Meet the Wild Card Support Acts on Linkin Park's Tour Opener Tonight

Linkin Park surprised its fans with the release of its fifth studio album, A Thousand Suns, last year. Its introductory single, "The Catalyst," was just a hint of the band's radical shift in direction. Chester Bennington's (New Times' interview with him is here) trademark nasal croon and existential lyrics stayed...

By Arielle Castillo

January 20, 2011

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Linkin Park surprised its fans with the release of its fifth studio album, A Thousand Suns, last year. Its introductory single, "The Catalyst," was just a hint of the band's radical shift in direction. Chester Bennington's (New Times' interview with him is here) trademark nasal croon and existential lyrics stayed intact, but gone were much of the band's previous hip-hop-lite posturing. In its place was a new fascination with more purely electronic sounds, borrowing heavily from festival-size trance synth washes and stuttering background beats.

As such, the bands Linkin Park has scheduled for support on its current tour, which kicks off tonight at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. Radio-ready heavy rock acts are nowhere to be found; instead, we've got too unexpected bands off the dance and even hipster-ish circuit.

First, there's Pendulum, originally from Perth, Australia but now based in the U.K. Their dark, stylized image and fusion of live rock with electronics will likely appeal to fans of the Israeli act Infected Mushroom.

But where that latter band deals mostly in trance beats, Pendulum has relied heavily on drum 'n' bass, and, lately, the flavor du jour, dubstep. All of their songs are still anchored on a typical rock song structure, though. For an example, here's "Watercolour," a big single off the band's 2010 album, Immersion.

Even more unexpected, probably, is the other supporting band, the British quintet Does It Offend You, Yeah? (Yes, it's written like that whole question). This truly surprises because up until now, at least, in the United States the band's fan base has been, to put it bluntly, hipsters. Most Americans likely know the dance-rock act from its rise during the so-called "New Rave" micro-scene a few years back, its Internet-popular remixes, and its appearances on uber-cool dance music compilations like the Kitsune Maison series.

Unlike some of its less lucky peers, though, DIOYY has survived its NME-style categorization and has gained a new fan base with an increasing emphasis on heavier guitar and a more direct "live" sound to its songs. The group has already opened for huge acts like Nine Inch Nails and the Prodigy, and already supported Linkin Park on its U.K. tour through the end of 2010.

Here's "We Are the Dead," a single the band released last year as a teaser for its new album due out this year, Don't Say We Didn't Warn You.

Linkin Park, with Pendulum and Does It Offend You, Yeah? 8 p.m. Thursday, January 20, at BankAtlantic Center, 1 Panther Parkway, Sunrise. Tickets cost $42.50 to $72.50. Call 800-745-3000, or click here.

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