There are very few things that I’m obsessively a fan of, and two of those things are Linkin Park and the city of Bangalore. These two have been two huge constants in my life, and watched me, or rather watched over me as I’ve grown from crawling around the floor to hiking snow-ridden mountain passes 3 continents away from home. This blog is a very personal (and hence verbose) account of what the city and the band mean to me, and about the special experience of watching these two come together, that is, Linkin Park doing their first ever show in Bengaluru (and in India as well).
I was born in Bangalore and have spent the majority of my life here, and the city has grown wonderfully with me. It has grown from being a retirement town to a startup capital and economic powerhouse. The huge and diverse population coming into the city, paired with the entrepreneurial spirit, means there is a community or a center for any activity or niche interest that you might have. In the last 2 weeks of January, I’ve organized a walking tour, gone rifle shooting, done some basic calisthenics in a lakeside park, gone bouldering, and led a team in a scavenger hunt, all within walking distance of where I live. What started with Akkipete and Ragipete is now brimming with quinoa and sourdough in every corner. It feels like with every new interest or idea that I pick up, I unlock a different part of the city’s map. I feel amazed that this city is able to keep up with my pace of exploring life and all the things that come with it.
As for Linkin Park, I first heard them on Radio Indigo 91.9 when I was in high school. I just bought myself a phone (a Nokia 7210 Supernova) by saving up some money relatives gave me when they visited. It came with free earphones, and I just opened the FM radio application, and the first thing I heard was Chester Bennington screaming, “In the end, it doesn’t even matter”. For the first time in my life, music made sense to me. Because until then, in a country where music is primarily made for movies, I never connected with hero introduction songs and filmy romance music, and there was little else that I was exposed to at home. But songs like Somewhere I Belong, Numb, and In The End felt like they were written exclusively for an angry, clueless, and helpless 13-year-old teenager with a troubled upbringing (me).
As the years went by, I also felt like their music evolved with me. Songs like “Roads Untraveled” came out right at the age when I started making important life choices, and the mellow-sounding album One More Light came out as I was saying goodbye to my teenage years and moving towards adulthood, letting go of the angst and finding peace and grace. With the tragedy that was Chester’s death, I lost most hope of watching them live. While I found some closure in the fact that they had seen me through my difficult teenage years and maybe the universe wanted me take it on my own from there, I did wonder about what the rest of the band must be going through. Would they continue with Linkin Park? Would they go on with other projects? Back then, it was too soon to seek answers to these questions.
Their return in 2024 was not so much of a surprise to me, as they had started releasing old unreleased tracks like Lost well before that, which was suggestive of some activity. What came as a surprise was Emily’s vocals on a new track called The Emptiness Machine. The game was back on! I heard the whole album when it came out later that year. The sound feels like a comfortable retreat to my millennial soul, away from the onslaught of social media and mostly senseless cancel culture. The title of the album, ‘From Zero’, also resonates with my personal journey of trying to put together the best of the discrete parts of my life so far as I move into my 30s.
So here’s the thing, I could have watched Linkin Park live in the USA. That was part of the plan when I travelled there in 2025. The travel plan was USA → Mexico → Peru → USA again → Home, and I was hoping to get a Linkin Park show when I went to the ‘USA Again’. They were performing in Pittsburgh, and I was visiting a friend there. But then, when I was in Mexico City, something made me change my mind. The hostel I stayed at was playing Linkin Park music almost every day on their common area vibe playlist. Now, this is not something that happens in many places. Definitely didn’t happen in the US when I was there. That’s when I realized, each country or even a city for that matter, perceives a music artist in a different way. And a live show is not just about the band, it’s also about the crowd. So, I felt like I’d ideally watch them with a crowd that perceives and vibes with them in a way that I can relate to. Mexico City felt like one of those crowds, but Linkin Park had hinted at coming to India earlier that year, so what could be better than catching them live in Bangalore? It was bold of me to assume they would come to Bangalore out of all the other Indian cities. (Hot take: Bangalore/North East are the only places in India I’m attending rock music shows).
I took a bold bet, skipped attempting watch them in the US, and hoped they would come to Bangalore. I was mildly disappointed when they announced the Mumbai show first, but I also felt like they got the low-hanging fruit first before attempting to figure out Bangalore. Bands like Coldplay have previously said they wanted to play in Bangalore but couldn’t figure out the venue. But Linkin Park is a band that has the energy of “we will figure this out somehow”. And so does Bangalore - it’s a city that knows how to figure shit out when something is really needed. And they both did. A venue popped up in Devanahalli, and they teased the show with subtly hinted billboard signs. I got a fan pit ticket.
Of course, people complained about the venue being so far away from the city in Devanahalli. But I lived there for about 18 months, and it did feel like the perfect place for a show like that. Besides, these complaining folks wouldn’t have been happy even if the venue had been any closer. I reckon they’re the folks who’d expect Linkin Park members to be delivered home in 10 minutes for a live private show after they place an order on a smartphone app. As for me, whenever I go to Devanahalli, I love the last bit of the drive after crossing the ring road near Hebbal Lake. It always feels nice to leave the city behind and move into the realm of mountains, lakes, vineyards, wide open skies, and all kinds of flying things. That’s just what I need before an experience of a lifetime like this one. And finally, while I could travel and watch them in a random city, nothing beats getting a sunset by Nandi Hills and some churmuri before a Linkin Park show.
We reached the venue and walked in around the time Bloodywood was halfway through their opening act before Linkin Park. I liked their music, but it was too energetic for that moment, for there was the fear of jumping too much and getting too tired before the Linkin Park show even started. After their performance was a break, during which they played an interesting choice of Indian music. Very indie stuff - like Hanumankind, Raghu Dixit, Farhan Akhtar. I loved that they played Lokada Kalaji by Raghu Dixit, which is based on a centuries-old Kannada song that also tells you that it doesn’t matter in the end.
The show started with a signature light beam going out into the sky, which I had seen in so many YouTube videos. I tried hard not to tell my friend about this and succeeded in keeping it a surprise for him. He was happy I did. I sang along to most of their songs, and so did most of the crowd. It was very delightful to see a good part of the crowd singing along to even their new music, so it wasn’t like people came just for nostalgia’s sake. Many friends asked which song was my favorite, and I couldn’t name one. I loved all of them, and that’s why I got a fanpit ticket. But for someone who has heard almost all their tracks and knows most of the lyrics, I was pleasantly surprised by their performance of ‘Lost’. Unlike the studio version, their live performance started on a very mellow note, with a spotlight on just Mike playing the keys and Emily singing very melodiously. And then the drums and guitar came in as they came from some other galaxy through a wormhole. It was a nice warm-up, given that this was performed right after the mid-time interval.
Lost, Live in Bengaluru (not filmed by me):
Overall, I had no words to say how much I enjoyed the show. I still don’t. It was an experience of a lifetime, something to hope to tell my grandkids about. It was one of those things that makes you want to have kids and grandkids just so you can tell them about it. The only true testament of how much it stuck with me was my motorbike, on which I spent an hour trying to get out of the venue. Such a thing is not new, given Bangalore traffic, but being blissfully lost inside my head and not getting angry at the traffic - that is a novel thing. I could barely hear anybody honking or feel any frustration inching my motorbike forward as the music was still ringing in my ears. And finally, those 2 hours helped me consolidate my personalities from different ages because some music just instantly transports you back to when you first heard it. So, as they played songs from various albums, I travelled back and forth between various years between 2009 and 2026. I hope this journey will continue into the future years with the same energy!