There aren’t many places I’d rather be on a 4/20 than a Deftones concert at the Greek Theater. The band and the venue are custom made for a 4/20 holiday. So when I got approved to cover this show, I was very excited… as one could imagine.
I expected a crowd so I got to the show early. Early enough to catch the warm up act Vowws. They are a post-punk electronic / goth duo. Very cool stuff going on here and a wide array of sounds coming from just two people.
Then the curtain dropped and the countdown to Gojira began. I enjoyed the way the band built up to their set. They had a curtain drawn with Egyptian hieroglyphics projected on to it. The way that this helped to build up the intensity was interesting – and then the curtain dropped and the band exploded into the first song of their set “Born for One Thing.”
Their set was intense and precise. Gojira is a very “drum heavy” band and their light show is also on point. I have heard this band in the peripheral before but here they were right in front of me now just murdering it live… they had officially won me over.
The band got tighter and the mix got better as their set progressed. The band played as the sun went down and their light show was so great that the darkness definitely intensified the atmosphere. By the time they crescendo’ed to the later part of their set they were pummeling the fuck out of the audience with some of the more brutal tracks from their catalog like “Grind.”
Then the lights came on and I got a chance to look around at the crowd. It was a beautifully diverse crowd… metal and goth kids, metal and goth adults, metal and goth senior citizens. Nothing like a metal concert to bring people of all ages together.
Defones opened with their song “Genesis” the first track from their most recent album Ohms. This makes sense when you consider the fact that this concert was originally scheduled pre-COVID and then rescheduled again. The album was released 2 years ago but they are just now getting to tour for it.
I have been a Deftones fan since I first saw the video for “7 Words” on The Box as a metal hungry teenager. This is only my 2nd time seeing the band live – the first was in a Roller Skating rink in Salt Lake City with the band Quicksand. Mentioning that concert also happens to be the perfect segue to the next song in their set “Rocket Skates.”
The band hit us with “Prayer / Triangles” from the Gore album next and then Royal from the “Diamond Eyes” record. It got me thinking about how Deftones are one of the bands from the nu-metal era that are still going and still putting out great music.
At this point the band blessed us with a couple of tracks from the “Around the Fur” album. “Be Quiet and Drive” and “My Own Summer.” The crowd cheered sang along with Chino as he jogged effortlessly around the stage crooning and screaming.
After this the band ran through a couple of other newer tracks before hitting us with one of my favorite Deftones tracks “Digital Bath” followed up with another crowd favorite from White Pony “Knife Party”. The band played a couple more of their newer tracks and then they played what is probably my all time favorite Deftones track ever – “Sextape” and the crowd sang along in unison, loud and proud.
After the band finished this gem of a song they played three more of their newer songs before launching into the most anticipated song of the night “Change (In the House of Flies).” This was a KROQ promoted show and that song has long been in heavy in their rotation. This is arguably the most popular song in the Deftones catalog and it was clear that it was the song a large portion of the crowd was there to see. They sounded absolutely perfect as their set peaked with this song. The crowd went nuts and sang along to every note. They ended the set with a b-side from the “Hexagram” single – “Lovers.”
When the band left the stage the crowd didn’t budge. They weren’t going to leave without an encore and the band obviously knew they were going to have to provide us with one… they delivered. They came back out on the stage and played the title track from their latest album “Ohms” and then ended with the ultimate classic, high-energy crowd pleaser… “Engine #9.”
The tour moves east now and still has several more dates. If you have been missing great live music like I have and are a fan of either band – get out and see this tour!!
Deftones Setlist – April 20th 2022 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles
Pompeii (Outro)
Genesis
Rocket Skates
Prayers/Triangles
Royal
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Tempest
Swerve City
Digital Bath
Knife Prty
Beware
Sextape
Diamond Eyes
Rosemary
Bloody Cape
Change (In the House of Flies)
Lovers
Encore:
Ohms
Engine No. 9
Gojira Setlist – April 20th 2022 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles
Born for One Thing
Backbone
Stranded
Flying Whales
The Cell
Love / Remembrance
Terra Inc.
Silvera
Grind
Another World
L’enfant sauvage
Amazonia
