Deftones Bring on the Blood Moon with Rooftop Performance in NYC: Recap, Photos + Video

Setting the Stage: After twice postponing their highly anticipated tour due to the pandemic, Deftones have finally hit the road again. Most of the fans in attendance at the Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City had been holding onto their tickets for two years, and they were rewarded with a beautiful night of perfect weather on Sunday (May 15th). Not to mention, a full moon hung over the evening’s festivities, with a sensational real-life backdrop that included the Empire State Building to the left and the Brooklyn Bridge to the right. In fact, later on that night, a “blood moon” would be visible due to a total lunar eclipse. If that weren’t enough, French metal masters Gojira were providing direct support, with Australian electronic duo VOWWS opening the evening.

Taking the Stage: With the Rooftop at Pier 17 enforcing a strict curfew of 10 p.m., Deftones took the stage at the nice and early time of 8:20, just as the evening turned dark. The sold-out crowd roared as frontman Chino Moreno and company launched into opening number “Genesis” from their latest album, 2020’s Ohms. When Heavy Consequence spoke with Moreno prior to the tour’s kickoff, the singer told us that he was looking forward to hitting the stage again after so much time off due to the pandemic. “I think it is going to be cathartic, where I’m gonna go out there and just like completely vent and sort of free up some of that tension,” he predicted. And that’s exactly what Moreno did. The vocalist was in full rage mode, pacing the stage as the band followed up with “Rocket Skates” and “Prayers/Triangles.”

Around the Fur favorites like “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” and “My Own Summer (Shove It)” turned up early in the set, as well, eliciting a huge response from the audience. Deftones made sure to represent every one of their nine albums, playing at least one song from each LP. Diamond Eyes got the most love, with the title track, “Royal,” and “Sextape” joining the aforementioned “Rocket Skates” in the set.

Having never gotten a chance to fully celebrate the 20th anniversary of their epic 2000 album, White Pony, Deftones offered up that LP’s “Knife Prty,” “Digital Bath” and “Change (In the House of Flies).” The band went old-school for its encore, ending the night with Around the Fur’s Lotion and the set-closer “Engine No. 9” from their 1995 debut, Adrenaline.

Prior to Deftones’ set, Gojira took the stage at roughly 6:50 p.m., so it was still daylight out, offering a somewhat odd atmosphere for the group’s dark and crushing music. Still, the band brought the heavy with a blistering 11-song performance featuring four tunes from their latest effort, 2021’s Fortitude, including set-opener “Born for One Thing.”

With power and precision, frontman Joe Duplantier and company also played a number of songs from Magma and From Mars to Sirius, as well as the epic title track from L’Enfant Sauvage. Gojira took the stage following an opening performance from VOWWS, who delivered a short set of guitar-driven electronic tunes.

See our photos of Deftones, Gojira, and VOWWS performing at NYC’s Rooftop at Pier 17 below, followed by fan-filmed video clips and the setlists for Deftones and Gojira. Pick up tickets to the tour’s remaining shows via Ticketmaster.

Photo Gallery – Deftones, Gojira and VOWWS at NYC’s Rooftop at Pier 17 (click to enlarge and scroll through):

All photos by Johnny Perilla.

Fan-filmed Video Clips:

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Deftones Setlist:
Genesis
Rocket Skates
Prayers/Triangles
Royal
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Tempest
Swerve City
Digital Bath
Knife Prty
Beware
Sextape
Diamond Eyes
Rosemary
Bloody Cape
Change (In the House of Flies)
Ohms
Encore:
Lotion
Engine No. 9

Gojira Setlist:
Born for One Thing
Backbone
Stranded
Flying Whales
The Cell
Love / Remembrance
Hold On
Grind
Silvera
L’enfant sauvage
Amazonia

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