Nothing says Merry Christmas like mosh pits, sweaty fans and loud rock music, unless of course it is KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas. Night One, the more "edgy" of the two nights of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas featured performances by rising stars Paramore, legends Bad Religion and chart toppers Linkin Park.

The format of the event was truly a thing of beauty as a "lazy Susan" of sorts was set up on the Gibson Amp. stage. One band performs their set and as soon as they were done, the next band was introduced and the stage revolved and the next band started right into their set. None of that annoying sound check and set up between bands.


Avenged Sevenfold

Night one of the annual event was decidedly more edgy and radio friendly. While the lineup looked like a normal 30 minute block of the artists you would see on KROQ any given day, the show was a showcase of some of the diversities in today's brands of rock music. From rising stars to legends to chart toppers, Night One was a fast paced, frenzied and loud unadulterated rock.

Hayley Williams Of Paramore

Say what you will about the music of these bands but each one of them put on a great show. Whether it was Paramore's firecracker of a lead Haley Williams jumping and getting the early arrivers rocking to the dueling guitar solos of Avenged Sevenfold and Rise Against each of these bands knew how to get the crowd live and involved in the show. The night also feature strong performances from Rise Against, Angels and Airwaves and System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian.

Tom Delonge - Angels And Airwaves

LA legends Bad Religion put on a clinic on straightforward punk. In a show full of bands that are emerging and, to be honest may not be around very long, Bad Religion are a testament to the idea of consistency. After spend nearly 20 years together, their live show is effortless yet completely entertaining. Frontman Greg Graffin said that it was his band that put the "Almost" into the event that did at one time feature acoustic performances.
Bad Religion


At the top of the bill was the rock/rap/punk/hardcore/etc. juggernaut, Linkin Park. One of the original nu-metal groups that emerged at the turn of the century Linkin Park are one of the only to have survived. Much of this can be attributed to their constant reinvention of not only their image but their musical styling as well. Previous work was blunt and straightforward, while on their newest work it is more styled and influenced by other artists outside the "nu-metal/rock/rap" world. Live the band is explosive, with co-frontman Chester Bennington providing most of the singing (and screaming) with co-frontman Mike Shinoda bringing the rap/hip-hop element into the mix. The band is tight and brings their plethora of sounds into a solid performance. While their new work maybe more mature than that of their early work, it is still the older songs like "One Step Closer" that get some of the loudest responses from the crowd.
Linkin Park

The one downfall of the format of the event was in fitting so many bands on at tight bill each band, other than the top two on the bill, were only alotted at max 30 min. for their set. For Night One, this actually made the event more enjoyable as there is only so much alt-rock/metal/punk one can take in a single serving but Night Two suffered from the format (more on that later). Overall it was a thing of beauty and while I must be honest and say being a fan of only a few of the groups on night one's bill I was not expecting much. However, as the night went on I was constantly entertained and impressed by the willingness and desire of each band to put on an excellent show and entertain their fans.

My Pics and Review of Night Two are coming soon....

All pics by Joey Maloney/LAist.com