Fort Minor Review
Fort Minor
House Of Blues, Chicago
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Mike Shinoda has something to prove with his hip-hop side project Fort Minor. True, his regular role in Linkin Park has roots in hip-hop, but when coupled with the screaming chops of Chester Bennington, the band comes off as more rock-based. It’s no secret Shinoda has a love for hip-hop; he garnered a Linkin Park collaboration with Jay-Z for the mash-up album Collision Course. So, Shinoda has us wondering if he is capable of leading a hip-hop group or better off as one part of a rock hybrid band. Based on Sunday’s gig, Shinoda deserves respect as a head MC.
This respect is in part due to the people Shinoda surrounds himself with; accompanying him onstage, were Tak, Ryu, and DJ Cheapshot of Styles Of Beyond. The hip-hop group has a fairly good sized following that started in Los Angeles in the mid-’90s. Their first single “Killer Instinct” started a buzz in the underground hip-hop scene, eventually leading to a deal with Linkin Park’s label Machine Shop. The delivery of MCs Tak and Ryu couple well with Shinoda’s forceful flows for grooving back and forth rhymes, especially when they performed “Mr. Brown,” a track from SOB’s album Megadef.
Rather than just spitting these rhymes on top of a recorded track, the accompaniment was provided by a drummer, three string players, and a trio of backup vocalists. The string arrangements were incorporated into almost every song, excluding a duet with labelmate Holly Brook on “Where’d You Go.” Brook was a bit detached from the song, blankly standing there while she sang the mellow chorus.
Shinoda, on the other hand, projected an incredibly energetic performance. Maybe this was in part due to his displayed beer drinking, but it seemed he was just having a good time. And the audience was eating it up. The crowd supplied Bennington’s part when Shinoda paid homage to his day job by incorporating the Linkin Park songs, “In The End,” “It’s Going Down, and fittingly the first song of the encore, “Encore,” followed by Fort Minor tracks, “High Road,” “There They Go”, and “Petrified.”
Overall Shinoda’s performance conjures thoughts that this guy is capable of heading a hip-hop group and rock band. Move over Chester, Shinoda may be the new powerhouse frontman.
— Jill Haverkamp
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
yalls can gone sum where they both rox, theyre both hot(mike),n they both different.so what.BEER ist not gonna kill em.luv mikey n chester
4 evr.linkink park alwyz
hes japanese american bi tha way. hot+creative+cool+smart+talented+hot=mike shinoda
JUST PERFECT!!!!!
veio o mike é o melhor vocalista
q eu ja ouvi em tada minha vida
ele é alot lokoOoo
abraços pro mike d seu fã marcos de avaré
..LiNkin PaRk wAs sO aMaZiNg..
i LoVe tHeiR SoNgS VeRy mUcH..
i LoVe tHeM wHeN ThEy rOcK ThE WoRLd..
miKe sHiNoDa iS OnE Of a KiNd WhO DeSerVe a vErY MuCh rEsPeCt..
i LoVe yOu sO MuCh miKe!!!!
mUuUaAAwWwhhHh . .. . . . .!!
Lindooooooo!
mike çok tatl? çok ba?ar?l? ?ark?lar?na bay?l?yorum umar?m böyle devam ederr ve çokk yak???kl?? seni seviyorummm mikeeee
Hi, Mike Shinoda
I like all of your songs.
I like the way you sing in Linkin Park and I like your style in Fort Minor.
I wish hope you will always sing for Linkin Park.
And I hope one day you will come to Myanmar.
No matter – you come as Linkin Park or Fort Minor.
I’ll be really happy to see you.
I L*** you so much.
Fort Minor – The Best!!!!
Mike and Chester r both AWESOME!! i love them bothh and ppl need to really quit compariinq them., they both rokc their own style and them beiinq together isz what makesz linkin park the BEST band everrr!!!! madd love to both Chezy and Mike!
mike, i´m spanish
sigo vuestra música desde hace un año y me parece que eres un fenomeno tocando el piano, la guitarra, rapeando y como persona
eres el mejor
y animo para continuar siendolo
evrybody fans of mike shinoda, chester… please add my messenger: natuf6@hotmail.com
mikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee you´re the best
aaaaaaay que me pilla mi profeee XD