five different planets at once. He thrashed between aggressive hip-hop, noise rock, and psychedelic jams with a live band that veered dangerously close to sounding like Rage Against the Machine one minute and a warped carnival ride the next. His set included the fan favourite “BALD!” (dedicated to the follicly challenged), and a trippy Auto-Tuned rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” It was messy and funny, exactly the kind of left-field warm-up a band like Linkin Park deserves.
Then came the countdown clock. Projected on massive cube screens suspended above the in-the-round stage, the numbers ticked down as the arena went dark. When the band emerged to the swelling “Inception Intro C,” lasers cut across the arena, and Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda launched into “Somewhere I Belong,” and just like that, Linkin Park was back.
The early stretch leaned hard into nostalgia: “Crawling,” and “New Divide” had fists pumping, while Armstrong proved she wasn’t interested in mimicking Chester Bennington so much as channelling his spirit. Her voice is different, gritty in the right moments, soaring where it counts, but she left plenty of space for the fans to scream along. When she tore into “The Emptiness Machine,” a centerpiece of the new From Zero record, you could feel her confidence snap into place.
The show was structured in four acts, almost like a rock opera. The second act veered into Linkin Park’s more experimental side: the punchy “The Catalyst,” “Burn It Down,” “Lies, Greed, Misery.” One of the strongest moments came with “Two Faced,” a new track that sounded like vintage LP, with Shinoda spitting razor-sharp verses, Armstrong screaming her lungs out, and Joe Hahn working the decks like it was 2001 all over again.
Halfway through the show, the crew rotated the set up, giving every corner of the arena a front-row view at some point in the night. Hahn and new drummer Colin Brittain got their own spotlight, trading turntable scratches and pounding rhythms in an extended interlude that bled into a Mike Shinoda solo section where he walked along the barricade and gave his hat to an excited Brazilian fan. His mashup of “When They Come for Me” and Fort Minor’s “Remember the Name” turned Rogers Arena into a 18,000-person rap cypher, the crowd shouting every word of the hook back at him.
Act three was all about catharsis. “Lost,” the unearthed Meteora-era track, was reborn as a piano ballad before the band crashed in for a full-band version. From there, the crowd surged through “Stained” and a crushing “What I’ve Done,” which sounded bigger and heavier than it has in years.
Act four leaned into the emotional core of Linkin Park’s catalog. “Overflow” exploded with a wall of sound, while “Numb” gave way to one of the loudest singalongs of the night. Armstrong pulled back during the chorus, letting the fans carry the weight. By the time the band ripped through “In the End” and “Faint,” the energy was at its highest.
For the encore, the band tore into “Papercut,” reminding everyone why Hybrid Theory remains untouchable. Then came “Heavy Is the Crown,” a new anthem from From Zero, and finally “Bleed It Out.” And just like that, the night was over.
Here’s the thing: Chester Bennington can’t be replaced. Everyone in the arena knew that. But Emily Armstrong doesn’t try to replace him, she adds a new layer. On the older songs, she does them justice while letting the fans fill in the gaps. On the new tracks, she absolutely owns the space. That balance between memory and reinvention is what makes this version of Linkin Park work.
Shinoda, as always, is the glue, trading verses, moving between guitar and keys, and keeping the crowd engaged. Dave “Phoenix” Farrell’s bass was thunderous, Hahn’s visuals and scratches stitched the eras together, and Alex Feder and Colin Brittain slid seamlessly into their roles.
By the end of the night, old fans got the emotional release they craved, new fans discovered a band reborn, and everyone walked out knowing Linkin Park is thriving.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
LINKIN PARK
JPEGMAFIA
All Photo Credit: Caroline Charruyer
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: Let Your Freak Flag Fly: DEVO and The B-52s Bring the Weird to Rogers Arena
If there was ever a concert where you could show up wearing a red energy dome, a giant lobster costume, or something covered in sequins and somehow feel underdressed, it was Sunday night at Rogers Arena. DEVO and The B-52s brought their Cosmic De-Evolution Tour to Vancouver on September 27, turning the arena into a colourful, wonderfully weird collision of new wave, dance music, retro-futurism and pure camp. It was less like watching two bands from another era and more like being dropped into a very strange party that somehow never stopped being cool.
DEVO kicked things off with their signature visual style firmly intact. The yellow jumpsuits and unmistakable red energy dome hats made an appearance, along with a seriously impressive light show that turned the stage into a constantly shifting wall of colour and movement. There was a lot to look at, and the band clearly understood that half the fun of DEVO is the spectacle. At one point, they took things a step further by throwing red energy domes from the stage into the crowd, sending fans scrambling to catch one of their own. “Uncontrollable Urge” had the arena bouncing, while “Whip It” brought one of the biggest reactions of the night. Watching thousands of people lose themselves to a song that has been living in the cultural bloodstream for decades was pretty great.
Then came The B-52s, and suddenly Rogers Arena felt less like a hockey arena and more like the world’s biggest dance floor. Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider and Cindy Wilson brought the kind of energy that makes it impossible to simply sit and watch. “Planet Claire,” “Roam,” “Private Idaho” and “Love Shack” had the crowd singing and dancing along, but naturally, everyone knew what was coming. “Rock Lobster.” And yes, there was an actual lobster on stage. The giant crustacean made its appearance as the band tore into their gloriously bizarre classic, perfectly summing up what makes The B-52s so much fun. They have never seemed particularly interested in being normal, and thankfully, they still aren’t.
Their fans are just as committed. There was a definite cult-like devotion in the room, with plenty of retro outfits, dancing, big hair, wild accessories and people who clearly knew every single word. The crowd ranged from longtime fans who have been following the bands for decades to younger concertgoers discovering the music for themselves. That might be the most fun part of the Cosmic De-Evolution Tour. These songs have somehow escaped their original era. They still work. They still make people dance. And the bands themselves seem perfectly happy to keep letting their freak flags fly.
DEVO and The B-52s may have been formed nearly half a century ago, but there was nothing particularly nostalgic about the night. This wasn’t a museum piece or simply a trip down memory lane. It was loud, colourful, ridiculous and incredibly fun. With DEVO‘s futuristic visuals, flying energy domes and The B-52s‘ wonderfully unhinged stage presence, Rogers Arena got a little weirder on Sunday night, and Vancouver was better for it.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
DEVO
THE B-52s
All Photo Credit: Heather Horncastle
Concerts Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: AC/DC – Hell’s Still Bellin’
AC/DC. Christ. What’s left to say? Everything’s been said, screamed, tattooed on someone’s bicep already. Doesn’t matter. That’s the whole racket, they never changed, never blinked, and more than fifty years later they’re still the loudest gang in the room.
Growing up, they felt ancient already. I am a 2001 kid. Turns out the joke’s on me: they’re still out there, riffing like it’s ’79, refusing to retire into legend status.
Princess Auto Stadium was packed with about 35000 attendees. Everyone was wearing red twinkling devil’s horns. To warm up the night, The Pretty Reckless started with one of the hits “Death by Rock and Roll.” Some support acts play like they’re grateful for the slot. Taylor Momsen played like she owns the stadium. The hair falling forward, somehow the less you can see of her face the more magnetic she gets. Stage presence isn’t something you learn. She’s just got it.
The band didn’t sound like an opener. Every riff landed with the swagger “Going To Hell” and “Since You’re Gone” kept it burning, and “About You” brought it down to something rawer before the lights cut. By the time The Pretty Reckless walked off, the audience were already screaming AC/DC! AC/DC!
Winnipeggers stood stunned through AC/DC‘s whole set. Angus Young, 71 years old still in that signature blue schoolboy uniform and yellow-and-blue cap, ran wild across the stage, duck-walking like no time had passed at all, genuinely, a dream come true to watch in person.
Meanwhile, the rest of the band, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, bassist Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Laug stayed largely in the background, keeping the engine running for Angus and Johnson to tear apart.
The production matched the legend, “Hells Bells” arrived with an actual giant bell hanging over the stage. The setlist ran deep: “Thunderstruck,” “Have a Drink on Me,” “Shot in the Dark,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Highway to Hell,” “Jailbreak,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” Almost every song sounded just as good as the album version. The crowd tore their vocal cords apart singing along to “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “TNT.” “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” closed things out with cannons blasting into the night sky.
The house lights came up and nobody moved right away. Smoke still hanging over the stage, ears ringing, horns still lit up red across the stands. Bands this old aren’t supposed to sound this dangerous. They aren’t supposed to still mean it. But AC/DC never got the memo about slowing down, and honestly, thank God for that. I walked out hoarse, deaf, and completely satisfied.
Check out our favourite photos of the night below or head to our Facebook page for the full gallery!
AC/DC
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
All Photo Credit: Nischal Karki