Linkin Park leaves fans wanting more

A homecoming. A celebration. A coming-of-age statement.

Linkin Park's sold-out March 4 bash at the Staples Center was all of these things and more. The band, which grew out of Los Angeles' fertile music scene, made an inescapable point of offering plenty of props to the city that first knew it as Xero and Hybrid Theory and then as Linkin Park.

What is especially moving is that all the thanks and kudos dispensed by frontmen Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington appeared genuine and heartfelt rather than calculated public relations gestures.

Linkin Park's Staples Center appearance underscored just how much wider its musical reach has become with its latest "Minutes to Midnight" album. The group started out as a nonpareil rap-rock outfit specializing in songs about searching for hope in knee-deep angst and alienation.

But with the Rick Rubin co-produced "Minutes to Midnight," the tempos, the instrumentation and the lyrical ideas are more varied, subtle and imaginative, thus making for a live show that was similarly multifaceted and compelling. Linkin Park moved comfortably from the more airy pop of its current alternative rock hit "Shadow of the Day" to the blood-pumping "Bleed It Out," the band's first out-and-out party anthem. The latter song was a show highlight and included an old-fashioned arena rock drum solo by Rob Bourdon and a little bit of band improvisation.

While it was the new songs that gave the Staples show a sense of currency, it was the older material that generated the most fevered audience response. Powerfully dense numbers "Crawling" and "Numb" had the arena floor hopping like a low rider with overactive hydraulics. Meanwhile, the crowd lustily sang along to "In the End." These early numbers also showcased the tight and amazingly in-step vocal interplay between Shinoda's gritty, sing-song raps and the more straightforward rock wailings of Bennington.

Linkin Park also received extra credit for its sleek, modernistic stage design. Because the sprawling stage was multi-tiered and featured various island-like platforms, the band members were able to address the audience from a multitude of positions. This allowed Bennington to stand on the stage's top rear tier and sing "Valentine's Day" directly facing the pocket of fans sitting behind the stage. This was an ingratiating act of inclusion and democracy.

The only thing that was puzzling about Linkin Park's homecoming appearance was why there wasn't an additional show booked somewhere in the Southland. Considering how quickly the Staples Center date sold out, the group probably could have performed a second night at one of the local hockey arenas. But if the intention was to follow that old show biz axiom of always leaving your fans wanting more, Linkin Park certainly accomplished this goal.