We don't wanna be left behind
All we wanna do is just blow your mind
Joe Hahn has had quite a few different solo portions of the live show, dating back to the first shows Linkin Park performed. Originally starting out, "Cure For The Itch" from Hybrid Theory served as his solo portion of the show, before quickly evolving in less than a year to new show intros, interludes, and more.
Hybrid Theory
As "Cure For The Itch" opened much of the 2000 slate of shows, the band quickly shifted to brand new show intros beginning in 2001 for the year. Joe also took the opportunity for DJ breaks/interludes of scratching speeches during the show like the "Lee Interlude" and the "Short Interlude."
The first officially released solo by Joe was titled "Mr. Hahn Solo" and was live show interlude during the Hybrid Theory European Tour 2001 and the Projekt Revolution Tour in 2002.
Known popularly as "Blow Your Mind Interlude", it saw its first official release on the Projekt Revolution 2002 DVD in 2020 as part of the 20th Anniversary Edition of Hybrid Theory. The song was only performed during two Linkin Park tours: the European Tour 2001 and Projekt Revolution 2002; usually preceding "By Myself". According to the DVD credits, the instrumental is an original track written by Joe Hahn in 2000. The vocals, however, are sampled from "High Power Rap" by the hip-hop group Crash Crew (released under the name Disco Dave And The Force Of 5 MC's). Because of this, the track is also credited to Barry Bailey, George Belton, Charles Fleming, Larry Miller and Reginald Payne. On printed setlists, the interlude was listed as "Joe Hahn Scratch."
Meteora
"Session" from Meteora was featured in shows in 2003 and 2009, but not for long. An abbreviated portion of the song opened the shows on the LP Underground Tour in early 2003, but it was quickly dropped. A different, also abbreviated, version of the song opened the band's 2009 touring that took place in support of single "New Divide."
Minutes To Midnight
During the Minutes To Midnight touring cycle, Joe used "Wake" and the remixed version "Wake 2.0" as short moments in the show to add scratching, but these tours did not have a specified solo moment for him until a remixed "Cure For The Itch" returned in summer 2008 for two tours (Europe and Projekt Revolution 2008).
A Thousand Suns
Due to the various interludes on A Thousand Suns and the way many shows began with "The Requiem" into "The Radiance", the latter being a live-scratched intro by Joe, there was not a specific Joe solo moment in the tours for this album. The setlists were interlude-heavy due to the album, likely taking away time in the show Joe would have used for a proper solo.
Living Things
On the Living Things touring cycle, Joe did not have a proper solo spot in the show either, marking the second touring cycle in a row without one. However, Joe likely put together the "Game of Thrones" intro that was used on "With You" in 2012.
The Hunting Party
A solo spot in the show returned in a big way on The Hunting Party World Tour.
It marked the first time Joe had a full spot in the setlist dedicated just to him. He had moments, including his solo in "With You" and brief interludes used in setlists in 2001 all the way to 2013. However, this was a full spot for Joe to create his own solo track composed of many different things.
Titled "Joe Solo" on setlists and running the length of a full song (or slightly longer, it was comprised almost entirely of samples of other Linkin Park songs. It samples parts of "Wretches And Kings", the "Victimized" remix from Recharged, "Buy Myself" and "Plc.4 Mie Hæd" from Reanimation, "Cure For The Itch", and "Session".[1]
One More Light
Joe did not have a solo spot on the brief touring that the band was able to do for One More Light.
From Zero
When Linkin Park played their first comeback show of 2024 at the Forum in Los Angeles, Joe debuted a new solo spot in the show. It featured new member Colin Brittain on drums as Joe played a variety of samples and scratches. The very beginning of the intro features an extremely brief sample of the vocal sample that starts "Cure For The Itch" that Joe scratches.
Joe said about this solo, "From our first album, we had "Cure for the itch," and that was a DJ-solo moment. and we figured, instead of just having multiple encores to give the vocalist breaks, that would be a good opportunity to keep the show going. So, with this one, Colin and I just got together, and made this in a day. We made three different beats that could have potential for that section. And then we just picked the one that we like. It's fun. It's just jamming. but a different kind of jamming. It's kind of cool, too, because it's almost like you don't see that kind of thing too much anymore."[2]
Versions
| Title | Album | Length | Recorded | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Hahn Solo | Hybrid Theory (20th Anniversary Edition) | 1:02 | February 23, 2002 | October 9, 2020 |
|
Lyrics
Let's hear it for the great Mr. Hahn!
Awh, yeah!
I'd like to introduce
MR. HAHN
Let's go
Let's go
Mr. Hahn
References
- ↑ Dissecting Joe's Solo Medley - Live Talk - Linkin Park Live, April 19, 2015
- ↑ LPAssociation: Joe Hahn Interviewed by DJ Life Magazine, February 27, 2025