The defiant screech of the guitar signaled the beginning of Deftones’ set at the T-Mobile Stage on Saturday evening.
People immediately started flocking towards the stage, running and pushing past one another to get the best view.
The punch of the drums and crisp guitar chords echoed from the stage as the band started their set with “This Place is Death.” It started with a shimmery intro of warped instrumentation before crashing down with lead singer Chino Moreno’s incendiary vocals and thick drums.
Deftones is an alternative metal group originating from Sacramento, California in 1988, consisting of Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham, bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado.
Though the band has been making music for decades, they gained the popularity of Gen-Z over the past few years with many of their songs blowing up on TikTok.
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“Wassup Chicago,” Moreno said, addressing the crowd before starting on “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away).”
“I wanna see you get up — everybody get up!” Moreno howled as the jumbo screen glitched blue and red, showcasing the crowd jumping up and down while banging their heads.
The band began to play “Tempest” as Moreno ran across the stage, jumping around as he wailed the lyrics into the microphone
From the very beginning of their set, Deftones showcased an incredible performance and stage presence and made it impossible for guests not to be engrossed in their performance.
The audience moshed towards the front of the stage as the shriek of the guitar and the heavy guitar guided Moreno through “Diamond Eyes,” a song off of their 2010 album, “Diamond Eyes.”
“Thank you,” Moreno said. “Everybody cool? Cool, f— it. Let’s f—— go.”
The jumbo screens pixelated showing Moreno yelling into the microphone, drenched in sweat, his hair matted to his face and shirt stuck to his back.
He went up to the barricade leaning into the audience as they shrieked the lyrics, as fog rose from the stage and strobe lights pulsed in time with the music.
The band dove into “Mascara,” a song off of their 1997 album “Around the Fur.”
It starts as a slow burn, the dissonant guitar chords growing louder as the song progresses. The guitar is soon joined by a chorus of melancholic drums and Moreno’s hushed vocals.
“I feel soon, I will sink,” he sang, the drums beating steadily behind him.
“Mascara,” is one of the more pensive songs on “Around the Fur” and looks back on a failed relationship between Moreno and his wife at the time, who never listened to his music.
“You guys ready?” Moreno asked before performing the band’s final song of the evening, “Genesis.”
“Let’s f—— go.”
