Deftones live!

Deftones
Riviera, Chicago
Friday, June 15, 2007

For a fair amount of time, the Deftones were facing their share of setbacks. Frontman Chino Moreno’s battle with alcoholism while touring behind the group’s celebrated 2000 release, White Pony, was hardly a secret. And tensions were said to run high within the Deftones camp during 2003’s self-titled effort and ensuring tour, with rumors of implosion following the band at every turn. So, in light of these past setbacks, it was all the sweeter to witness Deftones for what they’ve become post-crisis: ferocious, synchronized, and, most of all, efficient.

Over the course of a seemingly epic show last Friday at the Riv, the group generously traversed through their back catalog, with little to no chatter between songs, and almost no time wasted. Moments from 1997’s breakthrough, Around The Fur, such as “Ihabia” came quick on the heels of crowd favorites like “My Own Summer (Shove It),” still rabid after about a decade. Elsewhere, White Pony selections like the strained quiet-loud experiment of “Passenger” and the feedback-laden “Digital Bath,” all horror romance and reverb soak, helped provide compelling arguments for Pony as the peak of Deftones’ art-metal heights. All but absent was anything from the group’s self-titled disc, perhaps hinting that, while the trials may be behind them, there’s little reason to revisit them onstage.

Yet for all the visits down memory lane, the evening’s most compelling material came in the form of newer Saturday Night Wrist material, like the ominous and unsettling “Beware The Water.” Most memorable, however, were Wrist moments like the surprisingly lilting and melodic “Cherry Waves” as well as “Xerces,” which remained sparse and restrained until crashing down into a hypnotic and repeating refrain of “Goodbye/I’ll be waiting.” Both songs stood out as not only some of the night’s strongest moments, but contenders for some of the group’s strongest songs to date.

Hopefully the worst of the Deftones’ trials are behind them now, as the group seem to be playing markedly tighter than in years past. Should they maintain the momentum and creative streak they’ve recently tapped into, it’s not entirely implausible to consider the group might one day end with something that years ago they might never have considered: a legacy.

— Jaime de’Medici

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly