Megadeth concert experience
Last wednesday, I had the pleasure of going to see my favorite metal band, Megadeth. As has been said many times by people who have just met me, i'm the last person they could see at a heavy metal concert. I am a metalhead to my soul and I have seen tons of great metal bands live and will continue to do so. No one ever gives me crap. I may be a grain of pepper in a bowlful of salt but there are few places that I feel more comfortable than at a metal concert. All the strangers who come up to me feel obliged to tell me how cool they think it is that I, a black man, is out to support metal. I need music that gets my adrenaline pumping. I listen to everything because there's nothing worse than being discriminative to a certain form of music that you don't listen to. I listen to rap but I don't like it. I've tried the popular groups and the less popular ones and save for Jay-Z and Eminem, it doesn't appeal to me. I don't hear any r&b I can get behind. I listen to country (its hard not to, its everywhere these days) and I could say the same for that. I like jazz, classical and the adult pop like Billy Joel or Celine Dion. Still, there are only a few I can really get behind. For my money give me rock, metal and alternative. Keep in mind I am separating the genres. Megadeth is my favorite metal band. Aerosmith is the greatest rock band and Nine Inch Nails is the greatest alternative band of our generation and probably any other generation.
Back to Megadeth. The date was Wednesday, September 13. The Megadeth headlined Gigantour. Some of the other bands there were Overkill, Arch Enemy, Opeth and Lamb of God. I worked the same day and Overkill was already on stage as I got to the arena. Luckily, my job and the arena were only blocks apart. I did hear some of their set in the lobby and wasn't impressed. There was alot going on, the most appealing thing being a promotion going on with the bands where you could get a cd signed by the band themselves. As far as Megadeth went, their cd has not been released yet. If you preordered their disc, you got to meet the band and get a signed lithograph of the new cd cover for just $15. This was the third time i've been to a Megadeth show and would be the second time i've met Dave Mustaine. You can see a pic of us in my pics area...After thinking it over, I decided it was well worth it. I would buy the disc when it came out anyway. I have always had the greatest respect for Dave because he is one of the most intelligent rock stars I have ever met. The man is a realist. He has an uncompromising view of the world and its politics and is not afraid to put it in his music. He and Steve Vai are the greatest guitar players I have ever heard. Both are fast yet technical players. The average guitar player can't do what they do as flawlessly.
Dave was very cool the first time I met him and this time was no different. Even though the staff took a half hour longer than the time they said getting us backstage we made it. When we got close enough to the podium we saw our heroes, lithographs on the table before them. I got to shake Dave's hand and thank him again for being such a longtime inspiration. We even joked about how long he would keep performing. The need for that adrenaline rush never leaves you. I haven't been on stage as an actor or comic in years and the urge is still overwhelming at times. As long as there is a Megadeth, I will support them at every opportunity. If you're looking for a truly great metal band, go back and buy Peace Sells, Killing is my Business, So Far, So Good, So What and the latest discs. All works of metal mastery. I took my lithograph, autographed by each band member to my car post haste. There was a Kinko's staring at me from across the street so I took it in and had it laminated on the spot.
The show itself was a relentless assault on the ears and the neck. I was on my feet the entire set, headbanging like those standing in front of the stage from my spot at the rail of the club section. The band tore through their catalog with barely a word. In typical Dave fashion, he got on the mic to say hello to his hometown crowd and to tell us he's not going to say much so they could play more songs. No problem with that. Almost two hours later, everyone was a happy, sweaty mess. Unlike every other band that has a new cd coming out, Megadeth did not hit us with a bunch of new tracks off the upcoming cd. They played the songs we all wanted to hear. Dave knows we are going to buy the new stuff regardless. I wish other bands would follow that example. The band played exactly ONE song from the upcoming disc and they saved that one as one of the three songs they used in the encore. It was a very cool track called 'Washington is Next'. Lots of great shredding.
As it turns out, that night was also Dave Mustaine's birthday. As the set ended, a chocolate cake was brought out, candles blazing. One of the other band members led a rousing, off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday". Dave got back on the mic and sheepishly told us he had hoped to make it out of town without the news getting out but I know otherwise. Where else would you want to spend your birthday on tour than in your hometown, with your family? After taking a sample of the chocolate frosting for himself, Dave took the rectangular cake in his hands and hurled it into the pit where it was swarmed upon by everyone within ten feet. Balloons dropped from the ceiling, fireworks went off. Good times. Thanks Dave, for including us.
One last story I have to share. The first time I met Dave was on the System Has Failed tour a couple of years ago in Milwaukee. As I was about two people from being next to speak to him, this goregous woman with a huge pair of 'twins' stood before Dave and opened her blouse so he could signed them. Every eye within distance bulged and mouths, including mine, started to water. Dave, without missing a beat, gave her a smile and said "Sorry, I don't do that anymore. I'm a family man now". My mouth was on the floor at hearing this. That was the hottest woman I had seen in an exceedingly long time. Keep in mind I was living in Wisconsin. I've had the privilege of hanging with quite a few rock stars over the last decade or so and that was quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. My respect and awe for him deepened right then and there. I urge everyone to see Megadeth when they come to your town for a true metal experience. Dave Mustaine for President!
Back to Megadeth. The date was Wednesday, September 13. The Megadeth headlined Gigantour. Some of the other bands there were Overkill, Arch Enemy, Opeth and Lamb of God. I worked the same day and Overkill was already on stage as I got to the arena. Luckily, my job and the arena were only blocks apart. I did hear some of their set in the lobby and wasn't impressed. There was alot going on, the most appealing thing being a promotion going on with the bands where you could get a cd signed by the band themselves. As far as Megadeth went, their cd has not been released yet. If you preordered their disc, you got to meet the band and get a signed lithograph of the new cd cover for just $15. This was the third time i've been to a Megadeth show and would be the second time i've met Dave Mustaine. You can see a pic of us in my pics area...After thinking it over, I decided it was well worth it. I would buy the disc when it came out anyway. I have always had the greatest respect for Dave because he is one of the most intelligent rock stars I have ever met. The man is a realist. He has an uncompromising view of the world and its politics and is not afraid to put it in his music. He and Steve Vai are the greatest guitar players I have ever heard. Both are fast yet technical players. The average guitar player can't do what they do as flawlessly.
Dave was very cool the first time I met him and this time was no different. Even though the staff took a half hour longer than the time they said getting us backstage we made it. When we got close enough to the podium we saw our heroes, lithographs on the table before them. I got to shake Dave's hand and thank him again for being such a longtime inspiration. We even joked about how long he would keep performing. The need for that adrenaline rush never leaves you. I haven't been on stage as an actor or comic in years and the urge is still overwhelming at times. As long as there is a Megadeth, I will support them at every opportunity. If you're looking for a truly great metal band, go back and buy Peace Sells, Killing is my Business, So Far, So Good, So What and the latest discs. All works of metal mastery. I took my lithograph, autographed by each band member to my car post haste. There was a Kinko's staring at me from across the street so I took it in and had it laminated on the spot.
The show itself was a relentless assault on the ears and the neck. I was on my feet the entire set, headbanging like those standing in front of the stage from my spot at the rail of the club section. The band tore through their catalog with barely a word. In typical Dave fashion, he got on the mic to say hello to his hometown crowd and to tell us he's not going to say much so they could play more songs. No problem with that. Almost two hours later, everyone was a happy, sweaty mess. Unlike every other band that has a new cd coming out, Megadeth did not hit us with a bunch of new tracks off the upcoming cd. They played the songs we all wanted to hear. Dave knows we are going to buy the new stuff regardless. I wish other bands would follow that example. The band played exactly ONE song from the upcoming disc and they saved that one as one of the three songs they used in the encore. It was a very cool track called 'Washington is Next'. Lots of great shredding.
As it turns out, that night was also Dave Mustaine's birthday. As the set ended, a chocolate cake was brought out, candles blazing. One of the other band members led a rousing, off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday". Dave got back on the mic and sheepishly told us he had hoped to make it out of town without the news getting out but I know otherwise. Where else would you want to spend your birthday on tour than in your hometown, with your family? After taking a sample of the chocolate frosting for himself, Dave took the rectangular cake in his hands and hurled it into the pit where it was swarmed upon by everyone within ten feet. Balloons dropped from the ceiling, fireworks went off. Good times. Thanks Dave, for including us.
One last story I have to share. The first time I met Dave was on the System Has Failed tour a couple of years ago in Milwaukee. As I was about two people from being next to speak to him, this goregous woman with a huge pair of 'twins' stood before Dave and opened her blouse so he could signed them. Every eye within distance bulged and mouths, including mine, started to water. Dave, without missing a beat, gave her a smile and said "Sorry, I don't do that anymore. I'm a family man now". My mouth was on the floor at hearing this. That was the hottest woman I had seen in an exceedingly long time. Keep in mind I was living in Wisconsin. I've had the privilege of hanging with quite a few rock stars over the last decade or so and that was quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. My respect and awe for him deepened right then and there. I urge everyone to see Megadeth when they come to your town for a true metal experience. Dave Mustaine for President!
posted by TheLegacyKey | 11:01 PM
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