L1nkn P4rk Dover Booking Hall review 16 August

L1nkn P4rk Dover Booking Hall

Review and Photos By Dave Martin
 
The Booking Hall in Dover is becoming familiar territory for me and this is due to friendliness of the staff and the quality of the bands that are being booked to perform in the 280-capacity venue. Located in a former train station near the port of Dover, Kent. It is a great venue that showcases both local and national talent as well as its staple of cover bands. It’s proximity to the port is also a bonus as bands can perform here on the way other gigs in Europe. Such was the case with the gig’s headliners L1nkn_P4rk who were performing in Germany the following day.

 
The evening’s entertainment consisted of three bands, Crostpaths, Salvation Jayne and L1nkn P4rk. The former and the later having played together at the same venue when they were last in Dover.
 
The first band Crostpaths are always entertaining with their unique blend of music. They have recently released a cover of classic football anthem “Eat my Goal” for the Euros earlier in the summer. The band is made up of Ritchie Murray Jack on vocals, Owain Lewis on bass and backing vocals, Michael Edwards on guitar, Erim Ahmet on keys and James Mason drums.

The band have a unique look with each member having an individual style that wouldn’t normally appear to gel but like their music the fusion works well. The group interacted well with the audience and made use of humour as part of the act. During the intro to the second track “I am the Liquor” Jack comments that the band is a little less serious than Linkin Park and asks the crowd if they have ever been drunk the crowd replies no. Jack says me neither and launches into the song. The genre-mixing quintet delivers heavy riffs to a powerful beat, overlayed with rapping and metal backing vocals. Prior to the fourth track Estelle Mey of Salvation Jayne takes over mic duties and Lewis swaps bass for acoustic guitar for a rendition always. For the final song Meridian Jack starts at the front of the audience and then crowd surfed to the back of the room and back whilst Edwards plays a guitar solo.

 
Setlist:   1. Echolalia, 2. I am the Liquor, 3. Nostalgia, 4.Again, 5. Rampage, 6. Meridan
 
The second group that graced the stage was Kent based Salvation Jayne, comprising frontwoman Estelle Mey, Tor Charlesworth on drums, Holly Kinnear on guitar, Erim Ahmet on keys and Dan Lucas on bass. Their music has been described as angsty, riff-laden rock which when added to their high energy stage presents gave quite the show. Mey and Lucas engaged the crowd with their expressive movement. The audience having been warmed up by Crostpaths received the group warmly and they provided a platform for L1nkn P4rh that would succeed them. There was a comedy moment where the group finished and had the now common photo with the crowd before readorning their instruments for one last song. Whether this was confusion on the bands part or their version of an encore we will never know but either way the audience appreciated it nevertheless.
 
Setlist: 1. Intro, 2. Bland New Face, 3. So Dull So Quiet, 4. Dragged You Back, 5. Lack, 6. Thirst, 7. Disillusioned
 
After a brief interval the main act entered from the cool night air to the now meltingly hot stage, much hotter than the last time the group graced the venue. The musicians entered one at a time, and this was the first chance I’d had to see them perform since their former founding member bassist rejoined the group. The atmosphere was electric from the off with the crowd singing passionately from the first track With You. During Points of Authority Jamie Fitzpatrick “Chester” points the mic at the audience for them to sing back lines and in Given Up they swayed arms along with the band.

Towards the end of What I’ve Done the group extend the song so that the audience could sing the chorus again. In a brief interlude Fitzpatrick explained the formation of the band and how they had started raising money for mental health charities following the untimely loss of Chester Bennington 7 years ago. This performance included the group adding new songs to the setlist which included fan favourite Shadow of the Day. The participation continued to grow and during the choruses of In the End the houselights were raised in unison with the voices of the crowd. For the finale Fitzpatrick had everyone on the ground and following a countdown they launched themselves into the air. The interaction being a common event at the bands’ gigs. Unfortunately their normal encore was not possible due to a pressing ferry crossing so was ended on the high note of Linkin Park’s debut single One Step Closer.
 
Having seen the band perform on 4 separate occasions I genuinely feel that with Chester no longer being with us that this is the closest you will get to seeing Linkin Park live and this track list just reminds you of the quality of the music written over the early part of this century. I look forward to seeing the band again as they always give an exceptional performance.
 
Setlist:  1. Opening, 2. With You, 3. Runaway, 4. Papercut, 5. Points of Authority, 6. Crawling, 7. Lying From You, 8. From The Inside, 9. Breaking the Habit, 10. Given Up, 11. Somewhere I Belong, 12. What I’ve Done, 13. Lost in the Echo, 14. Wastelands, 15. Figure. 09, 16. Nobody’s Listening, 17. By Myself, 18. Shadow of The Day, 19. The Catalyst, 20. Numb/Encore, 21. Leave Out All the Rest, 22. In the End, 23. A Place for My Head, 24. One Step Closer