Tonight, Deftones gifted London with a twenty-three song setlist that was delivered with technical precision, rock star charisma and merciless metal ferocity. Brixton Academy bore the privilege of hosting the mighty machine that is the Deftones, which performed to a sold out venue of insane fans dating back to Adrenaline.
The gig kicks off with “Rocket Skates” as the band reminds fans that they can still produce edgy tunes twenty-two years down the line. The songs that follow are a tribute to Deftones’ spectacular career and “Around The Fur”, “My Own Summer”, “Be Quiet And Drive”, “Lotion”, “Feiticeira”, “Digital Bath” and “Knife Party” provoke psychosis in the crowd, which parties harder than hard. For “Elite”, Deftones’ frontman Chino Moreno climbs down from his pedestal and screams in the faces of the front row, members of which are close enough to share the singer’s breathe. The man even risks a beloved lynching by climbing on the railing and blasting out the song’s belligerent lines whilst rabid fans do their best to grab a piece of Chino.
The second half of the gig is devoted to Diamond Eyes and the live renditions of “Diamond Eyes”, “Royal”, “Prince”, “CMND/CTRL”, “You’ve Seen The Butcher”, “Sextape” and “Risk” do the songs infallible justice. The quality of Moreno’s voice is unparalleled – it is remarkably emotive and has the power to overwhelm in an extreme manner. Testament to the singer’s vocal endurance is that after sixteen songs there are still more to follow.
Back to some older Deftones, “Minerva” and “Bloody Cape” are belted out by a band that knows how to please a crowd. The haunting lament that characterises Mareno’s voice is encapsulated in “Passenger” and “Change (In The House Of Flies), which no Deftones gig would be the same without. Deftones is not a band of many words – the show is all about the music, which commands the audience with dominating ease. Chino Moreno punctuates his performance with the wry smile of a man who has been gigging for two decades and knows and awesome crowd when he sees one – he soaks up the adoration with acceptable pleasure.
A brilliant concert is brought to a close with “Birthmark”, “Engine No. 9” and “7 Words” – three songs that take fans right back to the very beginning. And for those who have grown up on Deftones, nothing could be more special. In a climactic end to the night’s frenzied fun, Moreno climbs onto a massive speaker as he puts all his energy into “suck, suck, suck…” – not that he needs to because the collective voice of the crowd propel the song’s energy in a metaphorical nod to the awesomeness that is the Deftones.
Great review and it looks like they put on a good performance. Although I am not that familiar with the more recent material, I know I would have been screaming along to Shut up and Drive, My Own Summer and 7 Words. Awesome!