Linkin Park Rocks Patriot Center
By: Chad Brown

If you keep up with music, you’re probably aware of who was crowned the best-selling artist artist of 2001. For the first time in recent memory, the charts were not dominated by any boy band, or pop king. No, it was new comers Linkin Park that owned the music charts, and had the best selling album of 2001. On February 12th, Linkin Park brought some serious rock and rhymes to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, putting on a show to remember.

On tour with Adema and rap superstar Cypress Hill, Linkin Park’s first headlining tour, entitled Projekt Revolution was winding down. The month-long tour had been a huge success, as just about every show completely sold out. Fairfax was no different. Over 10,000 screaming fans packed into the Patriot Center, some of which stood in the freezing cold for up to 4 hours just to be let in the door. Surprisingly, the crowd was not dominated by teenagers. Fans of all ages were spotted, from elementary-aged kids, to adults who looked old enough to be my great-great grandparents.

Once the doors were opened at 6, fans had no choice but to sit and wait until the show kicked off at 7:30. In the mean time, it was learned that both opening acts, Adema and Cypress Hill would not be performing due to personal emergencies. Taking their place as opening act would be 8-Track, a virtually unknown hard rock band. When 7:30 finally rolled around, and they took the stage, the place was packed to capacity, with the ground-level housing most of the more rowdy teenagers and mosh pits, while the surrounding general admission seats were home to most adults and smaller children. 8-Track put on a very nice performance, especially considering the last-minute circumstances. Despite creating a good amoung of energy on-stage, the band was greeted with a less than satisfying crowd reaction. Obscene chants broke out, and the band got hardly any reaction after each song. After playing for about 45 minutes, 8-Track finally said Linkin Park was coming up next. That’s when my night really began.

After a rather annoying 45 minute wait, the red Projekt Revolution banner was finally lowered, the lights dimmed, and the crowd went wild. After another short wait, the speakers filled with the sound of Linkin Park, who took the stage and kicked off their set with With You. Right from the get-go, the crowd was red hot, and at times, they drowned out the music and vocals.

Linkin Park showed several times during their set that they are extremely dedicated to every one of their fans. The hard rock music brought along many crowd surfers and mosh pits, which lead singer Chester mentioned in-between songs, making it clear that if a fan falls in the pit, what do you do? You pick him up! The set continued, with such fan favorites as Crawling, Runaway, and the highly popular In the End. Chester, along with other vocalist Mike showed amazing charisma, singing and rhyming as if they were joined at the hip. Every song was performed with amazingly accurate vocals, as the boys hit every note perfectly. The band played all 12 songs from their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which has now gone seven times platinum. Along the way, fans were entertained with several songs that were not included on the album. Such unreleased tunes as Step Up were played, along with the slower tune My December, which strayed away from the band’s typical alternative nature. The band winded down by playing several cover songs, such as My Own Summer by the Deftones. And finally, Linkin Park ended their hour and 8 minute long set by performing their biggest hit, One Step Closer, which reached number 1 on the top 40 charts. They obviously saved the best for last, as the final piece was done perfectly, and sounded better live than on the album. After saying their goodbyes, Linkin Park headed off-stage, and the fans headed for the exists.

Following the show, Linkin Park once again showed their dedication to their fans, by holding a public meet-and-greet session. During the session, the band was willing to sign anything and everything fans brought. Greeting everybody who showed up, they refused to turn down a single fan. This is definitely not your typical post-show routine for mainstream artists.

Linkin Park proved why they were named the top act of 2001, putting on a flawless show for the sold-out crowd. If the tour title was any indication, they certainly put together a projekt that caused a revolution in Fairfax.