The hype began in December 2016, when Linkin Park announced they would be playing four shows in South America in May 2017, and I knew right away I had to go to as many as I could.
After 10 minutes of freaking out, my girlfriend and I decided we would fly to Buenos Aires and Santiago. Two weeks later, we had already bought tickets to both concerts plus São Paulo.
May 5th: So say goodbye (Brazil) and hit the road! Pack it up and go to Argentina! We land at 16:30 and immediately go downtown to pickup our tickets. With them in hands, we go for a walk, have an ice cream and enjoy this beautiful city.
Saturday morning and the most anticipated day for the past 5 months has finally come! Our favorite band is playing at Maximus Festival, their first show since 2015.
We arrive at Tecnópolis during Slayer’s set, and in between shows we set up to get a better view of the stage. As time goes by, the crowd starts to push backwards and forwards, just like a wave of human beings.
Roads Untravelled intro starts directly into The Catalyst and we go crazy! Argentinians are insane and jump all around the place! On the third song, a lovely surprise: Talking to Myself is debuted before it is officially released, and it sounds so cool. The set flows quite naturally, including Good Goodbye and its live performance with a new Shinoda verse, Crawling acoustic and the craziness that are One Step Closer, Faint, and Papercut.
Other highlights of the show include the amazing 2017 version of Leave Out All the Rest, and the incredibly loud In the End feat. Crowd:
So rest your head it’s time to sleep, cause there’s an early flight to Santiago. The city is cold and sunny, and throughout the following days we hear there are tons of people waiting outside LP’s hotel:
With all respect, please don't stand outside our hotels, you guys. We ❤️ you, but we need personal space. Focus on the meet & greets instead
— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) May 9, 2017
May 9th: second show of the tour, second show we’re watching, first solo. Upon arrival, there is a huge queue across the parking lot. Gladly, it doesn’t take as long as we thought it would to enter the venue.
Rise Against enters the stage and the first taste of the night is shown: loud voices, sweating, and a great show. Even Mike and Joe were watching from backstage!
Linkin Park goes on stage at 21:40 and they make a small change: Talking to Myself is the first song instead of The Catalyst, and lots of fans are singing along! Impressive! The rest of the set remains the same as we approach the 12th song and get the first treat of the night: Invisible live debut, which would be officially premiered the next day. Waiting for the End returns to the set, followed by Breaking the Habit, and then the folks have something very special for us tonight: One More Light is also debuted! What a beautiful song. Worth mentioning there is a flashmob during Heavy, as fans are holding up the “Why is everything so heavy?” sign. Bleed it out never fails to close a gig and 2/3 are done.
I'd like to thank our fans for killing it at the last 2 shows. We have the best fans in the world❤️🔥🙏👊🤘
— Chester Bennington (@ChesterBe) May 10, 2017
Brazil, you are next! Wednesday night and it is time to come home. There are two days to rest before the final night of the tour. This time, six other friends who can’t wait to lose their minds join my girlfriend and I to go to Maximus Festival Brasil.
The setlist is the same as Argentina’s, as are the usual hyperventilating fans. Battle Symphony is sung out loud, New Divide demonstrates why it is still played every tour since 2009, and Somewhere I Belong up to this time drives people crazy.
By the time we get to the 20th song, the most unexpected thing happens. Ladies and gentleman, Mike Shinoda:
I have a request…I’ve been wanting to do this since the beginning of the tour, but…for some reason it never worked out. I hope you can understand me. What I wanna do on this next song, this is not a loud song. However, what I would love to this on this song is two humongous pits open up right here. Do you think we could do that? Even though this is not a loud song? Just to fuck with people when they watch it back on Instagram, snapchat or whatever, they like: ‘What the fuck are those guys pitting for on this song?, this is fucking crazy’. So if you wanna get in the pit, come right here. If you don’t wanna be in the pit, get the fuck out
Guess what the next song is? Yes, Heavy, the lead single of the upcoming album. You read it correctly. São Paulo has a moshpit during Heavy! Ask and you shall receive.
'Heavy' was heavy, literally. @linkinpark @mikeshinoda @phoenixlp @ChesterBe @BradDelson #MaximusFestival #SaoPaulo #Brasil pic.twitter.com/CP2ETXBuoy
— Fernanda (@fehsays) May 14, 2017
On the last two songs, the audience is sweating and shaking, yet everyone with a big smile on their faces. It couldn’t have ended better. Papercut is perfect live and Bleed it Out really is a party.
In all seriousness, thank you Brazil. You guys are always amazing. Fun show tonight.
— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) May 14, 2017
In the end, all I can say is: thank you Mike, Chester, Brad, Dave, Joe, Rob, and crew. Linkin Park is awesome.
