I grew up with parents who love rock music; particularly Rush, Motley Crue, Metallica, Megadeth, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Pantera, and more. I didn’t understand my parents’ love for metal and classic rock as a young kid. Needless to say, as I’ve gotten older I realized I’m growing to be more and more like my parents. I probably will blast rock music for my kids to listen to in the future, just like they did with me. I stumbled upon the “emo” genre of music in middle school and started listening to Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Pierce the Veil. When Covid hit, I had much more time on my hands and started to listen to more & more bands. I got into Deftones around this time and fell in love with their music. It was something I had never heard before— a mix of metal and punk instrumentals, with Chino Moreno’s unique whisper-esque voice, along with screamo vocals as well. There is no other band like Deftones; They originated in Sacramento, California in 1988 and have released 9 albums since. Three of the original members are still a part of the band including Chino Moreno (lead singer/guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), and Abe Cunningham (drums). Since they’ve been around for so long, I was unsure if I’d ever get to see them live but luckily they don’t show any signs of stopping any time soon.
When I saw that Deftones was going on tour back in September, my friend and I went insane because we both love them. Luckily, my friend secured our tickets and I just had to wait 6 months to actually go. Although the concert was in Charlotte and Raleigh is 2.5 hours away, we knew we had to get there no matter what. We drove to Charlotte on Monday after our classes and rushed to get ready. We got to the venue while the first opening act was on; a band called Fleshwater. I think they were pretty good but I didn’t know many of their songs. After that, the second opener came on; a band called The Mars Volta. Personally, they weren’t my favorite and at this point, everyone was anxiously awaiting Deftones to come on.
As the lights dimmed, everyone started screaming and they started with, “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” which is a classic Deftones song. Some of my favorite songs they played were, “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Swerve City,” “Change (In The House of Flies),” “You’ve Seen The Butcher,” “Sextape,” “Hole in the Earth,” and “Bored.” The concert was so amazing and I wish I could go back. Some songs I wished they played are “Entombed,” (my favorite Deftones song), “Cherry Waves,” and “Mascara.” My friends and I also noticed a couple of songs that seemed to be sung a little slower live than the studio version but even with that, the concert was still really good.
Another thing I noticed was that a lot of people do not know concert etiquette, and that was not just with the Deftones concert but some other concerts I’ve been to recently as well. At other concerts I’ve been to, people will hold up signs and block your view, push you to get to the front if you’re in the pit, and just overall be rude or inconsiderate. At the Deftones concert, there was an instance where a guy seemed like he was trying to take someone else’s seat for a better view (that’s what I inferred from the situation) and he started yelling and causing a scene right before Deftones came on stage. No matter what the issue was, people should be more aware of their surroundings and respect everyone. Everyone is there for a good time and there is no reason to put a damper on other people’s nights.
Typically when I go to concerts I get merchandise because I want to have something from the concert as a memento or something to say, “I was there!” Of course, concert merchandise nowadays is super expensive and sometimes not worth waiting in a long line for. I looked at the merch options at the concert but found myself only liking a couple of things. So, I didn’t get any merchandise because I also figured you could get a Deftones shirt at Hot Topic for a fraction of the price.
Overall, they put on a fantastic show and had really cool visuals on the screen. The visuals perfectly coincided with each song they were playing and I caught myself watching the clips on the screen more than the band at times.
If you don’t know much about Deftones, I recommend you listen to them!!