Deftones
May 30, 2014
Concrete Street Amphitheater- Corpus Christi, TX
Parking the truck, one could see the massive sign reading “SOLD OUT” from two blocks away; hordes of people standing in four lines stretched from the box office gates to the first main road making up a city block. A sea of thirty-something’s & teenagers of absolutely every walk of life was there with the occasional child peppered in with their parents. Once the gates were opened, the patrons came pouring in 4×4. They began rushing towards the stage to take their place upfront for the rest of the evening. One young lady could be seen careening headlong, face-first into the barricade for her spot in the front row. Much to our surprise she stood-up and shook it off like a trooper.
The show began on-time at 8:30pm with the opening band & Los Angeles natives Lesser Key. Lesser Key, (featuring Paul D’Amour, founding bassist of Tool) wowed the crowd with a thirty-minute, formidable set that was inveigle of Deftones themselves. Lesser Key, is the perfect band to open for a group as impressive as Deftones, setting the crowd’s mood with an exhilarating experience of elevating enliven. After Lesser Key’s impassioned performance, the crowd was left in awe-inspired wonderment, cheering the band on for what seemed an eternity on their last leg of the Deftones tour.
Deftones, took to the stage one by one, driving the crowd wild. Chino Moreno, made it on the stage last, stepping onto some concert stacks staring out into the hot, sweaty Corpus Christi, TX crowd as a smile crept across his face, placing his hand on his forehead in what seemed to be an expression of disbelief and bewilderment of the size of the crowd in attendance that night. Chino, opened their night with Rocket Skates, a heavy hitting original full of keys, crunchy ascending bass & guitar riffs, coupled with phenomenal drumming that make heads bob & bodies bounce in rhythm.
Immediately following was Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), their 2nd single of their 2nd album Around the Fur. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) was Deftones fist single to hit the U.S. charts, peaking at 29 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1997. Around the Fur, was certified platinum on June 7th, 2011. The unmistakable wine of Stephen Carpenter’s lead guitar began the chart hitting single, sending the crowd into frenzied cheers of excitement. Moreno’s, melodious voice bled into the music, canorously pleasing the crowd’s ears as they sung along to this timeless classic.
Following Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) was their 1st single off the 1997 album Around the Fur & the 1st single to hit the U.K. Singles Chart, also peaking at #29 was My Own Summer (Shove It). The unforgiving bass & snare drum began the song, followed by quickly descending lead guitar; followed by descending, low rumbles of kick ass fingered bass lines. Again, Moreno, bled his celestial articulation(s) into the music being shredded behind him as he dashed from stage left to stage right, bending over as he (Moreno) and bassist (Sergio Vega) screamed the lyrics of chorus #1 out to My Own Summer (Shove It).
The fans in attendance that night could be seen singing right along, with the exact same passion, rage, anger, joy & intensity as Chino Moreno. If only they could’ve been on stage with him as he gave them a piece of his soul, with every breath taken. Next up on the set-list was Lhabia, the second track on the platinum selling album Around the Fur. Heavy Brazilian style drumming encompasses the song with quick, grungy guitar riffs and beefy bass lines alongside Moreno’s genially sung lyrics.
Quickly following Lhabia was Tempest. Tempest is the 1st single off Deftones 7th studio album Koi No Yokan; Tempest starts off with beautiful, rhythmic, drone-like synth keys mixed with symphonic samples, entrancing the crowd immediately by Deftones talented Frank Delgado. Tempest, is one of those songs that Deftones is known for making which has the tendency to grab the fans by the proverbial balls. Directly after Tempest, Deftones played Swerve City, the first song featured off their 7th studio album Koi No Yokan. Swerve City begins with a four-on-the-floor beat that makes the crowd jump, continuing the beat throughout the whole song driving the fans completely insane. Off their 3rd studio album White Pony and in rapid succession they played Feiticeira & Digital Bath, then right back to Koi No Yokan with Poltergeist & Rosemary only to blow everyone’s mind with the title track off their 6th studio album Diamond Eyes.
The Deftones, night continued without a hitch playing hits like Royal & again off their 3rd studio album White Pony, came Change (In the House of Flies). After that point, the night pretty much flew by like we all wished wouldn’t happen. They finished up their set with Headup & a four song encore that consisted of Bored; Engine No. 9; Root & ending the amazing night with 7 Words. Truly an amazing night of music, be sure to catch Deftones when they hit your state soon!
Review by: Jared Wingate
Deftones
Lesser Key
