Deftones @ Rock City, Nottingham – Saturday 16th February 2013
It’s fair to say that Nottingham Rock City is a fairly iconic music venue, it’s played host to the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses and Nirvana and tonight it’s time for Deftones to take to the stage and do what they do best.
Up first are post rock types Three Trapped Tigers, unfortunately I only managed to catch the tail end of their set but what I heard I loved. They may have only 3 members but they managed to fill the room with their huge mathy-instrumental sounds. This is definitely a support slot to further your career and they took it in their stride, getting a great reaction from the crowd and definitely gaining a fair few new fans on the back of their performance.
It seems like forever since I last had the pleasure of witnessing the pure brilliance that is Letlive. live and it’s fair to say I was pretty excited for their set. Having interviewed them earlier, the difference between them off stage and on is immeasurable; going from soft spoken, polite guys to crazed maniacs on stage. Probably one of the most explosive live acts on the planet today, they are a joy to watch and tonight’s performance was definitely up there on sheer energy; as frontman enigma, Jason Butler hasn’t even finished the first song before he launches himself on to the crowd. I don’t know how but Jason has some how got his mitts on a huge fancy dress chicken head which he precedes to wear screaming and looking like a complete loon! Fake History has been out for two years now, but the songs still sound as fresh as ever; the new album will be out very soon though and we are treated to a new song which sounds epic, they definitely haven’t lost their touch. Now Jason does have a penchant for climbing balconies and tonight’s no different as he disappears halfway through a song only to reappear at the back of the venue hanging from the balcony much to the delight of the crowd. It’s been a short but sweet set and I can’t wait till they are back on our shores with a new album in tow!
With the room heaving with people and the tension palatable in the air, the wait for Deftones to take to the stage is almost unbearable. As good as the two support acts were, it’s all about Deftones tonight; 20 years of being a band and they still kill it live and tonight is no exception. The lights go down and the band take to the stage heading straight into ‘Diamond Eyes’ which rings out across the room. The crowd prepare themselves for the sonic assault from the stage as over the next couple of hours we are reminded why Deftones are on the most successful rock acts going today, it’s performances like these that have cemented the band in the rock hall of fame.
We find out after the show that Chino is actually feeling under the weather, not that you would have guessed, his vocals are flawless and he stalks the front of the stage like a hunter would stalk a deer, even making it into the crowd much to the delight of the guys down the front. The songs off the new record Koi No Yokan sound great live with ‘Poltergeist’ and ‘Swerve City’ going down well. As with every well established band with such an extensive back catalogue like Deftones, it’s the old ones that go down the best and when the distorted guitar intro for ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ kicks in, the crowd kicks off as well. When that’s swiftly followed by the huge sing-along number ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’ you know its going to be one hell of an evening as the entire crowd sings back ‘Shove it, shove it, shove it!’
Deftones are one tight unit, guitarist Steph Carpenter looks effortlessly cool, basked in blue light and the fan by his feet blowing his long hair around his face and Sergio Vega has well and truly cemented his place in the band as he replaces Chi on bass, providing the groove that is integral to the Deftones sound. The band blast out hit after hit and the crowd loves every second of it. The encore of ‘Engine No. 9’ and ‘7 Words’ seems to come too soon as Deftones leave the stage to deafening applause proving once again why they are one of those bands you just have to see live.
Review by Hannah Sebestjanowicz
Photographs by Steve Gerrard