{"id":3849,"date":"2026-05-03T10:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T10:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/3849\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T10:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T10:36:13","slug":"live-review-deftones-turn-sydney-into-their-own-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/3849\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Review: Deftones Turn Sydney Into Their Own Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Fan Photo for Illustration purposes only<\/p>\n

There are legacy bands, and then there are bands who continue to grow. Deftones<\/a> belong firmly in the second category. Returning to Qudos Bank Arena for the first of two Sydney shows, the Sacramento icons delivered a performance that felt less like a victory lap and more like a band still pushing forward in real time.<\/p>\n

Even before doors opened, the scene outside the arena said plenty. A striking number of younger fans lined up early alongside longtime followers, proof that Deftones<\/a>\u2019 audience is not fading with age,\u00a0 it is expanding. Few bands from their era continue to pull in a new generation quite like this. Through streaming culture, social media discovery, and the timeless pull of their blend of heaviness and beauty, their music has found fresh ears.<\/p>\n

Ecca Vandal Warms Up The Room Room<\/p>\n

Opening the night was Ecca Vandal, fresh from a high-profile run at Coachella, and she hit the stage with a force to be reckoned with. This was no polite support set. It was explosive, sharp, and packed with urgency.<\/p>\n

Blending punk attitude, hip-hop swagger, and alternative chaos, Ecca immediately took command of the room. Backed by a tight live band and delivering with total conviction, she felt less like an opener and more like an artist staking her claim on a much larger stage. Those who got in early were rewarded.<\/p>\n

Interpol Bring the Shadows<\/p>\n

Interpol followed with a set that perfectly matched their long-established aesthetic. Dark, moody lighting cloaked the stage, while strobes pulsed in sync with the beat, adding a mechanical heartbeat to their cool precision.<\/p>\n

Formed in New York City in the late 1990s, Interpol emerged as one of the defining bands of the early-2000s post-punk revival. Their landmark debut Turn on the Bright Lights helped usher angular guitars, brooding basslines, and detached elegance back into the mainstream. More than two decades later, they remain masters of restraint, letting tension and atmosphere do the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

Deftones: Passion, Power, and Alt. Metal Precision<\/p>\n

When Deftones<\/a> finally took the stage, it became clear quickly that this was a band operating at full strength.<\/p>\n

What stands out most about Chino Moreno in 2026 is how much he still loves what he does. There was a constant smile breaking through the intensity, the expression of someone completely in his element. It never felt like routine or obligation, it felt like genuine passion.<\/p>\n

Moreno gave one hundred percent of himself to every song. He hurled himself physically and emotionally into the set, often ending tracks visibly exhausted, bent over and catching his breath before launching straight into the next one. That commitment gave the show a raw honesty no amount of stage production can manufacture.<\/p>\n

The rest of the band matched that energy. Deftones<\/a> made a clear effort to connect with the crowd throughout the night, acknowledging fans, feeding off the room, and making a large arena feel intimate. It is a simple touch, but one that separates a good show from a memorable one.<\/p>\n

A Setlist for Every Generation<\/p>\n

Night one\u2019s setlist balanced classics with deeper cuts and newer material, moving confidently across the band\u2019s catalogue.<\/p>\n

Early highlights like Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and My Own Summer (Shove It) sent the crowd into immediate overdrive, while Diamond Eyes and Swerve City proved their later-era material now carries the same weight as the old favourites.<\/p>\n

There was room too for atmosphere and emotion. Digital Bath, Tempest, Mascara, Beauty School, and Hole in the Earth gave the set its dreamlike ebb and flow, allowing the band\u2019s more textured side to breathe before diving back into sheer heaviness.<\/p>\n

Then came the encore. Cherry Waves provided a moment of collective release before the band detonated the room with My Own Summer and a savage closing 7 Words. It was the perfect emotional-to-chaotic ending.<\/p>\n

Final Verdict<\/p>\n

Some bands survive long enough to become heritage acts. Deftones<\/a> have avoided that fate entirely. Instead, they have become something rarer: a multi-generational band still creating urgency, still drawing new fans, and still performing with hunger.<\/p>\n

Night one at Qudos Bank Arena was heavy, immersive, emotional, and delivered by a group who still care deeply about what happens on stage.<\/p>\n

Sydney got Deftones<\/a> at their absolute best!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fan Photo for Illustration purposes only There are legacy bands, and then there are bands who continue to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5096,4766,5097,5098,4773,4775,4777,247],"class_list":["post-3849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-chino-moreno","tag-deftones","tag-deftones-australian-tour","tag-deftones-review","tag-deftones-sydney","tag-ecca-vandal","tag-interpol","tag-sydney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}