Live Review: Deftones, Hydra Da Hero

It's a weird vibe inside The Tivoli with news filtering around that billed support letlive. have had to cancel their appearance tonight due to unexplained travel issues. In the group's place is LA-via-Houston rapper Hyro Da Hero, the MC in the unenviable position of performing to a room rammed with metal fans. Fair play to the 25-year-old and his beat wizard Daniel Anderson (Glowbug) though; they try their hardest to make the best of a bad situation. Hyro has his shirt off, muscles ripple, middle fingers are thrown and polite applause is given before the mention of Deftones generates the biggest cheer of the night thus far.

It's a sea of raised arms that greets Deftones when they take their positions one by one across the darkened stage. Chino Morino soaks up the adulation from the foldback monitors while the rest of the quintet give the nod and rip straight into it; the new school sounds of Rocket Skates and Diamond Eyes leading into a bit of fierce nostalgia in the way of Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away), which is seamlessly segued into My Own Summer (Shove It). The visceral nature of the performance is something else, and the unbridled energy that sends out songs like You've Seen The Butcher and Feiticeira is insane for a bunch of middle-aged blokes that have been in the game for 25 years. Deftones have always been masters of brutality with generous lashings of beauty, and that's highlighted this evening with Sextape and Riviére, but for the most part it's the Sacramento alt.metal kings bringing the hammer down on the packed house, again and again. One thing that is apparent is just how much the five-piece are enjoying music once more. Smiles are being shot every which way across the stage, jokes are shared, laughter is constantly visible, and their individual playing reflects this with that renewed passion felt through every one of Stephen Carpenter's riffs, through every beat sent out from drummer Abe Cunningham. Change (In The House Of Flies) draws out the crowd's voice for the biggest singalong of the night, before Bloody Cape caps an epic set which is then promptly trumped by an all-Adrenalin encore made up of Root, 7 Words and Engine No. 9, complete with Morino screaming heart and soul from the upper mezzanine level without missing a single cue. Considering the passing of former bassist Chi Cheng last month, the vibe of tonight's show could have been south before we even started. But for Deftones to come out and celebrate the music of their fallen friend so emphatically, it's probably the most touching tribute they could send towards the clouds.