Linkin Park in Santiago (with pictures!)

So I got in from the Linkin Park concert about an hour ago.

Words to describe it: awesome, amazing, electric, I could go on and on.

So how did it all play out?

Well, Colby and I bought our tickets back in August.  The ticket told us that the festival started at 12:00, so I was telling him we should get there early to avoid the crowds.  Then Colby told me that he had a Saturday class until 11:30, and so we had to meet at the metro station at 12.  When he first told me this I freaked out a bit, worrying that we would miss part of Linkin Park performing.  But then I realized that there were a lot of other bands playing, and Linkin Park would probably be near the end of the festival.

We arrived to Club Hipico (the location of the concert) around 12:45.  One of my students told me that Club Hipico is a well-known race track in Santiago, and he seemed surprised that they would be having a concert there.  As we got into line, we saw large signs not allowing cameras or outside drinks to be brought in.  I was a bit nervous since Nick lent me his camera to use, but then I saw people with bookbags going in, and they weren't checking them thoroughly at all.  I had the camera in my side pocket, so I knew I was going to be fine, and I was right.

After we got through the checkpoints, it was huge inside.  There were 3 different stages, food tents, a shade area, a hammock area, water tanks, and some artists creating artwork on large canvases.  Here are some pictures of what the area looked like inside:

 Once we got inside, we saw the schedule of the bands.  Linkin Park was only scheduled to go on at 9:30 at night.  We asked if we were able to leave and come back in, but once you're in you're in.  So Colby and I just looked at each other and laughed.  It was not even 1:30 yet, and we still had a loooong time there before Linkin Park would be playing.

We decided to grab some food to eat, and they had a ticket currency thing going on.  Here was my lunch:

We decided we would eat at of peak times to avoid crowds later on, and we also bought more tickets in advance for later on in the day.

One thing was noticably missing from the venue: trash cans.  They had huge trash bags at about 3 random places around the perimeter of the park, which I don't think was the best of planning.  But the Chileans that planned the event had a solution to all of the trash that would result from the lack of trach cans.  And here I present, Lata (can) Girl:

For the concert there were about 30 people in white jumpsuit type things that picked up the trash.  Apparently some of them were given specific assignments as to what they were supposed to clean up.

After that, we spent our time wandering around, spending time sitting in the shade, eating again around 6 PM, and buying Linkin Park shirts.  Colby wanted to see Queens of the Stone Age, so we checked them out at 6:30.  It was pretty good music, and we went around the side and had an amazingly close view of them considering it was general admission.

After the were done, I stayed put.  At this time it was 8:00 and Linkin Park would only start at 9:30.  After a few minutes I was able to work my way to the very front of the general area, and I stayed that way until they started playing.

The concert was true to their style: start out mysterious to get everyone interested, use a funky transtion chord progression or pattern to leave everyone wondering what song is next, and lots of audience participation.  This tour is also to help promote their album, which has only been out for a few weeks.

My shots of trying to zoom in did not turn out too well, but luckily they had huge monitors that showed them up close on each side of the stage.  I snapped a lot of my pictures, and here are just some of them:

They played a lot of songs from their new album, but they also sang a lot of their old songs too.  It was amazing to see how many people were there, as this was their first time in Santiago.  It seemed like everyone knew the words to the songs, which was interesting seeing that they don't necessarily understand what the songs are saying.

They played from 9:30 to 11, and I was left in a daze afterwards.  Colby wanted to see Incubus, so we went over to that stage right after Linkin Park finished.  We only stayed for about 30 more minutes, and then we headed out and caught a bus home.

Oh yeah, and how did I take pictures?  Well, the camera my dad sent me hasn't arrived yet, but one of my friends here from the States lent me his camera for the concert.  I feel so lucky that I have such great friends here.

This concert was such an awesome experience.  I've never been to any of their concerts so close to the release of a new album, so it was awesome hearing their new songs live so soon afterwards.  It brought back memories of seeing them in concert with close friends of mine back in California and Las Vegas,  and I just feel so lucky to have gotten to see them in concert here.