Send your reviews to: nunorolinho@gmail.com
I'll only accept reviews from recent shows!
Deftones at ESL Sports Center- Rochester, NY - USA
July 21st 2003
www.deftonesworld.com
After taking over the ESL sports center (where no concerts are ever held)
on July 14th, 2001, the deftones returned to rock it out for a second time.
A smaller crowd, but more new hits were belt out to the adoring fans.
I could sense that Chino was somewhat dissapointed in the crowd. Everyone
was singing along and bobbing their heads, but there was still a lack of
enthusiasm. There wasn't much moshing or jumping or fists in the air. When
the Deftones were in the middle of Headup, a fan was held back from the stage
by security, and they stopped to bring him up. He was a dark-skinned pudgey
guy with dreadlocks, and when he screamed with Chino, a few people assumed he
was the singer of Sevundust, and the rest seemed to believe it, although it was
just a lucky fan. Linkin Park arrived in town to rehearse for the following
day's show. Chester showed up and helped sing the chorus for my own summer.
I don't remember which song it was, but the band began to play an unpopular
deftones song not found on any of their albums. The crowd grew silent so they
stopped and and Chino said "Man, you guys suck!" Definantly a fair statment
in my opinion. The crowd kept cheering "SE-VEN-WORDS" after about an hour, so
they played it and took off. I'm somewhat dissapointed in the show. I have
seen deftones in Rochester a number of times and it's always been packed and
crazy and the setlist goes on. Even last time at ESL, the crowd rocked and the
band loved it. I arrived at about 9:15, the deftones came on at about 9:25,
and got off just before 10:30. So it was only about an hour. Seemed like
certain songs were sped up and others cut short a little.
Setlist:
Minerva
Hexagram
My own summer
Mascara
Headup
Battle Axe
Digital Bath
Change
Korea
Be Quiet and Drive
Around the fur
Feiticeira
Bloody Cape
Nosebleed
Street Carp
Seven Words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The evening started with my two friends and I, along
with about 15 other Deftones fans standing in line
outside in the pouring rain for about 2 and 1/2 hours.
The doors opened at 7 and we ran inside to get to the
front. We were right on the rail, front row, right in
front of where Steph would be when the Deftones were
to go on.
The first band that came on was a band called The
Fight. They were from Britain. The had a female lead
singer, and the vocals were very difficult to hear.
Next, Every Time I Die came on stage. They were a
band from nearby Bufflo, NY. The entire band was
filled with energy. The vocals again were difficult
to hear.
The last opening band was Dredg. I hadn't heard much
about these guys before that night and I was a little
unsure how they would sound. I was very impressed,
they put on a great show. The bass player did some
amazing things with bass that I had never seen before.
These guys are truly a band that is very original in
their sound.
When the lights dropped, the ESL was filled with
screams. When the lights came on and the Deftones hit
the stage, we were treated with two surprises, the
first was the enormous backdrop of the album cover,
the second was a new green and gold drum set for Abe.
The Deftones started out with Minerva which I
definitly didn't expect. The entire crowd, of course
sang along. Next up was hexagram, one of my favorite
songs from the new album. After that while Stef
switched guitars, Chino kept repeating the words "You
wanna fuck around", and then he said "So you wanna
fuck around, right Chester". Then Chester from Linkin Park
(whom I hate) took the stage to scream along with Chino for
My own summer. After that they went right into BQAD. MAscara,
a song that I hadn't heard live before came up next, Chino used
a bunch of his vocal effects pedals during this one. Then Stef
let the final note of Mascara ring out and Abe began the killer
drum beat to Around the Fur. The 5th Around the Fur album song in
a row was Headup, which began with chino pounding the microphone
against his hand to the beat that Abe normally plays on his toms
during the beginning of the song. During this song Chino picked
a random fan out of the stands to sing the walk in to this worlds
with him. Many people thought this was Lajon of Sevendust, It
WASN'T because i saw the kid after the show and heard him talking
to the band about him being in some unsigned local band. The Deftones
then played a song off the new album, Battle Axe.
Chino kinda messed up the intro, but I forgive him.
This song definitly rocked. After that came Korea.
Then Steph tricked us with an extra long guitar intro
to Street Carp, which fucking rocked because they
don't play that one live very often. Then Chino
stated "Can someone tell me how we can be in an ice
rink and it is hotter than a mother..." He then went
on to talk about how het got to drive the zamboni
around. When the crowd got quiet, I screamed out to
Stef "Play some Adrenaline", he looked at me and
smiled, and then went into Nosebleed. I was stoked.
Then Chino strapped on a poop brown gibson guitar and
the tones played digital bath. After that the Stef
grabbed his brand new Red sparkly guitar, me and my
friend compared it to the ruby red slippers in the
wizard of oz. They played bloody cape which was soo
amazing. Chino's screams were bone chilling,
especially the "God Help's" at the end. Then all of
the Deftones except the fucking man (Stef) left the
stage, and the crowd began to cheer for the Deftones.
Then the Deftones came back, after Chino changed from
his drenched in sweat blue shirt, into a new dry black
shirt. They then played feiticeira. Chino then
donned a guitar and they played change, which the
crowd erupted for. Then Chino said "Thank you, good
night" and the entire band, except for Stef left the
stage once again. I screamed to Stef "SLAYER" and he
laughed. Then the crowd began to chant " 7 words" and
the band came back, and I saw all of them except
Chino. Then they started to play seven words and I
saw the tour manager walking along the rail to the
right of me. I heard Chino singing but I still didn't
see him, then I looked to the right and there he was
walking over towards me. He hopped on the rail right
in fron of me and sang almost the entire song right on
top of me and my friends, we helped to hold him up.
The energy that they had during this song was
unprecedented. Chino's screams were better than any
other live version I had heard of this song. Then
after the song, the lights came on and the security
started telling people to get out, so we slowly made
our way to the door. I kept trying to call my dad's
friend who was in charge of the staging for the venue,
because he said he would hook us up after the show.
We finally saw him and he called us back down onto the
floor. We stood in line for about 5 mins with about
10 other people most of them radio people. We then
were taken backstage and we got to meet the band and
get autographs and that sort. I got my picture taken
with everyone in the band except Frank(he skipped out
early). I got an answer from Chi as to why they
hadn't played Needles and Pins yet(like everyone has
been wanting to see) and he said that they hadn't
figured out how to play it all the way through live
yet, so look for that sometime soon.
-Chris Martin.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just got back from the Deftones concert at ESL Sports Center.by far the most
incredible concert I've seen in quite some time. Luckily, when we showed up,
we had missed the opening bands.we arrived at the venue at 8:15, and by 8:30
they were already setting up for the Deftones, so that was awesome.
Around 9:00ish, Deftones came on and blasted through a hot performance of
Minerva, and then through a rather messy sounding Hexagram. It had me worried
for a second.I thought the whole concert was gonna sound like shit. However, it
only got better and better, as the band flew through a stream of five tunes from
Around the Fur, one of the top five greatest albums of all time. So, that was
cool, really got the aggressive mood set, especially Around the Fur and Headup
(a fan with cool dreadlocks helped Chino belt out the end portion of Headup...
I found out later it was Lajon, the singer from Sevendust...and on My Own Summer,
someone who looked like Chester from Linkin Park did quite an amazing job
screaming his way to the end of the song with Chino). Soon afterward, the
band shifted over to newer material like Battle-axe, one of my personal favorites
off of the new album.and Korea, the best song off of their 2000 release White Pony.
Moving on, their live version of Street Carp was extremely heavy.I never enjoyed that
song until tonight (they added an extra 20-second stint of screaming and heaviness to
the end.damn cool). Furthermore, the band surprised me again by playing Nosebleed,
which I thought they'd never play for some reason. After a pounding run-through of
Bloody Cape, the band exited the stage, only to return and play Feiticeira, Change
(in the house of flies), and concluding with 7 Words after numerous requests from the
crowd. That was fucking amazing. The entire show blew me away.the sound (except on
Hexagram) was almost perfect, everything was balanced, the setlist was quite excellent
and the band had tons of energy. Some songs I wish they did play were: Dai the Flu,
Needles and Pins, One Weak, Root, and Elite.but, im just picky, the show was still
absolutely amazing.
Setlist (i'm fairly sure it's in correct order)
Minerva
Hexagram
My Own Summer (shove it)
Be Quiet and Drive
Mascara
Around the Fur
Headup
Battle-axe
Korea
Street Carp
Nosebleed
Digital Bath
Bloody Cape
Feiticeira
Change (in the house of flies)
7 Words
-jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Spevak
Welcome to the world of the Deftones, a world of self-amused loathing,
expressed by kids wearing T-shirts that read "DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL."
A world of aggressive silk screening: "I HEAR VOICES. AND THEY DON'T LIKE YOU."
The California rap-metal band (mostly metal, actually, and lots of screaming) is the
only touring band that has used one of the hockey floors of the ESL Sports CentreCQ
behind Monroe Community College, so the concert atmosphere wasn't always evident. The
concession stand was serving sports-crowd pleaser Gatorade. No matter. Young fans of
the band tailgated with subtle prowess out in the parking lot Monday night before maybe
1,200 of them made their way into the arena.
"Explain the irony,'' Deftones lead singer Chino Moreno said, "of being in an ice-skating
rink and being hotter than.'' did he say Alan Funt? Moreno excitedly described how that
afternoon he had driven the Zamboni machine across the ice, which was now missing, the floor
being exposed concrete. "I carved a pentagram in the ice,'' he said. "I etched it in blood!
This next song is called. Nosebleed!''
They liked that. The Deftones came roaring, literally, out of their California high school
in 1988. More metal than anything at first, they eventually took on some inspiration from
Tool and Faith No More, creating the rap-metal dynamic that drives the kids wild today:
Surging, heavy guitar riffs and howling vocals suddenly dropping off to a spooky calm and
singing that sounds more like murmured incantations.
With a huge portrait of a skull from the band's self-titled fourth album looming over the
five Deftones' shoulders, Moreno's pained, half-whispered, half howled vocals seemed like he
was weeping as he got down on one knee at the front of the stage, before springing to his
feet and leaping atop some handy piece of equipment, his outstretched arms silhouetted in
the murky lights.
While Moreno and his drooping pants (pale-blue boxers) were the focus, Abe Cunningham is
one furious drummer, the out-of-control machine behind this huge aural experience.
There were other bands, barely noted by the crowd. Dredge came on like a prog-rock Pearl
Jam. It exuded a mystical aura, fueled by song titles such as "Traversing the Arctic Cold
We Search For the Spirit of Yuca.'' The music was moody, the vocals spiraling siren-like,
much like Moreno's.
Buffalo's Every Time I Die is one of the finest rock-posturing outfits I've ever seen,
five guys furiously thrashing their heads and stumbling around the stage like marionettes
with half of their strings missing. The songs are irrelevant, but appear to be generated
from deep within the Earth's molten core.
Opening was the young English punk band, the Fight. It's three blokes and a female lead
singer/guitarist named K8 - one digit short of canine, I guess - chattering along with
sing-song melodies like "Home is Where the Hate is.'' Good energy. Drummer Jak - just Jak -
left the stage littered with more shattered drumsticks than you see at Mike Tyson's turkey farm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deftones rocked the Rochester ESL Sportscenter hockey arena with a solid
hour and a half to 2 hours straight of raw energy. Opening bands were
some british one with a female singer that I couldn't hear, followed by
Every Time I Die which were also hard to hear vocally but pretty animated
with head banging, and lastly Dredg who put on a great performance.
The curtains opened unveiling the deftones latest album cover through the fog.
Chino came out and picked up his guitar and went right into Minerva which
sounded amazing live. At one point he started talking about how it makes no
sense that it can be so hot in a hockey arena because there is ice all over
and how he got to drive the zamboni but broke it because he tried to make some
pentagram design in the ice and messed it up. During My Own Summer, Chester
Bennington from Linkin Park appeared out of nowhere (They're playing with Mudvayne
tomorrow in Rochester so I guess they got here early). Anyways, he was jumping
all over the place and screaming along witht he chorus. The crowd was going
insane. I saw this guy that looked very familiar in the mosh pit and couldnt
figure out who he looked like. As soon as Headup Started he went over the barrier
and Chino introduced him - Lajon from Sevendust! He ripped up the mic screaming
along with Chino. Chino came right to the barrier where I was and stood on top of it.
I helped hold him up (he seemed a bit tipsy) and made sure not to hold too tight for
fear of getting swung at like that guy in the lotion video from bizzarefest '98.
Battle Axe was a big suprise and everyone seemed excited to hear that live.
In the intro to Change, it sounded like Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event was
going to be played, but then they transitioned to Change. At one point they were
playing something I've never heard for a few measures and Chino just yells "you guys
suck" and Chi gave him the finger and that was it for that song. A few unexpected
songs included Mascara, Nosebleed, Korea, and STREET CARP! There were at least 3
pits going at most times in this dinky hockey arena and the moisture from the ice
under the floor was getting the air humid like a jungle so it fit in with the whole
guerilla small venue idea I guess. Bloody Cape sounded unreal - especially the ending
with the God Help screams. They came back with an amazing encore to the chanting of
"7 words" and played Feiticeira, Street Carp, Digital Bath, and lastly 7 words. The
whole place went insane at the end of 7 words. The "squeal like a pig" break didn't
have any weezer covers or anything, but they did just sort of dicked around with each
member playing a little solo. Then Chino did his patented scream at the climax of
the song as I surfed to the front...A perfect ending to a perfect concert. I must
add that all of the soundchecking they did in the beginning paid off because
everything seemed to go on without a hitch and was very well balanced where I was
standing. I only wish they had played Bored, MX, and Lotion - but am still in awe
at how amazing a show it was. Can't wait to see them again.
A rough setlist of all songs played (not in order):
Minerva (Opener)
Hexagram
My own summer w/ Chester Bennington of LP
Mascara
Headup w/ Lajon of Sevendust
Battle Axe
Digital Bath
Change w/ Anniversary of an uninteresting event intro
Korea
Be Quiet and Drive
Around the fur
Feiticeira
Bloody Cape
Nosebleed
Street Carp
7 W ords (Closer)
-Nate Hopkins
