Deftones

Alexandra Palace was already heaving with fans cramming themselves into the historic building by the time AFI bounded onto the stage. The Californian rockers opened the night with Girls not Grey from their 2003 album, Sing the Sorrow, and followed with This Celluloid Dream. The crowd joined lead singer, Davey Havok, in belting out the catchy choruses as he raced around the stage. Their set also included a couple of new tracks from their recent release AFI (The Blood Album), as well as AFI hits The Leaving Song Pt.II and Miss Murder, which they concluded their performance with. The band sounded great and Havok’s vocals were on point, despite jumping around and spin kicking the air like a kung-fu punk master.

AFI at Alexandra Palace. Photo credit: www.derekbremner.com

The London venue, which has a capacity of 10,400 people, was packed with fans eagerly awaiting the appearance of the Sacramento headliners. The crowd was suddenly re-awakened from its slumber when Deftones came out guns blazing with two heavy tracks from White Pony, Korea and Elite.

Chino, Alexandra Palace.

Photo credit: www.facebook.com/JPRPhotog

Frontman Chino Moreno was in beast mode right off the bat. You would never have believed that just a week ago he broke the top of his foot due to a stage fall in Belgium. His distinctive vocals, which can go from emotively soothing to a shrilling scream in seconds, ignited the crowd like dynamite.

The steamrolling of London continued when drummer Abe Cunningham introduced My Own Summer (Shove it) with two unmistakable beats that were immediately followed by Steph Carpenter’s legendary Drop C# guitar riff. Chino roared the chorus at the crowd and the crowd roared back, while Sergio Vega's chest rattling bass threatened to demolish the building. 

Stephen Carpenter, Alexandra Palace. Photo credit: Adam Harman

Deftones are one of the rare band’s that truly have a unique and original sound all of their own making. Since 1995 they have released eight studio albums which catalogue the band’s growth and experimental depth. They are consistently true to their creative instincts, never shying away from taking risks which has produced a refreshing complexity to their music. Their setlist is a testament to this diversity. They performed brutal tracks like Teething and Headup, amongst songs like Phantom Bride from their newest album Gore. The latter offered London a gorgeous guitar solo from Chino.

Photo credit: Adam Harman

Witnessing Deftones live is an experience like no other. There were no special effects at the Palace, just an exceptionally prolific band which emanates raw energy and creates a spellbinding atmosphere. 

Photo credit: www.derekbremner.com

Throughout the night Chino expressed his thanks to the crowd and seemed taken aback by the number of people who had come out to the show.

Another highlight of the night was Hexagram, a song born to be played live. Chino stood before the audience singing the line ‘And the crowd goes wild’, which perfectly summed up the situation in the mosh pit. Perhaps the biggest thrill of the night for the London crowd was when Deftones blasted out the fan favourite White Pony track, Passenger. 

Deftones saved Back to School- Mini Maggit for the final song of the night which sent the audience into overdrive. It had been a memorable show from a trailblazing band.

Deftones, Alexandra Palace. Photo credit: www.facebook.com/deftones/

Deftones Setlist, Alexandra Palace, 05/05/2017: Korea, Elite, My Own Summer (Shove It), Lhabia, Tempest, Swerve City, Kimdracula, Cherry Waves, Hexagram, Phantom Bride, Geometric Headdress, Sextape, Teething, Digital Bath, Change (In the House of Flies, Passenger, Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), Headup. Encore: Rocket Skates, Back to School- Mini Maggit.