Deftones have been a band for more than 30 years and their seasoned polish, chemistry and well-practiced stage presence showed during the band’s 90-minute set at Climate Pledge Arena Thursday night.
Like most of the popular bands that fall under the umbrella of metal, Deftones are highly underappreciated and often overlooked by the mainstream. That’s despite their influential career and legions of dedicated, adoring fans.
Of course it’s often difficult to pigeonhole Deftones since they started during the alternative rock era, survived nu metal and even have been pegged as shoegaze by some. Their musical versatility of the metal variety has definitely been vital to their longevity as no two Deftones records are the same.
Fronted by the charismatic Chino Moreno, the band’s music sounded massive in Climate Pledge’s state-of-the-art acoustic environment. It’s a shame more metal acts don’t play at the arena because the immaculate sound coupled with the giant video screens and industrious stage design made for the perfect show environment.
The band sounded great and the show was flawless. However, the group did show its age a little as Moreno wasn’t as bursting with angst and anger as he was the last few times I caught Deftones live. But he still had amazing command of his voice with his screams and shouts sounding as visceral as ever.
The one-two blast of “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” and “My Own Summer (Shove It)” kicked off the set and from there it was fully on. Moreno and his bandmates tore through a set filled with every Deftones song a casual and hardcore fan would want to hear. The encore of “Minerva,” “Bored” and “Seven Words” was expecially brutal, showing that Deftones still have a lot in the tank and left fans wanting more.
While Detones are on a big arena tour, their first as headliners, they are not supporting a new album. Yet. Moreno has said in interviews that the band has a new record in the can and that it may be released during this tour. Still, there were no new songs performed Thursday but that didn’t matter because the classics all made the set list which was made for an intese affair.
Speaking of new material, openers The Mars Volta performed their entire new album. There was a catch though. The new album has yet to be released. So the band played an entire set of songs nobody in the crowd had heard before. As for the material itself, it was mostly forgettable. In typical Mars Volta fashion, it was progressive with a lot of emphasis on percussion, but it was very toned down and a much more mellow Mars Volta than the band that released spazzy records like “Frances the Mute” and “De-Loused in the Comatorium.”
