Deftones w/Baroness @ Expo Five – Louisville, KY (8.31.10)

Posted by Lenny Vowels on 09.11.2010

One of my favorite bands decided to pay a visit to my hometown and rock the hell out of one of its smaller venues.

My history with Deftones has been thoroughly explained in the past, primarily in my review of Diamond Eyes. They were one of the first bands that got me to explore and appreciate the deeper meaning of music, as well as expand my horizons in what I look for in a band. In the ten years that I've been listening to their music, I was unfortunately never able to catch them live. That all changed a little over a week ago.

My friend Daniel and I were all over this. He's the only person I know that listens to and loves the band as much as I do, so we were both stoked. We snagged our tickets a couple of days before the show, though we arrived about fifteen minutes late for the first act...

It was a little-known metal band from the south called Baroness, and while I wasn't familiar with them, they turned out to be really good. Another friend of mine compared them quite a bit to Mastodon, and I can see why. Sadly, I didn't know any of their songs, but I'd recommend anyone to check them out. They were a very worthwhile opening act, and I hope they become a big deal sooner rather than later. About 20 minutes after they finished, the audience of Defheads was served the main course.



As soon as the band took the stage, the crowd erupted in cheers, all leading up to the man himself, Chino Moreno, coming out and belting the opening to the song “Diamond Eyes.” The song was shortened a tad, but it still sounded great, and it makes a fantastic opener for their shows promoting the album of the same title. Followed immediately by “Rocket Skates,” the pits started going and all I felt like doing was screaming along to the chorus. Hey, I wanted to save my energy, what can I say?

This is where things started to get really good. Five hits from arguably the band's best album, Around the Fur followed. In order, it went “Around the Fur,” “My Own Summer,” “Lotion,” “Be Quiet and Drive,” and “Dai the Flu.” At this point, it was easy to pick out the longtime fans in the audience by seeing who was singing along. Fur, Summer, and Drive are definitely among my all-time favorites, and it was so great to hear them live. It was also nice to know that Deftones don't let their old stuff go by the wayside, even though their new stuff is breaking ground over a decade later.



More older stuff followed in the form of what many consider to be Deftones' magnum opus, White Pony. The opening of “Knife Prty” sounded especially awesome live. I don't know if it was because they used a different guitar effect or what, but I certainly preferred it to the already-loved album version. “Digital Bath” was also really cool to see, mostly because Chino decided to don his own guitar, though it wouldn't be the first time he did so that night.

Upon the completion, Chino grabbed the mic again and literally stood on top of the crowd. After hopping the barricade, he received a much-deserved round of applause before saying “Thank you.” It was only made equally weird and amazing was that it led into the opening scream of the song “Elite.” He even continued to perform the song while standing over the crowd! I gotta hand it to Chino: he's nothing if not loyal and loving to his fans.



At this point, I could've easily gone home happy and called it an amazing show, but the band wasn't content with our level of satisfaction yet. The next portion of the set was devoted to some lesser-known songs on the new release. In order, we got “You've Seen the Butcher,” “Sextape,” “Prince,” (my personal favorite), “CMND/CTRL,” “Beauty School,” and “Risk.” The only thing that bugged me about hearing these songs was that it went to show that I hadn't listened to the new album enough. While I recognized the songs, I couldn't remember the titles, as some of them blended together.

Predictably, the band decided to finally play their biggest hit to date “Change (In the House of Flies).” I get a lot of flack from fans of the band for this, but I have just never cared for this song, and it's not because it sounds too mainstream or whatever. I can't really explain it, but it just never really did anything for me. That said, I won't knock them for playing it, and it still sounded good. The main set closed out with two awesome songs from their first album, Adrenaline, those being “Birthmark” and “Nosebleed,” again appealing to the old school fans, and I couldn't have appreciated it more.



Once the band disappeared, of course the fans took exception to this. Screams of “encore” and “one more song” filled the air at Expo Five. After maybe a minute and a half, the rest of the band returned, and Chino was now sans shirt and wearing his wife-beater, and he looked like he meant business. The crowd was then treated to the epic “Engine No. 9,” another hit from their first album. It was quite awesome to witness, but as with most concerts, nothing compared to what came at the end...

As soon as I heard the first echoing guitar notes of probably my second favorite Deftones song ever, “7 Words,” I moved right forward and into the moshpit. This was gonna be the defining moment of my concert experience, and I planned to make sure of it. The song was energetic as hell, and so was the pit itself. It was such an awesome time jumping in there, screaming along, and throwing weight around like I didn't give a shit to one of my favorite songs. I have nothing but much love for the band making this my favorite show ever at Expo Five, and believe me, I've been to some good ones.

Final Setlist

1. Diamond Eyes
2. Rocket Skates
3. Around the Fur
4. My Own Summer (Shove It)
5. Lotion
6. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
7. Dai the Flu
8. Knife Prty
9. Digital Bath
10. Elite
11. You've Seen The Butcher
12. Sextape
13. Prince
14. CMND/CTRL
15. Beauty School
16. Risk
17. Change (In the House of Flies)
18. Birthmark
19. Nosebleed

Encore:
20. Engine No. 9
21. 7 Words

The 411: Was it a great show and a hell of a time? Of course. Did the band perform according to my expectations? Absolutely. Would I consider it a perfect show? Sadly, no. Maybe it's just the older fan in me wanting even more old stuff, or maybe it was the fact that we got there late, but in a year where I had already gotten to see two of my other favorite bands (Alice in Chains and Muse), it didn't quite measure up. No matter the reason, the band was incredible, and I'm telling anyone who's a fan to go see Deftones live. Whether it's right now as they finish their current tour, or on the upcoming Blackdiamondskye tour with Alice in Chains and Mastodon, they are well worth your time and hard-earned cash to check out. And feel free to enjoy, because I sure as hell did.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]