Linkin Park Live Guide - 2007 Summary

Summary: 2007 saw the return of Linkin Park after an almost 2 year hiatus during the writing of their Minutes to Midnight album. After some warm-up shows in Berlin, London and East Rutherford, NJ and television appearances, including their first appearance on Saturday Night Live in the spring, Linkin Park recorded a show at Webster Hall in New York City to be shown in theaters nationwide in the US. Shortly thereafter, the band kicked off a European festival tour, headlining at Pinkpop, Rock am Ring and Download Festival among others. In between, they made their first ever Russian live appearances in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Immediately following the tour, the band headlined the Tokyo stage for Japan's portion of the Live Earth concerts. 2007 also saw the return of Projekt Revolution after a 3 year absence. The summer tour's lineup included My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo and Julien-K on the Main stage and Mindless Self Indulgence, Saosin, The Bled, Styles of Beyond and Madina Lake on the Revolution stage. In a teaser video on the band's site, it was confirmed that 3 setlists were to be used on this tour. By the end of the tour, the band actually utilized 4 distinct sets incorporating tracks from all 3 of their albums.

On August 22, MySpace.com steamed live video from the main stage at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI. This tour was the first (of hopefully many) where the band made copies of their performance available for sale though live.linkinpark.com. A blank CD, CD cover and download code could be purchased at the merchandise booths of each show and the performance could be downloaded within 3 to 5 days from the band's site.

Linkin Park set into an Australian & New Zealand tour in October and followed it up with a tour in Asia, including stops in Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. The year was not without its troubles for the band. Their appearance at the Heineken Jammin' Festival in Italy was canceled due to a storm which caused damage to the general area; the live recording from the Projekt Revolution show in Wantagh, NY could not be sold due to difficulties with the venue's policies.

Last, but not least, Chester Bennington broke his wrist during the second night of the Melbourne, Australia shows. Being the performer he is, he didn't miss a beat and left the stage only shortly (four or five songs after it happened!) to be checked out before finishing the show. In November of 2007, Linkin Park began announcing 2008 concert dates in Europe again, this time planning an arena tour in January. They finished the year off on a high note by playing a very unique, highlight-filled performance at their hometown KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show.

Great audience recordings:
-Berlin 04.28.2007 (AUD)
-London 05.03.2007 (DVD)
-Bamboozle 05.06.2007 (AUD)
-Copenhagen 05.24.2007 (AUD)
-Rock im Park 06.02.2007 (AUD)
-Wantagh 08.15.2007 (DVD)
-Brisbane 10.22.2007 (AUD)

List of proshot recordings:
-All 6 Third Encore performances
-TV Total Köln 04.30.2007 (TV - 1 song)
-BBC Radio 1 London 05.02.2007 (Webcast - 3 songs + interview)
-Channel 4 London 05.04.2007 (TV - 4 songs + interview)
-Webster Hall 05.11.2007 (Theatres / TV / Webcast - full show)
-Saturday Night Live 05.12.2007 (TV - 2 songs)
-Jimmy Kimmel 05.18.2007 (TV - 2 songs)
-KROQ Irvine 05.19.2007 (Webcast - full show)
-Rock am Ring 06.01.2007 (TV - 8 songs)
-Lisbon 06.08.2007 (TV - full show)
-Donington 06.09.2007 (TV - 3 songs)
-Tokyo 07.07.2007 (TV / Webcast - full show)
-KROQ Los Angeles 07.19.2007 (Webcast - 6 songs)
-Clarkston 08.22.2007 (Webcast - full show)
-All PR:07 SBD shows except for Wantagh 08.15.2007 / South East Asia Tour SBD shows
-MTV VMAs 09.09.2007 (TV - 1 song)

Touring Bands:
-European Tour: 30 Seconds to Mars (All shows except Russia, Chorzów, Venezia and Nickelsdorf), Blindside (Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg and Praha only), Aiden (St. Petersburg only), and Jane Air (Moscow only)
-Projekt Revolution: My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo, and Julien-K
-Australia and New Zealand: Chris Cornell
-Asia: Dir en Grey (Japanese shows only)

Canceled Shows:
-Venezia 06.15.2007 - Reason: Huge storm.