Introduction
Projekt Revolution 2008 was Linkin Park's fifth edition of Projekt Revolution and their final tour for Minutes To Midnight (the tour following Projekt Revolution in China was completely cancelled due to a back injury that Chester had). For the first time ever, the band took Projekt Revolution over to Europe and played 4 shows total under the Projekt Revolution Tour moniker. The shows took place in München, BY, Berlin, BE, Düsseldorf, NW and Milton Keynes, ENG. Those shows took place in late June, while The United States portion of the tour didn't take place until mid July.
The tour in The United States lasted from mid July to late August. Much like Projekt Revolution 2004, the band didn't feature any Canadian stops on the tour like they did on Projekt Revolution 2007 (Toronto), perhaps because they had already played Canada twice before The United States version of the tour kicked off. The tour in The United States featured 24 stops total (Albuquerque, NM and Bonner Springs, KS were not part of the Projekt Revolution moniker).
Before the tour
After the North American leg of the Minutes To Midnight Arena Tour ended in early March, the band returned home to Los Angeles. During this time, the band debuted their new single with Busta Rhymes entitled We Made It. The band had previously recorded their parts of the song back in November of 2007 in a studio in Taiwan. Busta Rhymes was also added to the upcoming Projekt Revolution line-up unexpectedly.
In late May, the band performed a "secret show" that LPU members could attend at their rehearsal space in North Hollywood, CA. Only 14 fans from the LPU were chosen to attend the secret show. The fans were also blindfolded on their way to the secret location, leaving from the Warner Bros. headquarters. The secret show was more or less a sneak peak at what fans could expect on the upcoming Projekt Revolution tour in July and August.
Linkin Park debuted a brand new version of Wake entitled Wake 2.0 to open up the set, followed by Given Up. Lying From You followed Given Up and featured a brand new intro. The band then played Leave Out All The Rest, which was the band's upcoming single, as well as the song the band did with Busta Rhymes entitled We Made It for the first time to close out the set. The live version of We Made It consisted of the entire band, Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star, one of Busta's close friends.
Chester also going to perform a song with Chris Cornell as part of the set, but the band chose not to for an unknown reason. The song was Fell On Black Days by Soundgarden. Fans later expected to hear Fell On Black Days on Projekt Revolution, but the song was never performed, instead Chris Cornell chose Hunger Strike by Temple Of The Dog, and Chester came out and sang it with him during his set.
Another thing that many fans noticed was that No Roads Left, the Minutes To Midnight B-Side, was featured on one of the set's entitled Set X. The band also never performed this song on Projekt Revolution and replaced it with the piano version Pushing Me Away instead. The band has said that they ultimately chose not to play No Roads Left because they didn't like how it sounded as a live song.
The band then kicked off a pretty lengthy European Tour in June. LP played many big European festivals such as the Skive Beach Party in Skive, DK, Rock In Rio in Lisboa, PT, Festimad Sur in Madrid, ES, Provinssirock in Seinäjoki, FI, and Heineken Jammin' in Venezia, IT. Linkin Park also played it's first show in Greece, as well as the band's first show in Vilnius, LT, with several other "firsts" as well. After the European Tour, they headed to Canada to play two shows, one in Toronto for Edgefest, and one in Québec for Festival d'été de Québec.
Linkin Park ran into issues before their Toronto show, having to drop songs due to time constraints. The band was still stuck on the runway at the airport as of 8:00 PM, trying to clear customs. They weighed several options, which included taking a helicopter to the show. They arrived at separate times to the show. At the Meet and Greet later on, Phoenix abruptly said to a fan that "Mike has just arrived". The only two band members that were at the LPU M&G were Phoenix and Chester.
To start the show, just Mike and Chester opened with a complete piano version of Breaking The Habit, which is the first time that Breaking The Habit has ever opened a set, as well as being the first time that Breaking The Habit was performed in a complete piano version. The band played the piano version of Pushing Me Away after it, followed by What I've Done, which featured a unique intro with parts of Hands Held High over it, making it also the first time that the song was performed in that way. Halfway through A Place For My Head, the lights went out. The band played the rest of the song in darkness. The lights came back on right near the end of One Step Closer. It rained heavily during Linkin Park's entire set in Québec the next day. Brad wore a yellow poncho during the set.
Stone Temple Pilots played directly before Linkin Park at this festival in Toronto, and Scott Weiland asked where his friend Chester was, because he wanted him to come out and guest on a song. Unfortunately, Chester was not yet at the venue.
Summary
The band performed three different sets on the tour entitled Set X, Set Y and Set Z.
Set X was a modified version of of Set X from the European Tour, except with We Made It instead of Reading My Eyes.
Set Y was a modified version of Set Y from the European Tour as well, except A Place For My Head was replaced with We Made It, the regular version of Pushing Me Away was replaced with the piano version of Pushing Me Away and Valentine's Day was dropped.
Set Z was an amended version of Set Z from the European Tour. Every song after Leave Out All The Rest was jumbled up and We Made It replaced A Place For My Head.
When We Made It was dropped off of the tour, the encores were slightly changed to reflect the change. Set X did not have any replacement song for it, but Sets Y and Z had Cure For The Itch added in its place.
Set Z was changed beginning with East Troy. Cure For The Itch was moved from the first encore to the second encore.
Despite the DSP for the Wantagh, NY date of the tour not being sold on Projekt Revolution 2007, the band sold the DSP for the Wantagh, NY date on this tour, while not selling the DSP for the Wantagh, NY date of the Honda Civic Tour in 2012 once again. It is unknown why this occurred.
Memorable moments
At the Mountain View, CA show, Brad played a prank on Rob by purposely not coming in when he was supposed to after Rob's drum solo on Bleed It Out, not once, but twice. This caused Rob to extend the drum solo much longer than he had planned. On the third cue, the rest of the band finally launched straight into the first verse, without waiting for the intro to the song.
Rob got him back at the next show in Irvine, CA, once again during Bleed It Out. After Rob's drum solo had ended and Brad began playing the guitar part again, Rob stopped playing drums and actually got up and left the stage, leaving Brad all by himself for a couple minutes. He eventually returned and the band finished the song.
After Rob's drum solo on Bleed It Out at the East Troy, WI stop of the tour, Mike and Chester came out with wigs on and mashed up Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses with the song. The wigs were meant to look like 80's hair bands style of hair.
At the Noblesville, IN show on Ozzfest 2001, Chester, Brad and Phoenix dressed up as 80's rock stars complete with leather pants, bandannas, studs, etc. This was their way of dealing with some rough crowds the first couple shows of the Ozzfest tour. This is also documented on the 'Frat Party At The Pankake Festival' DVD. It isn't known if the band did this randomly again for East Troy 2008, or if they mistakenly thought it was the same venue again.
On the final date of the tour in Woodlands, TX, Chester took the time on the bridge of Bleed It Out to thank every band on the tour, as well as Michael Phelps before finishing the song. This is perhaps because Michael Phelps had won 8 Gold Medals during the Olympic Games in Beijing, CN during this time.
Collaborations
Starting on the very first date of the tour in Mansfield, MA, Chris Cornell started joining the band to sing Crawling. He came out during the second verse and stayed for the rest of the song. Chester also came out during Chris Cornell's set to perform Temple Of The Dog's Hunger Strike with him starting on this date as well. At the LPU Secret Show in May 2008, Chris Cornell was in attendance and the setlist had Soundgarden's Fell On Black Days (Chester and Chris) on it, but the song was not played. However, this was likely the first idea for a collaboration before Hunger Strike was decided on.
Starting with the first date of the tour again, Street Drum Corps performed an intro to Linkin Park's set each night with different variations. Street Drum Corps would also come out later on during Linkin Park's set to play on the final song of the night, whether it be One Step Closer or Bleed It Out.
During the Albuquerque, NM and Bonner Springs, KS shows that the band played on days off during Projekt Revolution (they weren't technically Projekt Revolution shows), Chester came out with Ashes Divide and sang The Outsider with the band, originally by A Perfect Circle. Chester also came out again to perform the song with the band on the final stop of Projekt Revolution in Woodlands, TX.
Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star came out to play We Made It with the band as part of the encore for the first six stops of the tour. Adam Monroe from Ashes Divide also joined in, playing the keys.
Live Debuts
Touring bands
Main Stage: Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Busta Rhymes, Ashes Divide, Street Drum Corps
Revolution Stage: Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights, Armor For Sleep
Street Drum Corps were originally were part of the Revolution Stage but were added to Main Stage for an unknown reason. The announcement before the tour was that they would lead a "procession" of fans from the Revolution Stage after Atreyu over to the amphitheatre for the start of the Main Stage, but this never materialized and they instead just played a short set on the Main Stage.
It is heavily rumored that Three Days Grace was asked to be on the tour but declined. Further adding to the rumor, Chester said in an interview during the Canadian shows that took place before Projekt Revolution that the band has experienced bands that refuse to play before them. When the interviewer asked which bands, Chester said that he couldn't tell because it would be a "dick move".
Interpol was also asked to be on the tour according to Chester in the LPU7 Newsletter. The band declined. Here is what Chester had to say about it: "We were looking into bands like Interpol and others, all of which are great bands, but most of them weren't sure how they would fit on this bill". It is unknown who the rest of the bands were that Chester was talking about, but there are some rumors that Rise Against was one of the bands.
After the collaboration with We Made It, Linkin Park later commented that Busta Rhymes literally invited himself to join the tour and they agreed to it. Unfortunately, Busta was abruptly dropped from his record label during the tour, so he was essentially forced to drop off of the tour. This resulted in him only being to perform at the first five stops of the tour. At the sixth show in Holmdel, he did not perform his set on the Main Stage but he came out for We Made It with Linkin Park, because the distance between the Wantagh and Holmdel shows was so close (New York City area). He was not replaced after his departure from the tour. Since the original line up didn't have Busta Rhymes on it, the tour resorted back to the original line up of having The Bravery play directly after Ashes Divide.
The reason for Busta's disappearance from the tour was originally kept a secret, so rumors started circulating around the fanbase. The biggest one was that Busta and Mike got into a fight backstage and this had forced Busta to quit the tour. This rumor picked up serious traction amongst the fans and even lead Mike to address the situation on his blog three shows after Holmdel in Bristow, "busta rhymes has unfortunately had to leave projekt revolution. we were all extremely disappointed to see him go; we enjoyed the energy and personality he brought to the tour, and we looked forward to playing "we made it" on stage with him each night. his departure was due to a number of complicated business matters that were out of anyone’s control. we hope to cross paths with busta again soon! -mike"
In the LPU7 Newsletter, Chester talked about each band of the tour. Here is what he had to say about each of them:
Chris Cornell: "We toured with Chris in the Fall of last year in Australia, and the shows went really, really well. I got to meet Chris and hang out with him a little bit there, and he was saying how he was bummed it wasn't a longer run. We were talking about how cool it would be if we could tour together again sometime, and I told him that if an opportunity popped up I'd let him know. Jump ahead and we were looking at support acts for Projekt Rev and there you go, it just kind of worked out. It was great touring with Chris because he also added to our set. We did Hunger Strike (originally an amazing Temple Of The Dog song Chris wrote from the early 90's) pretty much every night on the tour. That song was actually Chris' idea for our bands to collaborated on, and we decided he would come out and do LP's Crawling together with us. It was very cool to be able to perform with someone I had admired for so long. When we made the decision to do Hunger Strike, we rehearsed it once the day before the tour started. Chris said he'd do the first verse and told me I would come out and do the second verse. He wanted me to sing the high parts, and I was like alright! Those parts are pretty tough ones, but it worked out well. He laughed about it one time and told me that he wrote that part thinking no one else would ever be able to sing it and then along comes Chester who comes right out and does it! That was a nice compliment."
The Bravery: "I've always thought they were very interesting and different, and they wrote good songs. I wanted something unique and I didn't want to have another band representing rock meets hip-hop; I wanted more of an alternative feel this year. So we were looking into bands like Interpol and others, all of which are great bands, but most of them weren't sure how they would fit on this bill. Then The Bravery just jumped right in even though they'd never played a tour like ours before, which made me really respect their attitude. I like bands who feel like they can play with anybody and hold their own, and The Bravery did just that. They came out great every single night."
Ashes Divide: "Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle is a great innovative guitar player and songwriter, who went out solo and was doing his own thing. Their music is in the same vein as a band like 10 Years: very melodic, moving, and moody. So when their record came out right before the tour, it was a perfect time not only to play with someone like him on stage, but to help give him a start with touring. I really admire Billy and think he is one of the most talented guitar players out there right now, and he actually can sing too."
Street Drum Corps: "I met them back when Mike played a MySpace show with Fort Minor in the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium. I remember meeting Frank Zummo and he was super enthusiastic, really motivated. He made sure he got to meet Mike and me. I was so interested in these guys because they were so different. I watched their set and thought this concept could be really cool - the idea of a drum squad, or drum corps, becoming a movement in industrial music was something I had never heard of before. I had been randomly keeping in touch with Frank and thinking about having Street Drum Corps come out on Projekt Rev, and play in spots throughout the day instead of having a DJ, scratch crew or MC, like we had on earlier tours entertaining between sets. On tour they started coming out with us every single night, opening our set and closing our set with us, and even going out in the parking lots when kids were coming in and just playing. They worked their butts off all summer, and even started doing Spoonman with Chris. A lot of people really responded to them. I hope for nothing but the best for those guys - it was really fun bringing them out."
Atreyu: "They are huge, and they are awesome. In my opinion, they have been a little underground but at the same time, they keep getting bigger and bigger. They could easily have been on the main stage, and when we asked them to be on the Revolution Stage, they jumped on it. I think with them as headliners on that stage, the other bands felt like they were going to be playing for a lot of people. With all those bands together on one stage, there were thousands of people at noon to see all of them play, which was so incredible."
10 Years: "I think they are a really good band. I don't understand why they aren't bigger than they are, and I mean that as a compliment. I love the moodiness of their music, and the darkness of their music. I think they are great in terms of their audience too. Their fanbase is very passionate about them. I thought they'd be a great addition to the bill as soon as they were brought to the table. We like not to think of the Revolution stage as a 2nd Stage, we book that bill like we would with any other main stage act. When you combine acts like 10 Years, Atreyu, and Hawthorne Heights, they can do arenas. It is cool those guys didn't view where they were placed on the bill with their egos. It's a very difficult stage to book, and the reality is, we're trying to give kids a day of music that's awesome. I appreciate bands that can view it that way, like 10 Years."
Hawthorne Heights: "They are a band that I think is really cool to see out playing again, because they had a tragedy in the band not too long ago, and their career could have been gone. When I heard they were out touring again I thought they would be a great band for us to tour with. I really respect their band, and bands like Thrice as they created their own musical movement. I thought Projekt Rev would be a great opportunity to get them back out again performing, and getting a lot of people informed and knowing that they are back. It is very cool that they were up and running again because they are a great band."
Armor For Sleep: "They are a good example of an up-and-coming band that has made a connection very quickly with people. It's important for us that when we do Projekt Revolution, that we not only have well established bands, but new bands no one has ever heard of. That was the idea with Ashes Divide, Armor For Sleep, and Street Drum Corps...quality acts that may not have played in front of thousands yet."
Releases
Linkin Park released various releases from both the European and United States legs of the tour. The band released the entire show from Milton Keynes, ENG in November of 2008 as the Road To Revolution CD/DVD.
Linkin Park released Crawling from the Burgettstown, PA stop of the tour as a free download in November of 2008 to the LP Undergroound. The band also released Hunger Strike, which was performed during Chris Cornell's set, on the Songs From The Underground release in November of 2008 as well. It was also taken from the Burgettstown, PA stop of the tour.
A video of Hunger Strike was also uploaded to Chris Cornell's MySpace page sometime in 2008, which featured the performance from the Woodlands, TX stop of the tour.
Itineraries
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Crew
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Rob McDermott | Manager |
| Mike Amato | Tour Manager |
| George Hundleby | Band Security |
| Bruce Thompson | Band Security |
| Kenny Payne | Band Security |
| Mark Fiore | Videographer |
| Jim Digby | Production Manager |
| Ethan Merfy | Stage Manager |
| Jeff Mauss | Tour Accountant |
| Hugo Rempel | Production Coordinator |
| Mauricio Montalvo | Revolution Village Manager |
| Todd Confessore | Support Tour Manager |
| Blaine Brinton | Live Nation Rep |
| Cory O'Donnell | Press & Sponsor Coordinator |
| Ken "Pooch" Van Druten | Front Of House Engineer |
| Andrew "AJ" Pen | Lighting Director |
| Kevin "Tater" McCarthy | Monitor Engineer |
| Jason LeMiere | DJ Tech |
| Sean Paden | Guitar Tech (Brad) |
| Ted Regier | Bass Tech |
| Brad Stonner | Drum Tech |
| Kurt Schneck | Guitar Tech (Mike) |
| Dylan Ely | Pro-Tools |
| Michael "Knuckles" Dunn | Rigger |
| David "Sammy" Herrington | Carpenter |
| Susie Steadman | Dressing Room Coordinator |
| Skot Harris | Dressing Room Assistant |
| Paul White | Stage Audio Systems |
| Chris Hoff | FOH Audio Systems |
| Marcel Matthews | Venue Security Director |
| Jerry Devorak | Venue Security |
| Larry Echols | Venue Security |
| Jake Stras | Revolution Stage Security |
| Patrick Lachman | Revolution Backline / Carpenter |
| Frank Medina | Revolution Carpenter |
| Brad Judd | Revolution Carpenter |
| Micah Martin | Revolution Carpenter |
| Melissa Allgood | Music For Relief Rep |
| Amie Walz | Production Assistant |
| Pete Waldrop | Universal Power & Climate Control |
| Paul Salmons | SL250 Technician |
| Tim Solar | Lighting Crew Chief |
| Mark Abra | Lighting Tech |
| Glenn Rupert | Lighting Tech |
| Michael Kapler | Lighting Tech |
| Erin Charlton | Lighting Tech |
| William Anglin | Lighting Tech |
| Samuel Raphael | Lighting Tech |
| Rick Procopio | Audio Crew Chief |
| Evan McElhinney | Audio Tech |
| John Brotherton | Audio Tech |
| David Tash | Audio Tech |
| Spenser Ellis | Audio Tech |
| Marc DuFrene | Audio Tech |
| Skip Twitchell | Video Director / Crew Chief |
| Scott Grund | Video Tech |
| Gary Templeton | Video Tech |
| Isaac Ryland | Video Tech |
| James Johnson | Video Tech |
| Kara Kemp | Chef / Catering Crew Chief |
| Jill McCutchan | Lead Merchandiser |
| Ryan Bowman | Merchandiser |
| Lori Fox | Merchandiser |
| Corban Poorboy | Merchandiser |
- minus Catering and Drivers
Credentials
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Mainstage All Access
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VIP
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Working
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VIP
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Revolution Stage
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Photo
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Hot Seat
Rehearsals
Production rehearsal
July 15th in Mansfield, MA