Deftones A Concert Review	October 21, 1996 The Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, IL A Review by Stu Gotz Photos by: The Dude on the Right

Chino Moreno

The Deftones entered the stage only being allowed about 1/10th of it and Stephen Carpenter, lead guitar, and Chi Cheng, bass, unleashed with their instruments a heavy sound that took the Horizon by surprise. This was definitely not like KISS's only top ten hit "Beth."

Stephen Carpenter

When Chino Moreno tried to chime in, I guess he caught the guy at the sound board sleeping because you couldn't hear a word. About two songs later you could hear Chino singing, but understanding his words was a completely different matter. It wasn't that they were poetic and deep. You just couldn't make them out. Hmmm... Maybe he's into opera and was singing in Italian or something (for those of you who didn't recognize it, my last comment was intended to be a humorous and sarcastic one).

The fact that the Deftones were a "loud, pounding, can't understand a word sung, cross between Rage-Against-The-Machine and White-Zombie" band didn't bother me. I was digging their performance and was kind of bummed that there was no place for me to mix it up and mosh a little. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for their return to Chicago's Metro on December 4th. Most of the KISS crowd, however, was not as accepting as I was. I guess they didn't like the idea of a "thrash" band to open for a late "70's - early 80's gimmick rock-and-roll band" like KISS. The apparent lack of chemistry between the KISS crowd and the Deftones was obvious to Chino, but he didn't let that bother him. He continued to enjoy himself by jumping about the stage like a skateboarder who drank too much Jolt Cola.

 

Chino

In his performance stupor he stopped to take a few pot-shots at the audience by reminding them how much their tickets cost and saying something to the effect of "All you parents can boo all you want. Your kids are gonna buy our CD with your money." This I understood and it left me cracking up in my seat.

So... Were the Deftones the right band to open for KISS? Musically I'd have to say it was a mismatch. But consider this: I first learned of KISS through my buddy Joe Sour back around 1976. I thought they were the coolest! My parents, on the other hand, would not allow me to listen to them because they were "evil." Today we all realize that KISS was not "evil," they were just marketed that way (much like Jessica Rabbit wasn't bad - she was just drawn that way). That whole Devil and make-up thing was just to sell records. Look what happened when they lost their make-up for "KISS Unmasked." I think it sold all of two records, and that was by accident. It took me 20 years and 54 bucks to finally quench my KISS thirst. By the same rational that my parents used to keep me away from KISS, I can see parents being afraid of the "weird looking, dread-lock wearing, clothes not fitting" band the Deftones. In the year 2016 there will a bunch of 28 year olds shelling out 108 dollars to see the band their parents refused to let them listen too.

 

Abe Cunningham

Parents of the world, I urge you to listen to me now. The Deftones are not weird and actually have some musical talent. Hmmm... Maybe these two bands do have a lot in common. Both are misunderstood in their times.

I liked the Deftones and I liked their hard thrashing performance. If you're an old skateboard punk (like me) and like to thrash, bash, and mosh (like me) then the Deftones are for you. If you're still fuming about Eddie Van Halen dumping David Lee or are trying to find a scalper with Who tickets, then the Deftones are not a band for you. Regardless of how much I liked the performance I can only give the Deftones ONE BIG THUMB UP because of audience response. I'm Stu Gotz! 'nuff said.