I went to the Los Angeles show for Carnivores Tour on September 15, 2014 at the historic Hollywood Bowl. It was the only Carnivores Tour I was able to attend, but after all that went down, I’m so grateful I got to go.
This is my second Linkin Park and third 30 Seconds To Mars concert. Both their music has inspired me so much; the lyrics to their music is the soundtrack of my life. I can’t seem to function without their amazing music. So when it was announced that AFI, 30STM and Linkin Park were going to team up and perform all together, I thought I had died and gone to music heaven. I love both bands so much, so to imagine seeing both bands in one night was just mind blowing.
I bought my tickets though the LPU, saving me some money and I got the chance to invite my husband and his friend along for the ride. My husband had seen Mars before and my husband’s friend had seen Linkin Park last year, but this time they both got a great taste of their performance on one stage. They told me they were super impressed with both bands, especially with Linkin Park’s performance, which meant a lot to me.
I got an email that weekend before the show that I had won a Meet and Greet though the LPU, I almost had a heart attack. A dream come true. I couldn’t believe it. I had to read that email about twenty times before it sank in. I called my boss to let her know the good news and we both were freaking out! So now I had the weekend to freak out and wait for that email with the instructions of where to go and when to arrive. When I received the email on Monday, the day of the concert, I was so happy and relieved because I didn’t want to miss this amazing opportunity.
We traveled the three hours to get to Los Angeles and after checking into our room and visiting my husband’s friend’s favorite record store, we got ready to go to the concert.
I was nervous while I looked for the spot that was designated by the LPU people, and the heat wasn’t helping. It had to be the hottest Los Angeles has ever been, but I found some Linkin Park fans by the place where my email had said to wait. There was only three people waiting there and they were so friendly. We all introduced ourselves and we chatted about the weather, the bands performing and how exciting it was to be chosen for Meet & Greet. We even got to see Joe Hahn come out!
Around 7:15 PM, more people started showing up and I was getting more nervous. I was missing out on Mars’ performance; I could still hear them performing and the crowd going wild and I couldn’t help but sing and dance along to the music in the background, while thinking how fortunate and lucky I was to be waiting to finally meet my musical heroes.
Joe and Rob both came out while we were waiting in line, and they were the first ones to sign my Hunting Party album insert, which my chosen item to be signed since it has all their photos on it (and it was the easiest thing to carry around during the concert afterwards). Then we were split into three lines, and when it was our turn, we all headed up anxiously up the stairs to meet Linkin Park. We got ready for our group photo and then that’s when the rest of Linkin Park came out and they just scattered around us for the group shot. Phoenix and Chester were the closest around me.
We got in a line and they did the usual signing. Me and this really nice lady called Cindy were the first ones in the line and when Chester came to sign my stuff, I blurted out: “You look more handsome in person than on video.” He kindly smiled at me and said: “Why, thank you.” and then preceded to give me a hug. I was like “this cant be happening.” Phoenix came next, signed my stuff and I told him this was my first meet and greet and he said: “Welcome to the LPU.” Mike was next and when asked for a hug, he said he couldn’t give out hugs because he was sick and he didn’t want anyone to get sick. I told him: “I work in a day-care (with preschoolers) so its all good.” He smiled and gave me a high-five! Brad was the last one and I mentioned to him about his short hair and he smiled while signing away.
After that short but awesome meet and greet, I went to go enjoy the rest of Mars’ set and found my husband and his friend while dancing and singing along to one of my favorite songs, “Do or Die.” I only got to enjoy three more songs and their set was sadly over. We all waited for Linkin Park’s set to start and when it did, I forgot how tired, thirsty and sleep deprived I was, and just let the music take over.
I loved the mashup intro with “Sessions,” “1stp Klosr,” “The Requiem,” “The Summoning,” “The Catalyst,” then going into “Guilty All the Same,” “Given Up,” “Points of Authority,” “One Step Closer.” Just two of my favorite songs from Hybrid Theory. “Blackout” going to “Papercut,” then “Rebellion” along with surprise guest Daron. “Runaway” was played even if it was only the first verse but it then extended to “Wastelands.” “Castle of Glass” experience. The ballad medley was next, which was a relief because I was getting a bit winded out from all the jumping and head banging. It sounded amazing! Then “Robot Boy” as instrumental came after that, sounded awesome and got us ready for Joe Hahn’s solo, it was like a mini party/club scene right there. We were all dancing around to the mixes. “Burn It Down,” “Waiting for the End,” which blew me away with this fresh new take on that awesome song, “Final Masquerade” then it was Mike’s time to shine with “Wretches and Kings” and “Remember the Name,” calling out to all his Fort Minor fans. Linkin Park classics like “Numb/Encore,” “In the End,” and “Faint” were played next, and another guest was announced for “Faint,” Austin from Of Mice & Men came out to help out with the singing and screaming parts.
The encore was next, letting us take a break from all that amazing insanity and “Lost In the Echo” started it, going on to “New Divide” and I was surprised to hear “Crawling” come up next. “What I’ve Done” with Brad showing off his mad guitar skills and then came the song that makes everyone just lose their freaking minds, “Bleed It Out” with Rob’s drum solo that sounded even more amazing than ever, with “The Catalyst” refrain and it just blew my mind away.
I left The Hollywood Bowl that night feeling so many emotions, it’s hard to put it down on paper. I had the time of my life, feeling so free and happy. Even though I was so tired, I just wanted to hit repeat and just relive it once again.
Thank you Linkin Park for doing an amazing job, for never ceasing to amaze me and thanks to everyone at the LPU for making me the happiest woman in the world with this first meet and greet. I will never forget this night. Mars’ song “Do or Die” says: “Time to be alive, I will never forget the moment, the moment, I will never forget this night, we sing, we sing.” That’s exactly my thoughts on that night and forever etched in my memories and heart.
- Areli Mendoza
