Back in the summer of 2000, I had the privilege of watching Deftones play for a total of three people, rehearsing their entire White Pony tour set in their Sacramento HQ. With Chino Moreno running up and down a half pipe skate ramp, and drummer Abe Cunningham playing so hard that his hands were dripping blood onto his snare drum skin, the quintet performed like they were headlining a stadium, their commitment undeniable.
Sadly, at times, over the ensuing years, it felt like too many of the band had lost their passion for the music, and were merely going through the motions on-stage, numbed by chemicals and boredom, which has made their late-career renaissance all the more special. Tonight, ahead of a searing Rocket Skates, Chino Moreno looks out at the 50,000 fans gathered in front of his band at their biggest-ever UK headline show, and utters two words, "Holy shit!" It's a sweet little moment which perfectly captures how much this means to the alt. metal legends in 2026, and just how far they've come since the turn of the century, negotiating the ups and downs of their storied career.
It's hard to imagine that Deafheaven or Wisp would be here today were it not for Deftones, and their mastery of dream-to-nightmare dynamics. Both San Francisco acts sound glorious today.
Playing on the North Arena stage, George Clarke's triple-guitar collective only have 40 minutes to pulverise the audience into submission, but blackgaze's own Lynyrd Skynyrd do so magnificently with Lonely People With Power highlights Doberman and Magnolia, and Sunbather-era classic Dream House, introduced coyly by Clarke as "a song you might know." Ahead of a closing Winona the band's frontman promises that his crew will have new music to play the next time they're in the UK, which earns the biggest cheer of their set.
