Home Music Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Brings His ‘Post Traumatic’ Solo Tour To Philly...

Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda Brings His ‘Post Traumatic’ Solo Tour To Philly [Photo]

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Mike Shinoda brought his Post Traumatic solo tour through Philadelphia last night with an electrifying, uplifting, and energetic performance at the Foundry at The Fillmore. Shinoda’s performance of a wide set of material, spanning the three separate ventures in his professional career, was transcendent. Post Traumatic, his first solo album, captures the feeling of grief so tangibly, it’s as if you’re sifting through its gritty texture with your bare hands. The album is a true exercise in an artist’s ability to capture their subject, and Post Traumatic is the gold standard on the five stages of grief as artistic expression.

It’s difficult looking back on the monumental loss of a close loved one, companion, or friend and identify the moments or stages of grief in ways that would make sense to anyone not experiencing them in real time. Rarely are there appropriate metrics, save for the essential Kubler-Ross “Five Stages of Grief” model that can properly convey how one moves through acceptance of death. Sure, we can look at “Denial” on base terms and understand that concept, but does that articulate the crushing sense of anguish that rushes through you as you learn of the passing of your father? Does just listing “Bargaining” account for the repetitive conversations in your mind, desperately trying to make sense of the trauma you’ve just experienced? “Depression” is a clinical term, but does it really do justice to the feeling of walking through clay and someone’s turned the blue hues up on everything in your mind? There’s no one right way to grieve, no one right way to assess, comprehend, and understand.

Shinoda somehow manages to sift through the blue and present a well rounded and well executed audio presentation that allows the listener to follow their own Kubler-Ross journey, whether we’re ready to feel the full force of it or not. Shinoda delivers some truly heavy pieces on the album, the forceful and reflective “Ghosts” coexisting with the contemplative and self-affirming “Crossing A Line” run the full emotional gauntlet and are open for the listener to apply it to their own life. At certain points over the course of the evening, the performance felt more like a group remembrance; a support group for everyone who’s lost something they never would’ve imagined they would. It’s not just about the Chester Bennington— it’s about all of our Chesters—and Shinoda delivered in an incredible way. Shinoda also performed some impressive solo/Fort Minor/Linkin Park live mashup songs, blurring the creative lines between his musical lives and proving that the band indeed plays on, even if one microphone has gone silent.

Accompanied by a crushing set by the high energy British rock act, Don Broco, Shinoda’s live performance proved his method of making lemonade was just as good as any to help us all work through our demons, our sadness, our blues. “Post Traumatic” is the “Acceptance” stage of Shinoda’s Kubler-Ross process, and what comes next is anyone’s guess. If this record is any indication, we’re all in for an incredible musical experience. You can check out photos below, courtesy of Adam Barnard.

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