Deftones are one of those bands that seemed to teeter on the cusp of commercial success, only to be sabotaged by their own wilfully arty instincts. Always a little smarter and harder than their peers, their initial emergence alongside the nu-metal bands of the late 90s gave way to the darkly enigmatic outpourings of White Pony – a commercial and creative peak for the band seemingly in spite of its digressions into eerie ambience. However, following the relative commercial failure of the critically acclaimed follow up, the band endured a range of issues – including the inter-band turmoil that led to Saturday Night Wrist (an underrated but awkward album), and the devastating loss of founding bassist Chi Cheng.
Since then, the band have continued to explore the wider reaches of their sound, releasing a series of excellent albums, but failing to achieve the commercial momentum that would earn them an otherwise well-deserved headline spot at the likes of Download. However, with three stunning gigs (at Halifax’s Piece Hall, The Eden Project, and Crystal Palace), the band finally have the opportunity to demonstrate the passion of their consistently underrated fanbase, with tonight’s sold-out show a case study in how to build an enduring presence while maintaining your artistic integrity.
The Venue
This is our first time in Crystal Palace Park but hopefully not the last.
Our first impression is that it will take forever to get in. The queue is massive, stretching from the main arena entrance around to the train station, but security keep things moving quickly and we spend no more than 5-10 minutes from joining the queue to getting to the search gates.
Once through, there’s a lower area with toilets, a merch stand, and access to the VIP village – an oasis of calm set just to the side of the main arena.
For a one-day event, serious thought has gone into both the layout and the available facilities. While, with its being sold out, queues inevitably develop (especially at the oversubscribed ice cream vans), this is hardly surprising and it’s rare to wait longer than 10 minutes (perhaps with the exception of the mobbed merch stands, which see consistent traffic throughout). The bars run smoothly and are priced and stocked as may be expected for an event of this size. The toilets are also well run, with plenty of paper and sanitiser and, perhaps most importantly, there are numerous water points scattered around the arena, helping people to keep hydrated in the soaring temperatures. To the casual reader, these things may not seem like a big deal, but it makes all the difference between an enjoyable event and a great one, with this comfortably falling into the latter category.
Fortunately, given the blistering sunshine that greets us on arrival, the arena is actually split into two sections. The main viewing area, while a bit of a dust bowl, offers clear lines of sight from pretty much everywhere, as well as consistently spectacular sound. An upper level, meanwhile, offers patches of shade on the grassy bank and, while this costs you at least part of the view, the sound remains excellent, even nestled off to the side like this. It’s a fair trade and, for a good few hours, pretty much everywhere you look you can see people scurrying into any available patch of shade to avoid the worst of the midday sun.
Overall, Crystal Palace Park is a fantastic venue – well run and with plenty of facilities and space, even with a sold-out crowd in attendance, ensuring that the atmosphere is chilled and friendly throughout. While people don’t necessarily attend an event such as this for the arena, it undoubtedly adds to the experience, and the whole event comes across as really well planned and managed.
The Bands
As we arrive, we are greeted by the surprisingly light touch (but not unwelcome), strains of Qendresa – a North London-based DJ and soul singer. Frankly, when it’s this hot, it’s nice to be met by something a little chill and you can hear elements of the diverse sound pool from which Deftones draw shot through the mix. With an impressive command of the stage and a stunning voice, Qendresa plays a short, sweet set that sets up the day nicely.
Things take an infinitely darker tone with Health, who seem to be getting about quite a bit these days and deservedly so. Formed in 2005 in LA, these experimental industrialists are something of a mercurial act – as capable of delivering a set of pure electronica as they are of unleashing chaos on an unsuspecting crowd. Today, it’s the latter and, as hundreds of fans cling to the sides of the bowl in the hopes of gaining a few precious ounces of shade, the band offer up a bowel-threatening set with pile-driving industrial foundations.
With influences ranging from Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein, and Gary Numan, as well as Bring Me The Horizon (especially on the dynamic pulse of Feel Nothing), Health offer up a masterclass in dynamic, electronically reinforced music. Honestly, watching them here, it feels like they’ve only scratched the surface of their potential and it surely can’t be long before they’re headlining events of this size themselves – especially with tracks like DSM-V and Major Crimes at their command. Ultimately, Health have both the songs and the spirit to take this world by storm and they are a perfect addition to today’s bill.
Next up, we lurch into punk territory with an engaging set from High Vis. A lyrically positive, musically explosive band, High Vis are arguably more post-punk than straight-up punk, although vocalist Graham Sayle leans into hardcore delivery at time. At any event, High Vis are diverse enough to take in everything from The Cure and Killing Joke to Happy Mondays and Jane’s Addiction and they’re all the more engaging for their staunch refusal to adhere to genre norms.
With just forty minutes to win over the rapidly filling Crystal Palace, High Vis cram in a lot of songs, from Talk For Hours and the stabbing Altitude to the electronically inclined Minds A Lie and set highlight Trauma Bonds, all of which only go to prove this is a band with real promise. Graham may laugh that “any of you can do this shit, it’s just whining and moaning!”, but his band is tight as hell and, by the time they drop a brilliant Choose To Lose, they’ve picked up a hell of a lot of new friends.
With the day hurtling past, it’s time for another pint of water before the mighty Weezer take to the stage. We noted during our recent review of Download that the band seem a hell of a lot more comfortable in their own skins these days. Where once they could be more than a little obtuse should the mood so take them, Weezer now lean into the hits and even seem to be having fun while doing it. As such, with their laid-back California vibes, the band emerge as the perfect band for a hot summer’s evening.
From the moment they hit the stage, it seems that Weezer are inclined to rock and, kicking off with Hash Pipeis a pretty good way of signalling that intention. From there, it’s feel-good vibes all the way, with the band delighting in pulling out all the chunkiest riffs and most singalong moments from their impressive back catalogue. With so many cracking tracks nestled away in their bag of songs, it should come as no surprise that the day’s first big singalong arrives alongside Perfect Situation – the crowd threatening to overpower the band at points. Then there’s Surf Wax America, which still sounds like the greatest rock song the Beach Boys never wrote; Sweater Song, which comes complete with improvised lines about Yorkshire Puddings; and who in the hell could resist the mid-set trio of Island In The Sun, Holiday, and Beverly Hills?
There’s still more. A well-received Pork And Beans includes a cheeky lyrical nod to Deftones; Say It Ain’t So has the entire park singing along, only for previously established audience volume levels to be eclipsed by Buddy Holly, which brings the set to a glorious close. Weezer may not have always enjoyed playing the fame game but today they came, they saw, and they conquered, delivering a fantastic and memorable soundtrack to the setting of the sun.
And so, to Deftones. With the news of the band’s Glastonbury cancellation, there had been some nerves as to whether today would even go ahead and, if it did, in what state the band would be. We needn’t have worried. Deftones clearly had no intention of letting their fans down and, with the venue sold out, they simply came out and shattered every single expectation. While, at times, you could perceive a little strain in Chino’s voice, he delivered a stunning, high-energy performance, even appearing a little overwhelmed at the strength of the audience reaction.
As reflected in the diverse nature of the line up, Deftones were always a little different to their peers. Even looking at their own catalogue (and specifically the covers they collated on their B Sides And Raritiescompilation), the band draw as much from the likes of The Cure, Duran Duran, and Dead Can Dance as they do from more traditional hard rock influences such as Helmet. As a result, while the band could so easily have packed their set with brutality, by digging through their catalogue and exploring its darker reaches, they offer something more dynamic and far more satisfying.
Not that the band give any hint of the dark paths they’ve chosen to travel when they open with Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) and My Own Summer (Shove It) played back-to-back. In dispatching early the sort of songs most bands would save for an encore, Deftones surely get the crowd’s attention and, with the sound crystal clear (sorry-not-sorry!), the place goes off.
From there, the band leap around their catalogue to deliver a dynamic set that seems to pass in the blink of an eye. After a savage Diamond Eyes finds Chino’s rasping screams ravaging the crowd, pink lights descend to the heart of the stage as the band make good on that Dead Can Dance influence with an eerie Tempest. For sure, the song may develop an evil groove perfectly matching the simmering mood of the crowd, but the wind tunnel guitars that open the piece are gloriously unique. It’s followed by Swerve City, one of the night’s less likely singalongs, before Feiticera shoots things up to another level. Then there’s a moody Digital Bath (with Chino on guitar), which seems to hypnotise the entire arena before he delivers the first of many heart-felt thank yous.
It’s back to Diamond Eyes next for a truly astonishing You’ve Seen The Butcher. You think it’s heavy on record? On stage, it takes on grinding, near-neurosis levels of intensity, the unholy guitars and off-kilter rhythms threatening to overwhelm. The band remain in similarly dark, art rock territory for a crushing Rocket Skates and an evil Sex Tape – all unholy ambience, with the guitars scything out of the mix when least expected.
As if wary of allowing the crowd to drift too far into psychosis, the band suddenly unleash a one-two punch of Around The Fur and Headup, both of which send the mosh pit into a frenzy, despite the still-aggressive temperatures. With Chino dripping sweat and bringing a frantic energy to proceedings, you can feel the symbiotic connection between band and fans, and the whole of Crystal Palace seems to move as one during the latter track.
From there, the set crashes headlong towards its end, a mesmerising Rosemary giving way to a dynamic Hole In The Earth, only for an epic Change (In The House Of The Flies) to sweep all before it, triggering a mass singalong in the process. Then, with Chino’s voice just starting to fray around the edges, Deftones wrap things up with a hard-edged Genesis, a bruising track that brings this storming set to a visceral conclusion.
Of course, we’re not quite done yet. With steam boiling from the pit and sustained applause ringing out across the arena, Deftones return for a victory lap. While a glorious Minerva captures the unique beauty of which the band are capable, it’s a punishing Bored and a vital 7 Words that serve to bring the set home. While it’s kind of stunning to realise that these songs are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary this year, with Deftones on seismic form they sound better than ever – with fans young and old revelling in the sheer power of the band’s delivery.
Heading home
Events like this always seem to end too quickly. With a diverse, well-curated line up that only adds to the chilled vibe that permeates an otherwise scorching arena, the day passes in a haze, with all of the bands stepping up to deliver excellent performances bolstered by excellent sound. However, with no disrespect intended towards the other acts, today is all about Deftones and they more than deliver. Easily the best performance I’ve seen from the band, this is not mere evolution but escalation on a grand scale.
Put simply, Deftones are on incendiary form and, while Chino references the mysterious ailment that led to the cancellation of their Glastonbury slot, he otherwise gives little indication as to any issues. Clearly overwhelmed by the absolute dedication of the fans tearing up the pit, he gives his all to deliver an intense, cathartic performance – simply astounding.
