So yes, I remained extremely smug. Why? Because, on the 7th of June, 2006, I was invited to an incredible opportunity; to see one of my favourite ever bands and one of the most important to me too, in a very small venue in the heart of London. Now I know I’m supposed to be cool and detached when I write these reviews, but in this instance, it’s a fairly impossible task. This is the only band I have kept since my early pubescence because they are one of the only “mainstream metal” bands with intelligence, creativity and real passionate energy about them. As a result, they’ve remained one of the most respected bands of the last ten years, with even some of the most obscure and unexpected bands and artists paying homage to the mighty Deftones.

Luckily, tonight’s set does that some justice. Deftones in recent years have been known as one of the most hit or miss live acts ever; it depends on whether they have been drinking (or anything else) or not. Tonight, they make quite a big point of the bottles of water they are each drinking, they’re on stage a good hour before the band are. In fact, the wait is slightly unbearable.

It’s a good job that Deftones turn up when they do, because some members of the audience were either ready to start a riot or just fall over in sequence due to cramp. That’s not to say Deftones don’t have a sloppy start though. ‘My Own Summer (Shove it)’ is all over the place, but sort of gets away with it, being a reckless song anyway, and impossible to recreate the atmosphere it manages on record. New song ‘Beware the Water’ is equally sloppy, showing that Chino hasn’t quite shaken off the Team Sleep cobwebs just yet. This would start worrying a number of fans in the crowd, who probably, on reflection, now are. But this was irrelevant tonight, because this was a fairly secret warm-up show before the aforementioned festival, and that means a set that only dreams are made of.

Once the new song is safely out the way, Deftones are free to really get going. ‘Hexagram’ just completely blows away the audience into the sort of euphoria – albeit a ‘moshing’ one – they came here for. They play one of their strongest anthems so tightly that you can’t be helped but be impressed with its “stop-start”, very unfriendly chorus and it’s very melodic verses – something quite obscure in music anyway, let alone Deftones.

And from this point on, the hits just keep on coming. Soon everyone is forgetting about that unpleasant wait and just amazed to be witnessing such a respected band, playing one of their tightest sets, in a venue possessing fantastic atmosphere. BANG! ‘Feiticeira’. BANG! ‘Bloody Cape’, BANG! ‘Around the Fur’; they go through some of their greatest material and never losing pace (apart from bizarrely including the cover of ‘No Ordinary Love’ which does not work in this set AT ALL). And it’s not all headbang fodder either, Deftones confidently trudge through their more ethereal pieces (although ‘Knife Party’ is ashamedly discarded) including ‘Minerva’ and ‘Change (in the House of Flies)’, both of which prove to be the beautiful, moving and powerful ballads they are on record. ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ however is probably the highest moment as they perfectly show the audience why it is both their most loved song and their most intelligent of ‘poppier’ moments.

But an hour and a half gone, you can’t help but think, ‘where do we go from here?’ They reach the climax of the main part of the set with the abominable and formidable ‘Headup’, all that is left on stage is Stephen Carpenter repeating a riff. It builds the tension very well; I’ll give you that as no one really knows what is coming. Everyone still has suggestions of songs that have been missed out, but no one wants to interrupt just yet. And the result, at first anyway, when the rest of the Deftones to return to the stage, is incredible.

Suddenly, the riff mutates, the audience can catch hints of what might be to come, but still aren’t totally sure. The band haven’t given any clues just yet as to what is about to happen, but then the audience don’t really need it, not when one of Deftones’ biggest songs and, more importantly, biggest riffs comes in; ‘Bored’. In the past, the band have been known to make the encore of their set a 20 minute medley of all the tracks from ‘Adrenaline’, but here, Deftones are completely independent, and as a result, a 20 minute medley just won’t do. “It will have to be the whole album”, screamed the band members unanimously.

This is an interesting choice for many reasons. First, ‘Adrenaline’ is by absolutely no means their most popular album. Second, it’s impossible for a lot of the audience to be too emotionally attached, not many of them were aware of Deftones when ‘Adrenaline’ was released. Third, this creates a bit of a split down the audience on who is still really enjoying this set, and who now, are not sure. These of course can all be counter-argued; Adrenaline is probably their most consistent album, arguably without a bad song on it. It also sounds fantastic live. Since this is the Deftones in 2000-and-6, the Deftones after three incredible and appreciated albums, the Deftones who, as the self titled released proved, now have a massive production sound, which comes over live meaning those who can’t bare “that” guitar sound on ‘Adrenaline’ can at least enjoy this a bit more; they make a great performance of it. Chino trying to still rap is cute, if a little embarrassing. The ultimate problem though, is that it just simply goes on for far too long. Those who aren’t into this album have ‘Bored’ and ‘7 words’ to enjoy and that’s about the end of it. Those who enjoy it, but not over their other releases, can bear with it up to a point (after all this is also an album with fantastic anthems such as ‘Lifter’ and ‘Birthmark’) but at about the time of track 9 will lose interest. It’s just everyone would have rather ended on a high note; one of their most loved songs saved for the very end rather than ending on the good (but not great) ‘Fireal’.

However, this can only take away from the set marginally. This is still a fantastic set full of amazing memories and experiences, but I don’t think anyone would have been crying if a couple songs off of ‘Adrenaline’ were substituted for the more consistent recent hits that were missed out of the initial set.

Words:Adam Turner-Heffer
Photo: Russel (website)