Mike Shinoda (w/ Don Broco, grandson) @ The Masonic (San Francisco, CA) on November 6, 2018 [Photos & Show Review]

While making their way around the US on the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour, Mike Shinoda came through San Francisco for an evening at The Masonic with support from Don Broco and grandson. The first floor packed in a full crowd, which was surprising for Election night.

The evening kicked off earlier than expected (remember, kids, set times are subject to change from the times posted online), so I bolted to the photo pit as the first notes of “Everybody” came over the speakers. Don Broco consistently made it to the top of the list of acts not to miss during this summer’s last full cross-country run of Warped Tour (well, at least our list). Their contagious energy and easy-to-move-to songs make for a great show every time and they consistently set the bar very high. After the set I couldn’t help think why someone would ever put Don Broco first on a bill – it’s a hard act to follow.

Next up was grandson (stylized with a lowercase g). To my eyes, it appeared that it took some time for the crowd to get into the set, but once they did there was no turning back. Though the set felt short, they played through the entirety of their 2018 EP A Modern Tragedy, Vol. 1 at full force. grandson is an artist that was new to me that evening, but definitely someone I will keep an eye on moving forward. grandson closed out his set with “Blood // Water” and walked off with a heartfelt exclamation of “I love you. I hate Donald Trump. Goodnight!”

Check out Mike’s video for the “Lift Off” single featuring Chino Moreno and Machine Gun Kelly.

Mr. Mike Shinoda then took to the stage for what would turn into a heartwarming performance. While switching between performing Fort Minor tracks and music off his recent release, Shinoda made sure to take some time to talk to the audience about the late Chester Bennington, remembering him through some of Linkin Park’s most loved tracks. Throughout the tour, Shinoda has continued to ask the audience to sing Bennington’s part to “In The End” as he sings his and it was beautiful. Occasionally throughout the song, you could hear a single person’s voice increase for a given lyrics set, where it was obvious the line meant so a lot to them – it is amazing to see people come together through music.

While taking a break from singing to talk for a few minutes, Shinoda made a note that even though social media isn’t always a bad thing, it can often cause us to make “connections with screens and not faces – we forget to be human with one another […] and just listen a little bit more.”

The album Post Traumatic dropped on June 15, 2018, via Warner Bros. Records.

Towards the end of the set, Dave Phoenix Farrell of Linkin Park came out to make a guest appearance. A visit that didn’t last one or two songs, but for the entire rest of the set including the lengthy encore. Farrell talked about how his partner had given him a hard time about being a guest bassist on the tour – because you’ve heard of guest vocalists and guitarists tagging in, but have you really ever seen a bassist do that too? The audience definitely chuckled along with that.

It felt like the main set flew by, but a lengthy encore made up for it. From a source working on the tour, it was mentioned that Shinoda is shaking up his setlist each night, bringing a unique experience to every venue. For the last song of the night, grandson and crew came back on stage to perform “Running From My Shadow” which he made a guest appearance for on Shinoda’s latest release Post Tramatic.