Deftones at the Fox Theater Last Night


Deftones

June 15, 2011

Fox Theater Pomona
One of the benefits of seeing a show in Pomona is that one can usually park for free. Arriving in Pomona 15 minutes after the doors opened proved to be a costly mistake as I was forced to cough up ten dollars to park my car. It was not surprising to see numerous fans milling outside the beyond sold out Fox Theater desperately hoping to score a ticket to the final date of the Deftones tour.

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Diamond Eyes is the
latest release from the Deftones and their first featuring former
Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega who is filling in for Chi Cheng who was
injured in a car accident. The cheers were deafening when the band
ripped into “Diamond Eyes.” Lead singer Chino Moreno was bounding across
the stage immediately dispelling any doubts of tour fatigue.
Abe
Cunningham mercilessly pounded away on his Tama drum kit for an
earthshaking take on “Rocket Skates” as the mosh pit started to stir.
The whole theater started to rumble during “Birthmark” with Stephen
Carpenter flawlessly carving out the notes on his custom ESP guitars.
The Deftones also seamlessly would bled the songs together as the fading
notes of “Birthmark” soon shifted to the full on assault of “Engine No
9.”
Overzealous fans tried to leap from the
second tier down to the floor for “My Own Summer (Shove It)” but were
quickly captured by the security staff. The auditory bludgeoning did
subside momentarily for the tranquil “Digital Bath” with Moreno adding
some extra guitars to the song. “Knife Party” had some guest screams
from Terri Gender Bender of the opening band Le Butcherettes.
“Korea”
was outstanding with its razor sharp guitars and the sub sonic bass
playing from Vega. Moreno dedicated “Minerva” to Chi Cheng which drew a
huge ovation from the crowd. The mood would shift once more for the
crystalline guitars of “Beauty School.” The electronic robotic vocals of
“Elite” added an extra layer of intensity to the song.
Greg
Puciato from Dillinger Escape Plan joined Moreno for vocal duties on
“Passenger” replacing the original vocals from Maynard James Keenan from
Tool on the recorded version. Crowd participation may have been the
greatest for “Headup” as I could barely hear Moreno's vocals due to the
screams from the rabid fans. The Deftones couldn't have played a better
set to end their tour.
Dillinger Escape Plan
were a technical flurry of guitar notes and high octane screams that
blitzed the crowd along with their seizure inducing strobe lights. Le
Butcherretes impressed with their super tight rhythm section and the
dynamic vocal range of lead singer Terri Gender Bender.
Personal Bias: I have seen Deftones over 20 times.
Crowd: Some of the loyalest fans in music. Deftones fans.
Overheard in The Crowd: “How do i get a wristband into the pit?”
Random Notebook Dump:
One show I regret missing is when the Deftones and Quicksand played
together at the Hollywood Palladium many years ago before Quicksand
broke up.

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