On Sunday a black sabbath fell upon Shanghai as one of the original auteurs of nu-metal, Linkin Park, commandeered the stage at Hong Kou Stadium for their long awaited debut in China. According to China Daily, making this show extra special was the fact that this was the first open air concert by a major international rock group. As one of the most popular rock bands in the People’s Republic, fans were so eager to see their heroes take the stage that, according to Xinhua, the audience started screaming for Linkin Park during Thin Man’s opening set. Talk about your embarrassing moments. I hope that Thin Man don’t overeat to fill the emotional void. There’s only room in pop culture for one set of Fat Boys.
With over 40 million records sold the band is a force to be reckoned with, however, unlike Beyonce’s set, the show was pared down and simple. Co-founder Mike Shinoda said, “a good concert, is not the production or the lights or anything like that, it’s more about playing and putting together the best experience for the fans that we can. We have a lot of room for improvisations.” Hopefully, their improv will wow the crowd at their next stop in Hong Kong on the 20th. However, the boys are warned to bring it on their sojourn south as Hong Kong has already seen the likes of The Cure and Nine Inch Nails this fall. They’ve got some tough acts to follow.
Image: Jan’s Lie’s Flickr Page
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