| Asian Tour 2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tour by Linkin Park | |||||||
| Type: | Headline | ||||||
| Associated album: | A Thousand Suns | ||||||
| Start: | September 6, 2011 | ||||||
| End: | September 25, 2011 | ||||||
| Number of shows: | 11 | ||||||
| |||||||
Introduction
The Asian Tour in September 2011 was Linkin Park's first full tour of Asia since 2007. In total, 11 shows were held over the course of almost three weeks throughout the region.
Before the tour
In late August before the tour kicked off, the band performed two intimate shows. The first show was a headlining show at The Joint in Las Vegas. Cure For The Itch opened the show and was performed for the first time since 2008.08.24 Woodlands, TX, the last show of Projekt Revolution 2008. Show number two was held at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles and was Music For Relief's Secret Show For Japan, benefiting survivors of the recent tsunami in Japan. To start the encore, the video of the check with all the money raised being presented was shown before The Messenger.
Summary
Despite playing several shows in the region in 2009, Linkin Park had not done a full tour of the region since the Minutes To Midnight World Tour in 2007. Scheduled stadium shows in China and Taiwan were canceled in 2008 when Chester injured his back playing with one of his kids.
For this tour, the band was booked to play three stadium shows in China - Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan. However, after their meeting with the Dalai Lama in May, the entire Chinese portion of the tour was canceled by the communist Chinese government and the band was essentially "banned" from performing in China. This situation was not rectified until 2015, when Linkin Park played five stadium shows across China.
Instead, the tour visited Japan for five arena shows and included Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore as stops.
The 5th LPU Summit was held in Chiba, Japan when the band played back-to-back nights. Linkin Park premiered their "A Thousand Horizons" art show at the nicofarre in Tokyo as a part of the 5th LPU Summit the day before the two night stand in Chiba began. Chester sang The Messenger for fans in attendance. This event was done instead of a traditional Summit acoustic performance or soundcheck for fans.
At these shows, the same setlists from Europe were used. The LPTV episode for this tour shows Mike backstage in Nagoya, Japan looking at the setlists for the tour and saying that he felt Set A was very strong so he wanted to play it a few more times, hence why it was played at Nagoya, Osaka, and Taipei all in a row.
The show in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 21, 2011 was Linkin Park's second show in Indonesia ever, the first coming on June 13, 2004 also in Jakarta.
In Bangkok, the second to last show, the band faced a number of problems. The show started several hours later than planned due to very bad weather (heavy rain and winds). Phoenix did not perform at all at this show due to food poisoning - the first time a Linkin Park band member has missed an entire show. Ted, his bass tech, filled in for him and stood on the right side of the stage. Due to this, Blackout was dropped from the setlist after being played for a record five shows in a row.
The performance at the Griffith Park Observatory seems like forever ago. The show, and performance of The Catalyst for the MTV VMAs was the kickoff of our tour for A THOUSAND SUNS. Now, at the end of the tour and cycle, a moment of reflection is in order.
Mike addressed the situation on his blog:
To be honest, we were really hurting at the end of it all. Earlier this week, I stumbled into the venue in Bangkok with my band mates, dumbfounded at our state: one man down from food poisoning, two arms in slings, a bruised hand, cuts all over, sleep deprivation, and motion sickness, on top of what would be another 7+ hour travel day.
A year before, at Griffith Park, this tour started with the release of an album that was challenging to make, and a challenge for fans to understand. We knew the road ahead was going to be difficult. There were exhausting tours, confused and angry fans, and bloodthirsty critics on the horizon. But that night in Thailand, before the show, those obstacles were in front of me in the realest way.
A year before, we knew what we were getting into. And we believed in our album, we were encouraged by the fans. As time went on, as some fans went away and others came along for the ride, I’m proud of the thing we all built together. The tour took us to amazing new places. The performances at Puerta De Alcala, Griffith Park, Red Square, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore (among others) were landmarks for the band.
And the fans in Bangkok helped us power through one of our most difficult shows, showing the love that Linkin Park fans all over the world are known for.
So at the end of it all, I just wanted to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank-you to my bandmates, our staff, road crew, and fans for making this tour and album cycle amazing. Thank you.
Now, time to go home and get back to work… -Mike
The last show of the tour was in Singapore. This show was for the Singapore edition of the F1 Grand Prix, the second F1 Grand Prix Linkin Park show after they played the event in Abu Dhabi in 2010. Linkin Park was the only performer of the day on the main stage and performed right after the F1 race ended. Chester hurt his arm sometime between the Bangkok show and this show - pictures before this show show him with his left arm in a sling. This is likely why When They Come For Me and possibly Blackout were not played (since he plays drums/pads on those tracks), but he was still able to play guitar on Iridescent.
The band completely changed the setlist for this show. "Moscow Intro" made its second appearance ever, after the Moscow show earlier in the year. New Divide opened for the fourth time ever (after New York City 2010, Detroit 2011 and Moscow 2011), From The Inside appeared in the number two spot for the first time since last show of 2009 in Pomona, CA (or arguably when it "opened" after Session in Shanghai 2009), and One Step Closer appeared for the first time ever in the third spot.
Memorable Moments
At the first show in Chiba, Mike sang verse one and the chorus of No Roads Left during the bridge of Bleed It Out. This came after fans had been requesting the song for years, and was likely done because of the LPU Summit. No Roads Left was in a setlist for the Summer European Tour in 2008, but was dropped just before the tour began in favor of Pushing Me Away (Piano Version). To this day, only the few teases Mike did over Bleed It Out in Asia 2011 are the only times the song has been performed in any fashion.
After the tour
On October 10th, Linkin Park was to headline DeLuna Festival in Pensacola, Florida. This was going to be the band's first show in Pensacola, after a rumored Meteora World Tour 2004 stop did not end up happening when the tour was rerouted.
At the Singapore show on September 25, 2011, Chester mentioned that it was the last show of the year for the band. Finally on October 4, 2011, the show cancellation was posted on linkinpark.com: "We regret that we must withdraw from our October 16 performance at DeLuna Fest in Pensacola, FL. As much as we were looking forward to rocking our final date of the year with our Florida fans, Chester has been advised to have immediate shoulder surgery as a result of an injury he sustained during our recent tour in Asia. We are sorry for any disappointment this has caused and look forward to seeing you again soon."
This was the sixth cancellation by Linkin Park in 2011. Dallas and Houston were made up later in the tour and Uncasville, Washington D.C., and Cincinnati were made up the following year in 2012. However, Pensacola still has not been played by LP.
Crew
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Jim Digby | Production Manager |
| Ken "Pooch" Van Druten | FOH Engineer |
| Kevin "Tater" McCarthy | Monitor Engineer |
| Sean Paden | Guitar Technician (Brad) |
| Mark Fiore | Videographer |