#Megadeth

Vice Turns 20 w/ Scarlett Johansen & More (Dec/2014)

Vice 20 Party – Dec 5th – 2014 – Duggal’s Greenhouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard – Brooklyn, NY

Tired as hell and it’s still raining out, but I was getting it together and catching my second and third winds with the anticipation of something that could be quite legendary. Vice – the irreverant global conglomerate – the taste maker for hipster worldwide and the corporate band for purists alike is turning 20 years old and to celebrate they were reaching deep into their stylish pockets for a blow out of trust-fund proportions.

When I arrived I expected a shitshow to rival the one earlier at the Foo Fighters but since I was a bit late the lines weren’t too insufferable and then you had to take a shuttle bus to the actual spot, three blocks away.
I arrived to long lines of mobbed open bars as usual (thankfully I’m not a big drinker so I really could care less) and free food trucks that were pretty underwhelming but who am I to complain, they were free, and for a poor kid from Texas it’s nuts that I’m even here to have an opinion on it.

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Music began at eleven but it was well after midnight when I arrived so I missed a few of the opening numbers but what they had lined up was a truly special, one-of-a-kind curation that combined hipster actors with forged on the spot supergroups and everything in between.
With a drink in my hand and a falafel in the order I made my way to the stage just as Nick Thorburn from the Rapture was hitting.

“House of Jealous Lovers, will always be the soundtrack to that magical summer when I first moved to NYC in 2006.
Next came something awesome, completely unexpected and my fave moment of the night when these too-cool-for-schoolers let some of my fave metallers onstage –
Dave Ellefson of Megadeth, Alex Skolnick of Testament, and Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste  for a medley of Metal classics.
For most of the night, Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs & co. served as backing band to a variety of singers (though there were just DJs for some rappers, and a few bands played themselves).
And here comes Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah and Raekwon doing classic “Daytona 500Ghostface Killah and Raekwon

Meredith Graves of Perfect Pussy introduced her cover of The Strokes’ infamous “New York Cops” by saying that black lives matter in reference to the recent senseless violence of innocents by police brutality and the protests in recent weeks that have divided the city.

Meredith Graves

It was mainly about covers, playing stuff everyone knows from unlikely sources – such as Jonah Hill (with director Spike Jonze on guitar) doing Drake’s “Marvin’s Room” and though not her first foray into the music world it was still other wordly just to see Scarlet Johansen in person, let alone see her sing Joy Division.

Jonah Hill

Scarlett Johansen

That buzz carried into an appearance – and actual performance – by Russia’s famed protest punks Pussy Riot, doing a fitting version of Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” (and referencing those protesting across the country that night over recent grand jury verdicts).Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina. To cheers, Alyokhina, in her characteristic heavy Russian accent, soberly and firmly read from notes on her phone: “I might not have the right to talk about American problems, but I think that murder is murder everywhere.”
Pussy Riot member Sasha Klokova then sang Le Tigre’s 1999 electroclash hit, “Deceptacon.”

Another great moment came when Zinner’s band doing one of his own songs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ breakthrough “Maps” with Karen O herself on vocals.

A crush of people moved forward for the next guest — Lil Wayne. So I made my way to the back

Lil Wayne

I can’t stand this dude and he’s second only in poseur rap to Kanye but maybe first in inspiring white rich kids to apporpriate something they” truly never understand.

A party like this one would seem to cost just about a zillion dollars, but asked about the total expense of the event, Hosi Simon, Vice’s global general manager] demurred. “It’s actually not a whole lot,” he said. For its 15th anniversary, Vice spent $250,000 to put on a Halloween party. Five years later, “It’s more than that,” he said. “But if you look at the lineup, it’s a multimillion dollar lineup.”
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Party host Andrew WK closed it all out with a bang. A lot has changed over the past twenty years, but one thing’s remained a constant: Vice knows how to throw a fucking party!
VICE has grown up in the past two decades, from shock value drug stories to their own Emmy-winning HBO series  The 20th Anniversary Party admittedly wasn’t really about their current hard-hitting nature but more about their hard-partying history – and being an actually successful media business.The entire event was filmed, so you’ll be able to see it for yourself soon.

Photos – Roy Turner
Laura June Kircsh
Ryan Muir
P Squared
Greg Christman

The Big Four of Thrash Come To Bat at Yankee Stadium (Sept/2011)

Ok so just a few short weeks after the Big Four finally staged a concert in the U.S after doing 6 highly successful shows in Europe, it was announced that just one show wasn’t gonna do it. Though they staged the show at the site of Coachella in the Indio Valley, unlike Coachella were they get you all the way out there  believing it’s a once in a lifetime show, only to find out it’s just the start of a nationwide tour and you could have stayed home and wait for them to come to you, that their was gonna be just one other show. Fittingly it was on the East Coast this time, making sense geographically as well since as compared to the other three bands, Anthrax is famously from NYC and they were to stage it at Yankee Stadium for a legendary show.
For my experience, not just because I live in Brooklyn, but the entire vibe, not just geographically was so polar opposite to the West Coast edition. They both certainly had their moments and strengths – for the West Coast, it being the first one and it had that awesome California desert vibe, but for this one, personally I was much more involved and participating in a much larger capacity. Instead of just being a microscopic co-sponsor but mainly participating as a fan (which was awesome) – this time I was on the other side of things and wearing one of my older hats by covering the event as a journalist, with my coverage specifically centered around Anthrax.
Though the event largely went off as if had taken place anywhere, it would be difficult (and inaccurate) to ignore the personal weight this held for these longtime hometown heroes, to play the biggest show of their careers in their hometown in a sacred building of their youth, for a very special day in the Bronx.

The Big Four of Thrash Metal – September 14th – Yankee Stadium – The Bronx

The day had finally arrived – As much as a baseball fan I am I’ve never been to Yankee Stadium. If you don’t know, this was the first year for this stadium, as they tore down “The House That Ruth Built” last year and I kick myself for not going while I still had the chance. Though it was the same show as in California, the vibe and the experience could not have been more different and I mean that in the most positive of observations. Another thing was again I was much more involved and closer to it this time, it was taking place in the city I live in, and though I enjoyed Erin being with me in California, I didn’t have to be concerned with entertaining anyone and could focus on the work I wanted to do and the fun I wanted to have, and this took on a whole other vibe for me as well.

So here I am, finally out front of Yankee Stadium, and this time I was in no hurry and got to enjoy the scenery of seeing the Metal Nation taking over the Bronx in NYC’s version of tailgating. My buddy Nate, who didn’t actually go in to the show, took some great shots that do a good job of summing up what it felt like to be there.

The Press Box

Now this time, as offically a member of the press, I had to go through the doldrums of waiting for the doors to open and stand with the other press members who were gathered together sizing each other up like animals in the wild trying to establish a power hierachy. Either proudly announcing who they were writing for, or sheepishly hiding it in a “no, you tell first” kinda game to see who should be sweating who. I wanted nothing to do with it and resisted telling everyone that I wrote for the American Journal of Proctology –
This one guy was going up to everyone seemingly to introduce himself but in reality was so impressed with himself that it was like he had just got breast augmentation surgery and was eager to show them off –

New Tits – ” Who are you with?”

Me – “…Ameri….”

New Tits –  (before I can even get the second sylabble out of my mouth..and LOUDLY) “Consequence of Sound! , good to meet ya!”

Me – (trying not to barf on his Keds)

So finally we are all checked in and credentialed and the excitment is growing for all of us. It kind of had that special feeling of a field trip in third grade (and I’m not being glib here) As we were all lead together through a special elevator up to one of the most famed press rooms in the history of sports.

The excitement is paramount now, we are all little kids, it was like the first day on the Real World and we were all excitedly choosing our bedrooms. Their were big plush office chairs and outlets for phone chargers and laptops, everyone buzzing with exceeded expecation. It made me feel good, like I had purpose and was doing something bigger than I had anticipated. Though its a new stadium, I couldn’t help but think of all of the NYC sportswriters of the last century and how things used to be.

I started to swell with pride thinking of the Chipmunks, the legendary beatnik-like group of NYC sportwriters and their nemesis, Jimmy Cannon, who came before them and gave them the unflattering name and all the important work those guys did – not to mention the view:

…….that is….until I didn’t.

I had work to do and on a personal level this whole thing meant the world to me and I was going to get what I had come for and it wasn’t going to happen up here. Though she had nothing to do with it, I just wanted to tell you a fun story about a truly beautiful girl, I had to get out of here and here’s why:
For starters, as unprofessional (and certainly ungrateful) as it sounds, I didn’t come here to sit down for this, nor do so from 200 yards away.
Secondly, as the other nerds were dancing around with menus in their hands screaming about how we “were getting free sodas! & lunch is only $5.00 for us!”
I didn’t feel grateful, or important – I felt embarrassed.
Like this is as good as it gets for these guys, am I on the same sinking ship? No fucking way –
And I know I sound all above it and shit, but you have to bear in mind, that though I identify as a writer and it’s truly what I wanna do with my life, in my normal day job, I’m on the other side of things. I’m the Tour Manager keeping everything in order, I’m the Manager in the Production Office dealing with overzealous entitled press types – was I now hanging with the kind of guy on the outside side of the rope that thinks he knows what’s going on inside? The kind of guy we laugh at on the tour bus after the shows? –
The things these dudes were saying, they were clueless and pathetic – I was at the loser table during lunch in High School and I was getting the fuck out of here.
I thought to myself “I know Eddie Trunk’s fat Jersey ass is down there watching sidestage, he’s a member of the press, what separates him from me?”
Then I realized that, that’s the real press down there and I was up here jerking off with these bozos  – that was all the motivation I needed – I was getting down there.

Anthrax

I was going to leave the Press Box anyway (at least momentarily) as the first order of business that I had today since my coverage was centered on Anthrax
(as it should be as though they were going on first, it’s totally these New Yorkers day) and I had to get over to the Hard Rock Cafe behind Home Plate to cover something very special. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. was declaring today “Anthrax Day” in the Bronx. Though Charlie (drummer) moved to Chicago a few years ago and Scott (guitarist) has been Mr. Los Angeles for sometime now, you would never not equate this band with NYC.

A cool way to start things off and I was so proud of them and proud to be there, I either am the only one that had the proper access or interest as I didn’t see anyone else from the Press Box in here covering this. The press that were here besides me didn’t go up to the Press Box, they went through the tunnel towards the dressing rooms so I followed and no one stopped me, so I guess my pass got me further than I thought so its a good thing I made the attempt.
I see some guys from the Anthrax crew that I had met at the California show, photographer Andy Buchanan and few other handlers I recognize.
I naturally stayed out of the way but I enjoyed the gleeful abandon that these guys were displaying as they were putting on faux Yankee jerseys and t-shirts with their names on the backs.

Ok its finally showtime and I was afforded a great perspective as Anthrax took to the massive stage set up in centerfield.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. came out with them and showed a video of the ceremony I had attended a few mintutes before and said

“Bronx is the home of hip-hop and salsa, and today, the Bronx is also the home of heavy metal.” before reading aloud the proclamation:

 “For over 30 years, Anthrax continues to ‘Bring the Noise’ through the ‘Persistence of Time’ in the Bronx, New York City and across the world; and

WHEREAS: Anthrax, a band with strong Bronx roots, is worshipped by their fans worldwide for giving them a ‘Fistful of Metal,’ both by touring and selling albums in the millions; andWHEREAS: Today, I welcome Anthrax back home, as they ‘Keep It in the Family’ ‘Among the Living’ of the Bronx, while bringing a ‘State of Euphoria’ through the ‘Sound of White Noise’ to tens of thousands of people in Yankee Stadium;

NOW, THEREFORE, I Ruben Diaz Jr., President of the Borough of The Bronx, do hereby proclaim September 14, 2011

ANTHRAX DAY IN THE BRONX

And urge my fellow citizens to take appropriate recognition of the occasion and get ‘Caught in a Mosh.'”

I’ve been following this band’s career for close to 25 years and to be five feet from the most important day of their professional lives while their familes were all around me in tears is something that will never leave me.

There was a small but dedicated fanbase in place for Anthrax’s 4pm start. (small meaning their will still close to 10k people roaring).
Logic dictated that they come on first. But given the specialness of the day, and they also happen to be serious Yankees fans, it would have been nice to have given them a higher slot. The early weekday start time and tedious security procedures certainly accounted for the size of the crowd, with fans complaining of hour-long waits to get through the gates and into their seats. If the setting was sleepy, the band was beyond amped.

Joey’s vocals sounded strong and clear and the guitar tones that blasted out across the field and stands at the Stadium were crisp and cutting, generating waves of headbangers as the seats slowly filled.
A half dozen mosh pits opening up on the wide general admission section on the field during classic song Indians. The energy was raw and biting, and the hometown band lived up their hour of glory, Belladonna donning an NYPD hat for half the set, and guitarist Scott Ian taking a cross-borough jab, claiming that the show was originally supposed to be at the New York Mets’ Citifield stadium, but that the Big 4 “couldn’t play at the home of losers.” Treacherous words for the Bayside, Queens native, but the line went over well with the pin-striped crowd.
By the middle of their set the crowd had doubled in-size and they took off the pinstripes to reveal another special metal/baseball themed jersey.

The band had much to celebrate, with their new album Worship Music freshly debuted the day before, singer Joey Belladonna back in the frontman position to rave reviews, and the band full of Yankee fans playing the venue of their dreams.

Setlist:

Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
Got The Time
Madhouse
Caught In A Mosh
Antisocial
The Devil You Know
Metal Thrashing Mad
I Am The Law

Fans who attended Monday night’s Metal Masters Clinic at Best Buy Theater might have felt some déjà vu as Anthrax’s setlist was virtually identical, but that didn’t make the energy on songs like Caught in a Mosh and Anti-Social any less gripping. As the band exited fittingly to Sinatra’s New York, New York smiles a mile wide, I can honestly say it was one of the greatest moments of my professional career.

Megadeth

Ok so in order to ensure that the right families/friends were seeing the bands they had come to see and prevent the same people staying in the same choice spots, they would rotate the sections on the wings of the stage. My pass was only really good for Anthrax anyway (and even that I’m unsure of really) so I cheated a bit and just went through the backline to the other side to get ready for Megadeth. I had heard on Monday from bassist Dave Elefson, that main dude Mustaine, was having serious health issues that could threaten them playing today. Mustaine addressed this, the moment they stepped ontage:
He explained that he’d been in the hospital the day before for neck surgery. “I shouldn’t be playing right now,” he told the crowd, “but I’m doing this for you.”

And as always he was fascinating to watch: serious and flinty voiced, a generous and hard-working guitar player, as he traded off solos with Chris Broderick, the most recent in a line of second-order Megadeth soloists.

Mr. Mustaine remains a skeptical figure from what we’d now consider a naïve time, when tough-minded, self-taught virtuosos wore spandex; he sang one argumentative song after another, about paranoia and demagoguery and religious wars. But whether the problem was his neck or something else, there was a sense of distance in his performance. He didn’t get all the way in.
Towards the end of their set I headed back up to the press box, before someone asked me to do so forcefully, as I also had to get ready to go downstairs to the main conference room for Anthrax’s post-show press conference (all the bands were doing this sans Metallica) –
When I got back up to that eagle’s nest I had a unique perspective once again and the timing was perfect:
Just as Megadeth were entering the home stretch, a lone fan jumped the front wall of the stands and bolted for the general admission section in the outfield as the Holy Wars solo peaked. They had roped off all of the infield and the dugouts and that shit is sacred ground and obviously off-limits.
With security officers racing after him, if he’d veered another 20 feet to his left he may very well have successfully made it over a single barricade and blended into the pits, but instead he ran smack into three more guards who took him down hard in a glorious heavy metal concert moment.

Setlist:

Trust
Hangar 18
She-Wolf
Public Enemy #1
Headcrusher
A Tout Le Monde
Sweating Bullets
Symphony Of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due

 

  Half-Time (I know its baseball but hey) 

Ok so now we had some time to kill as I guess it makes sense to wait for as much darkness as you can before putting Slayer on.
So now I had over an hour, but that time was going to be very full. I’m glad I was already in the press box by the time Megadeth had finished.
My next order for this time was (again my main focus here was Anthrax) to go back to the Hard Rock Cafe to cover the Anthrax signing, which I could have just skipped and caught up with them right after at the press conference, however I had a friend from Texas in town that had come all this way up here to see this show and he was by himself. So naturally I wanted to take a sec to arrange to meet up with him and catch up and get him to the signing to meet Anthrax, obviously by his ambition, you can tell he lives this shit.
I find Keith who I had not seen in probably close to 7 years – if you have been to any metal show in or around Dallas,TX in the last 20 years you probably have a story or at least seen this older, menacing looking dude that spends most of the show crowd-surfing – that’s Keith. He’s actually from the East Coast and has family in Staten Island where he was staying, but for the 20 years that I’ve known him he has always lived in Texas. We had been in contact all week and I tipped him off to get to the stadium in style via the Rocks Off cruise that also surely saved him from the parking nightmare. We found each other easily and went inside to catch up and see the Anthrax guys.
Afterwards I had to go downstairs for the press conference and he had to go represent for his fave band ever Slayer, who was up next. When I made a joke that NYC was about to know what it feels like to have him in the house, he confessed his restraint of everything responsible for going to get him back to Texas was on his person currently, so when I mentioned I had my own desk in the press box, his face lit up as if to say “Can you hold this stuff for me so I can enjoy this shit the way I want?” – Who was I to deny the Bronx a little taste of home.Ok so I head downstairs for the Anthrax press conference and if it wasn’t so impossible to feel so good and proud for them I could have felt bad for them –
Here’s why:
In spite of everything, they had to go on so early that they played to less than a fourth of the stadium’s capacity – While the bourough president was introducing them, his mic kept cutting out so bad that it made the presentation difficult to enjoy, I had heard Charlie being rightfully disgusted that he had to actually buy tickets to the show for his family and now they arrive to an almost empty press room.

 The situation was kinda tense in the room, no one asked returned singer Joey Belladonna a single question, and main face of the band Scott Ian looked miserable and clearly didn’t wanna be there. In fact, an act I thought disrespectful, and kinda diva-like, he was constantly texting or tweeting on his phone and just seemed “above it”. And the sad thing is that this guy always kinda seems this way – for me when I was 13 he was the guy – the always smiling, dude in board shorts making wise-ass jokes – the only one of the Big Four certainly to introduce humor to the equation. But here now and for some reason in all the times we have met over the years, I’ve always got Grumpy Guy. The glass is half full guys – so say it that way –

“We played at Yankee Stadium – period”
“The president of the Bronx introduced and gave us our very own day”
“People are interested in our new album and here now, probably gonna miss Slayer to speak to us”

Having said that, maybe it was because the questions were all awful and droning – the only person to ask any valid questions, and it wasn’t just valid by comparison, came from (if you look to the picture right above) the two ladies seated in front of me who also had clearly come together (more on them later).

The Hallway of Dreams

Now we are gonna get into some serious documentative style shit – Again after the conference was over and we were to return to the press elevator I (innocently) zigged when everyone else zagged and from a total fan’s point of view, had left the wardrobe and found myself in Metal’s version of Narnia.
The we are not in Kansas anymore moment came almost immediately when I started seeing signs directing the Slayer crew to catering and an actual map to Metallica’s dressing room – Holy fucking shit
As I twist through another turn of this tunnel/hallway, completely uncontested and at times totally alone, I come upon the most bizarre sight of all – All four members of Slayer (it was Gary Holt instead of Jeff Hanneman, immediately solving that mystery for me, and soon everyone else) getting into a golf cart, indoors mind you like they had stolen it and were about to take it for a joy ride. Now I have been on the road with name bands playing huge festivals so I know that this is just simply the mode of transport to take them to the stage, but if you had seen this private moment as I had, a total outsider, it would have left you dumbstruck as well. And if didn’t this next little piece will –
As they are backing the cart up, Kerry King is hanging off the back of it – and makes the beep-beep noise continually – the universal sound of machinery in reverse – and somehow we are communicating – he’s looking at me as if to say “What you do you think of the accuracy of these noises, pretty solid right?”
And somehow I understood him strangely enough to give him an average rating of simply holding my hand flat and shake it side-to-side, the universal gesture for so-so.
He laughs outloud that I understood him and as this thing that is carrying the cast of Slayer whips by me, King shows his gratitude by slapping me a hard high-five in victory. It was all I could do to catch my breath as I was watching them ride away on a golf cart to go pillage Yankee Stadium.
The fun doesn’t stop there – As I’m wrestling with a “did that just freaking happen?” agape mouth, I had no time to recover – As I was just standing there trying to look like I belonged there – I could see another figure fastly approaching to my left – I didn’t bring my glasses so there was no recognition until he was right in front of me – whoever this person was – he walked fast – almost like exercise – with an intense scowl on his face – I worried he was coming with my marching papers – I stood there frozen – and as he passes me – looking straight ahead – scowl even more intense – I recognize him to be the person arguably responsible for this whole event happening – its Lars Ulrich of Metallica.
Trailing slightly behind him was his elfish like manager – Cliff Burnstein. I can’t be for certain, but since they were in motion and I stood there, almost expectant, I think the scowl was for me, that in no uncertain terms if you are waiting to approach me, don’t.

I didn’t even grasp it was him, (and I was struck by how advanced in age he appeared) and given the velocity of his stride until he was already 10 lengths down the corridor, as I was also distracted that as he passed from my left, coming up from my right was pro wrestler Triple H, who I later saw watching Slayer from the wings:

Slayer

So, I just followed the yellow brick road in the direction of where I saw the Slayer guys being carried off to and found myself where I was before for Anthrax.
I walk up the ramp to access the backline area but can’t find my way over to the sidestage area and was worried I was asking for trouble. I run into Kerry King’s guitar tech Butts again (RIP – we miss you brother) and he’s busy but let’s me attempt to reproduce my photo from California –

Ok, the chill is in the air, time to get evil. Slayer were the only one of the four without any source of light except the stage: the sun had gone down by South of Heaven, and the singer Tom Araya, stock still and staring straight ahead, spit out his lyrics so fast that they couldn’t be displayed on the outfield’s digital screens, as they were for the other bands.

A Slayer show is like getting pounded over the head repeatedly with a sonic sledgehammer, and pound away they did. There were no song introductions, little stage banter, or even any acknowledgement of the historical nature of the concert like Anthrax and Megadeth had done.With Araya unable to headbang, Lombardo obviously being tied to the drums, and Holt really being a guest, this has become the Kerry King show. I’ve never seen him move around so much on stage before.

The entire stadium banged their collective heads to Angel Of Death the band’s final song of their set, amidst a wash of gelled red lights that coloured the entire stadium blood red. It was a genuine spectacle to behold.
At this point, there was hardly an empty seat to be seen in the venue. The crowd was at its apex and eager to see Metallica take the stage.

Setlist:

Disciple
Postmortem
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Psychopathy Red
Mandatory Suicide
Chemical Warfare
Silent Scream
Dead Skin Mask
Snuff
South Of Heaven
Raining Blood
Black Magic
Angel Of Death

Metallica

 An aura of excitement slowly grew in the hallways, stairwell, and bathroom lines. Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax have all played two or more shows in the New York region in the past year, with all three bands featured together on last October’s Jagermeister Tour, but Metallica has not been anywhere near NYC since the end of 2009, when they played two nights at Madison Square Garden. While tonight’s first three acts all put on raging, skull-rattling performances of the highest caliber, there was one reason fans were filling the revered home of the New York Yankees instead of a local arena, and that reason is named Metallica.

Still had quite a bit of time to kill, and I hadn’t eaten all day and I knew that there was no way I was gonna be allowed to be up here during their set. Just as in California, you had to have a special pass just for their set (again as if you needed a reminder of who was running this show). So I ran back up to the Press Box, grabbed some food and a quick beer, before heading down to the stadium floor. I was happy about this as well because, god knows how grateful I am for the access I’ve enjoyed all day, there is still something restrained when you watch from the stage and now, for the last band of this special day, I wanted to be, not in the press box as a journalist, nor backstage as a contemporary, but in the crowd as a fan.

Now it was time: There is just something special about this band and their shows are always something of provenance, and today all of that just seemed elevated to a peak that not even a veteran like me could have prepared for. As I did in California, I called my buddy and Metallica historian Ryan, to share the moment of   Ennio Morricone‘s always soul-touching intro The Ecstasy of Gold.
After their signature montage of the Good The Bad and The Ugly footage, the band took the stage.
James Hetfield addressed the audience immediately, asking them if they felt good. He then said, “We’re here to make you feel better!” and the band launched into Creeping Death.

Metallica is the reason casual music fans even know that the genre of heavy metal exists. Metallica is the reason radio stations and cable music channels use any resources on metal programming. Metallica is the force behind countless inspired musicians, workout routines, and drivers doing 90 mph down a stretch of highway, and Metallica was the reason that 50,000 heavy metal fans were invited into Yankee Stadium to rock out, and Metallica more than lived up to expectations.

The calibrated set list was almost identical to what the band played in Indio. A proper retrospective, with songs fast and slow and medium, compassionate and merciless.
As expected, the last set also included a song involving members of all four bands. James made a small jab at the other guys for appearing to have complainged about always doing the same song, Am I Evil? and alluding to that the cheif complaint was that the song, though a cover, has been a staple of Metallica’s live set for most of their career so it could potentially seem that all the other guys were just simply joining Metallica for one of their songs.
That’s not to say that James also didn’t couple this with some really sincerce and heartfelt words for the other bands as well while waiting for the other guys to setup. He mentioned how thrilled they were to be playing the stadium and that it was a really big deal for their friends in Anthrax.

“Today is Anthrax Day! – I am so fucking happy for those guys, and we are so honored that we could a part of this special day, we enjoy being with our friends”.
He named each band and when he said Megadeth, he added:

“That’s right. I said friends. It feels weird to say today but it’s true.”

So in the interest of fairness and to change things up a bit they did a different song. Cleverly it was a version of Motorhead’s Overkill, a song that keeps stopping and starting up again. Each time it reanimated, a different drummer took over: Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Charlie Benante of Anthrax; the guitarists traded off too.

The band removed their respective instruments and Lars left his drum kit and approached the crowd, mouthing “No More! Go the fuck home!” This was all a red herring of course, as the band donned their instruments for one more tune, their signature set closer Seek and Destroy, from their very first album Kill ‘Em All, now thirty years old.

Setlist:

Creeping Death
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Fuel
Ride The Lightning
Fade To Black
Cyanide
All Nightmare Long
Sad But True
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Orion
One
Master Of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman

Encore:

Overkill (w/other members of The Big 4)
Battery
Seek & Destroy

The Big 4 show started promptly at 4pm and went past 11pm by the time Seek & Destroy finished up – seven hours of relentless metal by four relentless bands, all playing at the top of their game. Historical indeed.  At thirty years into their respective careers, I doubt a single member in Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax would EVER have thought they’d still be playing their music for this long, and certainly not together in a venue like this.

Epilogue –

Like at their other shows the party atmosphere crescendos with giant black beach balls falling by the dozens (this show also ended with an insane fireworks display as well) to be passed around the crowd – these things were half the size of a person. I really wanted to bring back something special for Ryan and when I saw that these balls were specially printed just for this show commemorating the event I had to get one, and not to be deterred, I caught one:
These things were downright undeflatable – which ultimately lead to a pretty brown situation for me navigating it as I was leaving inside and outside the stadium, for which I will get to here in a sec.
I make my way back up to the press box one last time to retrieve my things and then to find Keith to return his personables, compare notes, and maybe have a post-show drink.
I find him at the merch booth (naturally) where he’s about to drop a car payment on swag but he was wanting something specific and it took awhile. So when we finally exited with his new prize, we were literally the last people other than grounds crew to leave the stadium and there was something infinitely cool and immediately reflective about that.
We get outside, light a smoke and we are again two teenagers (exhausted ones albeit) buzzing from what an amazing day we had on every level.
As we are walking still just feet from the stadium entrance, I’ve got a 10 lb computer bag in one hand and the giant beach ball under my other arm, still so inflated that my arm is almost extended completely.
Now as I was making my way out of the stadium, sure there were several playful attempts to separate me from the ball by other fans but they were all non-threatening. As Keith and I are deep in dialogue, this frat looking dude and his buddies meet us head on and we have to do that little dance thing to let the other guy pass. He too was offering something initially totally playful by grabbing the ball, but somewhere in the middle of this, it seemed he had changed his mind or it occurred to him given my hands-full disadvantage and the late hour, that he really could take this ball from me – and he went for it.
First by just simply walking me backwards with the ball under my arm, but then he lunged and I didn’t let go by instinct, thus dropping my computer bag and doing untold damage.
Sure it was just a beach ball and I wasn’t gonna die for it, but I had already text Ryan a pic of it and also fuck this guy.
So the next thing I know this guy is on top of me with only the ball separating us and I thought how silly we must have looked. We were rolling around on the pavement slugging each other for control.
Now as I mentioned before, Keith can be an intimidating looking dude, which speaks to either their stupidity/audacity or simply the lack of premeditation as I mentioned before, but he was letting me handle it while keeping an eye on my bag.
I’m fighting this guy on the ground and I say “Keith, can I get a little help here?” – computer be damned – as he starts walking towards us, the guy gives it up and Keith gives me hand to stand up, sore rib, bloodied elbows.
As they were now a safe distance I heard the offender shout mockingly “Haaaay Keith, can I get a little help here? hahaha”
I wanted to run after this asshole and shove this ball up his ass – but Keith brought me back to life and I decided to shake it off. Not really the last memory I wanted to have on such a special day – but there was nothing anyone could have done, the least of which those cheesy pricks, to ruin this perfect day.

Like any good sequel, they always leave room for speculation for another, but this time it really felt like this was it.
We shall see…

Metal Masters Clinic 2 –  September 12th – Best Buy Theater – Times Square

To unpack things a bit – two days before the big event at the stadium, Revolver Magazine took advantage of everyone being in town to stage their second annual Metal Masters Clinic as a lead-up to the big day featuring Anthrax’s Frank Bello and Charlie Benante, Megadeth’s David Ellefson, Slayer’s Kerry King and additionally, drummer Mike Portnoy from Dream Theatre, every band represented except for Metallica.

It was also going to serve as the opening act to a “special secret show” but we will get to that in a moment. For metal nerds like me this was a freaking wet dream to see all of these guys together and the anticpation of what was instore was paramount.
The show begins with Bello, Benante and Ellefson demonstrating some techniques and talking about their music careers.
Bello was a natural joker at the microphone, heckling fans in the crowd and explaining how he likes to play bass along to pay-per-view pornography late at night. Benante and Ellefson also gave advice and played some classic tracks from their respective bands.

While at times the narration grew slow, the interactions gave way to some fantastic jamming, especially when Benante and Portnoy engaged in a drum duel that jumped around classic beats from Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Metallica, and more. But while fans gamely applauded the drum n’ bass routines, whispers circulated around the crowd wondering when Kerry King was going to appear.

The audience of about 300 fans didn’t have to wait too long – at the end of Portnoy and Benante’s jam, they broke into the unmistakable breakdown rhythm of Raining Blood, Portnoy’s high hats even imitating the track’s thunder and rain, and the fearsome Kerry King strode out on stage ripping through the classic metal riff as fans cheered wildly. Kerry declined to speak directly to the crowd as the other musicians had, but let his guitar do the talking instead. The group, now featuring Anthrax’s Scott Ian as well, jammed through Am I Evil, perhaps signalling that Wednesday night’s ‘Big 4 Jam’ will be a different song, and then ripped through some Slayer music as well, with Bello jumping on vocals and the crowd singing along.

Like that wasn’t enough? – Talk about surprises and shit dreams are made of? – Here comes out of fucking nowhere Phil Anselmo from Pantera to sing with one of the most impressive house bands the heavy metal world could ever muster. Infamous for refusing to sing/acknowledge the Pantera catalog even after Dimebag’s untimely death, what was he gonna do? – Historians would be hard pressed to ignore another signifier that just yesterday was the passing of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy (and if you had forgotten, the military state of police in Times Square just outside were a quick reminder) and music historians also know that this derailed Pantera while on tour and they never played together again and Anselmo hasn’t sang a Pantera song in public in any capacity since.
Until now –
The unthinkable was happening as the band ripped into the crushing riff from A New Level as the crowd as well as myself went positively batshit.

And it didn’t stop there as Phil, clearly relishing his brief return to Pantera frontman, launched the band into an even more impressive rendition of Fucking Hostile. Unbelievable – I was so proud to have witnessed it and feel the giddiness not only from me but the crowd and most importantly the players themselves.
And just like that, the clinic was over, and fans excitedly snapped pictures of the super-group posing on stage. For the lucky folks who made sure to get to the venue early, much more was in store. Ellefson, Portnoy, Bello, Benante, and King all sat down to patiently sign autographs for almost an hour, It was like a Trekkie convention for Metal.

I was doing plenty of nerding out myself – grabbing a copy of every free thing I could get my hands on which generously their was quite alot of for my buddy Ryan who again was only here in spirit. One thing that I was over the moon about was in keeping with the baseball motiff for the big show, Revolver Magazine had a cutout in a special issue they were also giving away of trading cards for every member of the bands comprising the Big Four in the model of 1986 Topps baseball cards.

Why 1986? – Maybe that was the year the band’s put out their best work, etc? But for me it had an even more gratifying meaning. Not that you should care, but anyone who knows me, though you wouldn’t immediately identify me as a sports nut, knows that baseball rivals my passion for music and most of my favorite childhood memories are rooted in baseball card collecting and the first set I started with was the 1986 Topps set. So that model is like my birthright and when I saw it, and I had just seen Phil Anselmo sing Pantera songs for the first time in 10 years (remember I’m from Texas) as silly as it sounds, I almost got emotional.

Ok we are just getting started! – Now it was time for tonight’s headliner – Billed as Satan’s Lounge Band – an ode to some secret hometown shows Anthrax did back in 1989 at legendary metal club, L’amour in Brooklyn, at the height of their fame.
Tonight wasn’t just a warm-up gig for Anthrax before the big day – this was also a celebration of 30 years of being a band, the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna who came back onboard at the beginning of the year, and recorded arguably the best cd of their career, Worship Music, that was going to be finally released tonight at midnight. This was a huge night for them and again I couldn’t have been more proud to be here .

The lights dimmed in the theater once more, and Anthrax came out in its entirety, and when singer Joey Belladonna came out – the place lost their shit. I’ve lived in NYC since 2006 and I’ve never (and always wanted to) seen a NYC Anthrax show, and certainly not one featuring Belladonna on vocals. During the brak I had gone ot ot smoke and ran into my buddy Dan, who was is also from Texas. He was working the show and instrumental in securing me a sidestage view.
Bello and Ian played with a ferocious energy, Bello literally jumping up and down as he moved around the stage, and it seemed that the clinic had merely warmed up the group’s members for their first headlining show in some time. They were tight, vicious, and sounded completely natural with Joey back on vocals, and fans frequently chanting out the singer’s name between songs.

Anthrax (Satan’s Lounge Band)

Phil Anselmo made another appearance during their set, singing with Belladonna on a new Anthrax tune making the show even more historic.

The show wrapped up with I Am The Law, and the beaming members of Anthrax encored with one last new song, Earth on Hell, as they proudly counted down the minutes to the midnight release of the new record. Waving a banner that incorporated the band name into the Yankees logo

Joey and his bandmates reminded fans that they go on at 4pm sharp on Wednesday, and urged everyone to get inside Yankee Stadium early to catch their set.

Setlist:

Fight ‘Em ‘Til You Can’t
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Caught in a Mosh
Antisocial (Trust cover)
The Devil You Know
Indians (with Phil Anselmo)
Madhouse
Metal Thrashing Mad
Only
I Am the Law

Encore: 

Earth on Hell (first performance with Joey Belladonna)

Anthrax – The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – September 7th – Rockafeller Center – NYC

Almost a week earlier, Anthrax appeared on network tv for the first time in almost 20 years with a scorching performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, playing two songs, the new The Devil You Know & the classic Caught In A Mosh.

I had requested tickets a few weeks before as their publicist Heidi who’s also a long time friend had tipped me off. I didn’t get the initial request so I just went down there for standby tickets and got in no problem. I learned later that I could have just received a Green Room pass if I had known, had the ego to ask for one. Today that would have been no problem haha. Good times.

Photos – 

Roy Turner
Nate “Igor” Smith
Chad Batka
Andy Buchanan

 

The Big Four of Thrash Metal finally comes to the States! (West Coast) (Apr/2011)

Since we got here, we hit the ground running, first with the Revolver Golden God Awards, then two nights of Prince and then now today we are taking a ride out in the desert to one of the country’s premiere outdoor venues to witness the culmination of a 30 year dream of all four bands of Thrash Metal, the only genre I can claim as my own – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, playing together for the first time ever in the United States.

The Big Four of Thrash Metal – Empire Polo Fields – April 23rd – Indio, CA

It was strange to be taking that long drive out to the Coachella Valley like I had done 9 of the last 10 years in April, without the vibe/buildup of the Coachella Festival experience (that this year’s edition was just held the previous weekend) and that we were about to have a completely different experience and memory of this now almost sacred ground and witness something for my money to be even more special.
For one day, the site of the most prestigious music festival in North America became the center of the metal world as the Big 4 Festival materialized for its one and only time in the United States after successful Big 4 gigs in Europe last Summer.

 

After the rigors of parking and getting our credentials and clearing security we were finally on the grounds and ready to take this in.
Erin had never been out here before so it was great to show a first-timer.
The outdoor setting, an oasis in the desert that had drawn an entire community of men and women who bonded over nothing other than a shared love of the very canon of heavy music was home that night to something special.

An aspect I am most appreciative to Goldenvoice about is the lack of over-saturation of sponsors or flagrant “branding.” The aforementioned Playstation area and some of the other corporate residency was never distracting or annoying. Avoiding commercialization when featuring four of the most popular bands in the world is silly, but like I said before the value of the event and the sincerity of the history of this one-time gig never felt compromised. The music and the legendary bands that were the centerpiece of the day were never marginalized.

We make our way backstage to get settled, Trickykid was one of the sponsors for one of the tuning suites backstage and this time the Curse of just missing Taylor – was nowhere to be found, as one of the first things we see is Taylor Momsen walking around back there in a Metallica shirt and no pants, and it appeared maybe not much else:

 

There is no one in the freaking world right now as sexy as her – Ok so now down to business:

Anthrax –

The order of bands followed its way up the poster – and make no mistake about it, as if you didn’t already know, this wasn’t a festival of equality, this was from beginning to end a Metallica production with three opening acts, but having said that, the sets never felt abbreviated.
Anthrax kicked things off pretty early at 4 p.m. with Caught in a Mosh and I almost immediately got emotional. This is the only truly American musical art form since jazz and the only one I claim as my own since I’ve lived it since its beginning. If you had told me and my buddy Steve when we were 14 and my sister was dropping us off to see Exodus and Anthrax, that 20 years later you would be out in the California desert with all 4 bands and at a working capacity and being literally onstage with these guys, our heads would have caved in.
This and the longevity of it all swelled as pride within me and I was beaming.
Equally proud of Anthrax who have just totally got their shit together this year. After being in pieces for so many years they have returned so large and unthinkably strong with vocalist and the person you want singing for Anthrax, Joey Belladonna and perhaps their best record ever, Worship Music. I’m not sure if its just Belladonna’s return, who sounds better than now he has in the band’s 30 year history and the dude hasn’t aged a day – He looks exactly the same! or it gave the band the kick in the ass it needed or just the need to want to do their best in front of their peers, and also the only band on the bill not from California so they came to represent andt this is a band totally reinvigorated and literally back from the dead.

.

 

 

 

In contrast with other outdoor festivals, the Big 4′s powerhouse lineup meant that the crowd did not have to work its way into showing enthusiasm and letting the music take hold. While the crowd grew larger as the day progressed the right atmosphere was always present – I just really can’t say it any better than that – and especially for Anthrax, this was easily the biggest show the band has ever played in America.Setlist:

Caught in a Mosh
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
Among the Living
Antisocial (Trust cover)
Indians
Fight ‘Em Till You Can’t
A.I.R.
Metal Thrashing Mad
I Am the Law

Megadeth

The crowd officially enthused; Megadeth continued the day’s music -Their slot time seemed to make sense too as if they went on right before Metallica it could have potentially agonized things and secondly no one wants to see Slayer in the daylight – so this was a perfect fit.
The sincerity of the performers was not lost in appreciation of the reception from the fans, and as Dave Mustaine and Megadeth took stage in the late afternoon it was clear that the unique experience that was promised at the beginning of the year had truly taken shape.
I won’t bore you with what you probably already know about Mustaine’s history with Metallica and the 30 years of acrimony (largely coming from Mustaine) that somehow until recently still existed. Megadeth playing with Metallica? – This would have been unthinkable even just two years ago. And one could argue that the two camps made nice in the interests of posterity and prosperity but we were privy to a pre-show photo session and experienced the vibe first hand with some photos you will see later in this post and it just seems that for whatever reason, all of that is over. It was like seeing Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels shaking hands in the ring.

And they came to play too and played well. Their was something very expectant of their performance from the crowd and something even more sinister about their delivery.

 

 

Erin made it clear that she didn’t really like them – she enjoyed Anthrax who she was somewhat familiar with and she equates with Hip-Hop which she likes.

Setlist:

Trust
In My Darkest Hour
Hangar 18
Wake Up Dead
Poison Was the Cure
She-Wolf
Sweating Bullets
Head Crusher
A Tout Le Monde
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due

Slayer

The sun began to set for Slayer and shit was getting real. Their is just something imposing about a Slayer crowd who are undeterred and ready to strike and very, very vocal. So it felt like the sun was setting on all of us haha.
Another point of praise is that the downtime between sets never deviated significantly from the posted schedule and kept the crowd very happy. As with most metal shows there can be some rough patches in the crowd, but from my perspective security did not seem to intervene to the point where it detracted from the enjoyment of the show, and they are to be commended on helping keep people safe but not turning the mosh pit into a police state (something that can happen all to often).

Slayer didn’t come without their own dramas as a big question mark was if guitarist Jeff Hanneman was gonna be able to perform. He had to take a temporary leave of absence due to contracting a rare flesh-eating disease, necrotizing fasciitis. How tragic would it be for the fans after waiting all these years to get these four bands together and here it was finally happening only to be served a Hanneman-less Slayer? Not to mention how tragic for him to miss playing the biggest show of the band’s career in America and personally this was a bit of hometown show for them as Los Angeles is only a few hours away. I wish Jeff a speedy recovery, but I think even he would have to agree that that’s about the coolest-sounding disease a Slayer guitarist could possibly contract. believed to have been caused by a spider bite.

(Editor’s Note: More tragedy struck the band as almost one year later of this show – Armand “Butts” Crump who was Kerry King’s guitar tech, beloved member of the whole Metal community and all around badass, whom also allowed me to take the above life-changing photo, passed away, way too soon. I only met Butts the first time at this show and only a few more times after this, but he was teasing me about everything in the first two seconds in a rapport that would carry over to when they took this to the East Coast and until the last time I saw him at a Slayer show in Austin later in the year. So long pal.)

Ok so the faint sound of the clank of Kerry King’s signature chain adornment that signaled their arrival. The question of Hanneman was immediately answered as we saw Gary Holt from Exodus coming out in his place. Their wasn’t some loud groan because I think most expected it and take nothing away from Holt who is a total badass in his own right, but for the sake of solidarity and this special evening, we wanted Hanneman to play and I felt bad for him.
The band ripped into a fairly new song, World Painted Blood but went onto classics like War Ensemble and Silent Scream.

 

 

 

And what’s this? After a brutal set that just tore a fucking hole in the desert, out for the encore comes Jeff Hanneman and the one-two combo of South of Heaven and Angel of Death. The crowd (and myself) went positively batshit

 

Their was this young dude who had come all the way from Argentina next to us that was almost as entertaining as the band and who could barely speak English. When Jeff walked out this kid starts losing it and in half cry-speak in broken English starts shouting “Hanneman, its Hanneman!!!” and looking over at us to make sure we notice as we had a brief conversation about the debatable issue if he would appear. For whatever reason this is the single main thing that I remember from the day and the emotion in his voice has stayed with me.
A strong finish that had the crowd primed for the main event.

Setlist:

Word Painted Blood
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Postmortem
Raining Blood
Dead Skin Mask
Silent Scream
America
Circle of Beliefs
Seasons in the Abyss
Snuff

Encore:

South of Heaven (w/ Jeff Hanneman)
Angel of Death (w/ Jeff Hanneman)

Metallica 

Now you had to have a different special pass to be on the stage’s wings during Metallica, once again if their was any doubt who was putting this thing on so we were a little bummed that after spending all day up here we had to resume down to the masses. However, as Metallica’s signature Ecstasy of Gold intro came on the screen and the thousands of people behind me all sang along with Morricone’s soundtrack it felt like nothing I had experienced prior, even as a Metallica veteran. I called my friend Ryan for whom Metallica is a religion and one of the only times I’ve seen them without him, just so he could hear it and share if only a brief moment of it with me.
For the previous four hours there was a progression toward those first few notes of Creeping Death and the arrival of America’s metal pride and joy.

They played a stupefying set of 18 songs which encompassed their entire career.Even playing Orion in a touching tribute to former bass player Cliff Burton. James spared no moment to show endearment toward the crowd.
I have to show some endearment/gratitude right now to Erin and I normally wouldn’t share something this personal but its just too good not to share.
Ok so I know that a big moment is coming up not to mention that I don’t want to miss one second of this show but I have to piss so bad my back teeth were floating, I mean as in like absolute agony. This was stupid, I couldn’t even enjoy the show any longer I had to go so bad plus it was freezing now in the desert night making matters worse. So a compromise of time and dignity was made (that was actually her idea) – I had been drinking all day and she’s from out in the country so certain scruples were over-looked as we proceeded with our mission. We were in a comfortable space where no one was within 10 feet of us from all sides and it was so dark that you couldn’t really make anything out till you were right on top of it. We used this to our advantage as she said “Just keep looking straight ahead” as she gave me her hoodie to dangle in front of me. She then while I’m holding the hoodie and looking straight ahead as I was told, frees my aching penis from my pants takes our empty beer cups with one hand and directs my penis into one of them with her other hand. She is literally pissing for me! – and here’s the fucking bonus round – I had to go so bad that I filled BOTH cups and she was able to take my penis out of the first cup and place it into the second cup without spilling a drop from the first cup! Totally trashy I know, but totally amazing nonetheless.

Ok so, as the show reached a climax, the stage finally went black to provide a moment long enough to absorb the power of live music and the shared connection. We all knew what was next and it came together as a massive jam session of all the day’s performers on the Diamond Head song Am I Evil?
In introducing the members of the other three bands immediately prior to the performance, James said, “Can you believe it? Thirty years, man I don’t know how many of you have been around that long, you know?! It doesn’t matter; you’re here right now to see the ‘Big Four,’ and we’re getting this prepared for a big jam, alright?
Before starting, James made me laugh outloud (as he often does) by sarcastically asking “Is everyone’s hair ok?”.

 

While there are far more pressing matters to an adult in the world today, for the 10 minutes I had an opportunity to see Kerry King, Scott Ian, Dave Mustaine and Kirk Hammett stand almost shoulder to shoulder and shred it felt as if everything else was collectively insignificant.
I’m gonna let James speak here now as this sums it up best – This is word for word of a recording I made from the show:

“We just wanna take the time to say ‘thank you’ to all of you metal fans out there who have supported all the bands — not only the ‘Big Four,’ but the big however many out there. There’s many, many other bands that have been around as long as us, and, unfortunately, broke up because of business or some other crap. There’s a lot of great bands out there and we’d like to celebrate all of them, and especially the ‘Big Four’, getting out here and jamming, and just saying ‘thank you’ to the world of metal fans for just giving us your support, giving us your heart and giving us your passion, man, ’cause that’s what it is for us.”

Metallica closed out the show after this with two songs from their first album Kill ‘Em All fittingly after just acknowledging their NWOBHM beginnings to complete the career retrospective. The historical show closed with more gratitude from Hetfield and a “see you next time” which opens up plenty of room for speculation.

Setlist:

Creeping Death
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fuel
Ride the Lightning
Fade to Black
Cyanide
All Nightmare Long
Sad But True
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Orion
One
Master of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman

Encore:

Am I Evil? (w/members of Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth)
Hit the Lights
Seek and Destroy

Four legendary bands and a sea of their fans made the Empire Polo Fields a community that celebrated one of music’s most unique genres and its rich history. Not only am I extremely satisfied to have been part of the celebration, but also in that I feel it was done in a way that provided the best opportunity to enjoy to show and respected everyone in attendance.

(Editor’s Note: …and as we all now know, that they decided to do it one more time on the East Coast for a legendary day at Yankee Stadium that I’m also proud to say that I got to be a part of….stay tuned for the East Coast post of the Big Four)

Photos –

Roy Turner
David Andrako
Dave Bullock

The NAMM Show 2011

The NAMM Show – Anaheim Convention Center – Anaheim, CA – January 14th-15th

I had a massive undertaking of meetings all day, and performances all night. I was greatly excited for this as this was my first NAMM Show, and felt it was the next logical step in the evolution of my business, not to mention getting to see and do alot of really cool shit.

Day 1 – January 14th

Ok so I wake up and head out to Anaheim, it was a perfect day for a long drive and I felt a bit guilty as it was January and gorgeous here while all my friends are freezing their asses off back home, and I’m literally going to Disneyland. The parking situation was kind of a nightmare, but once I got that squared away, I was on my way. The girl who parked next to me was very nice and had some great tips that proved very helpful. The convention center was about 400 yards away and once I got sight of it, I turned a corner and the first person I see (apparently leaving the site) is Henry Rollins. A helpful local and Hank the Tank? Not a a bad start:

So my first meeting of the day was with Ampeg Amps, and I was very excited to learn that one of my all-time favorite bands, King’s X was showcasing for them in their booth. They were doing two performances, and sadly by the time I got there, the first one was at capacity, so I made sure I was able to make the next one. Even in such a sterile, corporate environment, their music is still so powerful.

 

 

 

So I firmly believe in both of their talents and them as people, so obviously I want to help them in anyway that I can. They both started jamming with this guy and a drummer just a few weeks ago to form the band, and were now coming to out here to perform at the NAMM Show and already had financial backing from a management firm. Cool I thought, so since I was gonna be here too, we had discussed pooling our resources to get the band in front of as many of the right people as possible. I had even booked them several high-profile gigs around town, to showcase them in the right environment, and to take advantage of such a large percentage of the music industry all being in town at once.
So Neil and the singer come over to the Ampeg booth were King’s X is wrapping up and Neil introduces me to him and I learn that his name is Remington. We proceeded to head over to meet up with the rest of the band/management so I could meet them all and coordinate a strategy of stuff that they had already set up along with things I can contribute. Along the way we run into a girl they had all met earlier that day, that joins our group. I quickly learn that she is very talented in her own right. She can sing, dance, as well as an exceptional graphic artist, she is drop-dead gorgeous and her father is a name producer, with an impressive resume.
I’m introduced to their manager and her associate, and I immediately learn that their manager is Remington’s mother..
We quickly discuss a strategy before the band has to head back to L.A. for a gig at the Viper Room.They leave for their show in L.A. and I stay behind as my day was really just getting started. After a dizzying series of meetings that culminated with meeting with Taylor Guitars, whom was one of the companies I was after to get an endorsement for Neil, it ended with a performance by Night Ranger. Now here is the interesting thing about this band – this band should be and often is the butt of the rock and roll joke. A band so dramatic, silly, and overproduced, and responsible for one of the worst, dated, cliques of the genre, the power ballad, sung by the drummer, staple with Sister Christian. That was almost thirty years ago so what the fuck were they doing here?
Here is the reality: – This band is firing on all cylinders – a fact that was clearly on display when we saw them at Rockalhoma in 2009.
I was never a dedicated Night Ranger fan and have no real nostalgic value for the band, but that night in Tulsa while most of the rest of their peers performing that weekend were in pieces, they put on the strongest, most consistent and perfectly executed performance during the whole thing. I was totally impressed.
Here we are now two years later in this small, hopelessly corporate environment in the middle of the day and nothing has changed. They were just as consistent and impressive.

I’m not a big drinker but their was free alcohol it seemed in every meeting I attended and I didn’t wanna be rude but I hadn’t eaten lunch yet so while waiting for the band to setup I could tell I was good and buzzed. I was impressed that this group of young geeks standing next to me:
a) Knew who Night Ranger was and was exciting to see them instead of mere curiosity
b) They had girls with them who had just as much if not more of an invested excitement.One of them asked me what time it was, and I responded that I didn’t have a watch (and my phone had died) the girl standing closest to me, gave off this vibe that she thought I was a creeper for even speaking. She was cute, nerdy, and was actually quite sexy in a way (or maybe I was more buzzed than I thought haha) and maybe out of spite, boredom or drunkenness but I couldn’t help fucking with her relentlessly. She gave it right back and it seemed like she was equally angry/turned on by the whole thing. Like any second we were gonna come to blows, or start making out. Neither happened and that was that.Back to Night Ranger –  So again, in this little room, that was only designed to showcase the equipment would they really turn on the skating rink themes? And if they do isn’t it gonna be as embarrassing as the songs themselves? They did and it wasn’t, and the reason  is the great divide between total and utter lack of self-awareness, and being completely in-tune with who/what you are, what you represent, your place and being not only ok with it, but totally own it and excited to perpetuate it. When you see anyone own who they are they always impress. Having said that I still didn’t think they would/should do Sister Christian in such an atmosphere but they did believe it or not, and it was great. The easy camaraderie amongst the guys was infectious and if you can’t sing along to Rock in America than you have no soul.

Night 1

Ok so after Night Ranger, the festival was wrapping up for the day. That means I had a few hours before the after-parties started. Like any good music conference, they take advantage of everyone being here to put on some great one-of-a-kind type performances while hawking their wares. It creates a frenzy amongst everyone, to hear about the parties, where they are, how to get in etc.
We were a co-sponsor of easily the biggest one of the night for Dean Guitars –

So I had time to eat, find out how to get over there, and relax for a bit before a night of madness started. Ironically, when I was walking to the car to put all of my stuff up, the girl parked next to me was walking back to, and I thanked her for the helpful tips and gave her some cds of the bands I’m working with. I found a place to eat, and got directions while I was there. It was just a little over a mile away, which meant it was too far to walk and too close to call a cab. I hate cabs and it was a beautiful night to walk around so I made the trek over to the Grove of Anaheim.
When I get there, I’m impressed as I heard this was a cool place for a long time and was excited to finally be seeing a show here. Apparently I wasn’t the only one as their was line wrapped twice around the building.
Thankfully I was able to bypass all that – as I walked in Hell Yeah were already on stage. Now being from Texas, I do feel a responsibility to represent whenever I’m not in Texas and tonight was no exception, however this band is really not that good. I’m glad that Vinnie Paul is still kicking ass and continuing to do music and happy living his life doing what he loves, but even without the inevitable Pantera comparisons, the band is just so generic, and at times, embarrassingly so.

     Up next was a fashion show/burlesque act by one of the sponsors – Coffin Cases.  A company that creates coffin shaped guitar cases and related products with a macabre theme. The company is owned by Jonny Coffin, a member of the band The Death Riders. If this all sounds rather douchy than you would be right. Coffin shaped guitar cases made by a guy named Jonny Coffin sounds like a complete and utter lack of self-awareness marketed as toys for the Hot Topic rock set.

One thing that was a little strange, was that I had been in this corporate bubble all day (and now night) and this show was not open to the public, so they had these tables setup reserved for the sponsors, that gave it like a school talent show feel, which was simultaneously charming/weird.

Now it was time for the main event, with Megadeth set to rock the fuck out of this place. I went backstage and was welcomed by the Dean Guitars people very warmly. They are also a brand I’m interested in having Neil endorse, so I wanted some face-to-face time.
After a short while I find myself sitting in a small room with just one other person when Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine walks in and sits down across from me. Here we go I thought as we have all heard the tales of his legendary asshole-ness and I have met him a few times in passing but nothing as intimate as this. I was prepared for the worst, but it actually never came and we had a nice, candid conversation. Guess my man is mellowing out, but only offstage, because when they came on, they fucking killed. 

The snarl returned instantly, as Mustaine’s first address to the crowd was: ” When I walked in here just now I saw a line of people still wrapped around the building, so to the all the people that are still outside…”- and now you think he’s gonna say something nice like “sorry you are not here” – but the real Mustaine had returned and he finishes the sentiment in his most dickish taunting chuckle “heh heh heh…suckers”. It was totally unexpected and perfect.Setlist:

Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
She-Wolf
How the Story Ends
Head Crusher
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells (with Holy Wars Reprise)

So after all I had done today, drove 2 hrs to Anaheim (and would soon be driving back to LA, only to drive back here tomorrow) been at the NAMM Show all day and the NAMM Jamm at night, you would think I would be done right? – Wrong – As Hunter S. Thompson would say, “Once you get locked into something seriously, the tendency is to take it as far as I can.” So what’s next? How about a reputable Van Halen tribute band called Hot For Teacher playing a late night party at the Hilton across from the convention center? Ok, let’s go!

Though I hate cabs I wasn’t walking the 1.5 miles back so I grabbed one with a nice couple that were going there anyway, perfect.
We get there and the band is all already onstage and kicking serious ass. To know me is to know that Van Halen is my all-time favorite band and this was clearly the David Lee Roth version of the band.

It was such a party atmosphere as the show was literally in the lobby of the hotel and everyone was there. The band didn’t do much in the way of trying to look too much like VH but they sure did a good job of sounding like them. To enforce this as well as their legitimacy, they were joined for a few songs by one time David Lee Roth bassist/all around bass badass Billy Sheehan, who quipped after he played that “this seemed so real, I expected you to yell at me afterwords” pointing at the singer, obviously referencing his time with DLR.

This was a good time, and it was wild and a perfect end to such an incredible, unforgettable day, and now I had a long drive back just to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.

Day 2 – January 15th

 Ok so on only just a few hours sleep I head back to Anaheim from L.A. for (my) Day 2 of the NAMM show. I had only one meeting in the first part of the day and after I was finished with that I went over to speak with my rep from Sonor and right next to that was a booth for Lanikai, a Hawaiian guitar manufacturer, when I spot Cherie Currie, the fucking Cherry Bomb herself, and nearly shit myself. If I had to list the top people I’ve admired my entire life that I’ve always wanted to meet, Cherie ranks very high on the list. Their are other people that have influenced me deeply, but some of those people you really don’t wanna meet, but I’ve always thought she was smart and someone I would love to have a conversation with. My Sonor rep, clearly noticing my distraction, says “Hey do you know Cherie?” and I shook my head no, and he says “We work together cmon and I’ll introduce you”. My heart about exploded out of my fucking chest haha, and it felt so good to be a fan again. Speaking of fans, I was so grateful to see that she had a line about 200 deep to meet her. I’m sure the recent The Runaways movie helped boost this number as I saw alot of Twilight shirts in that line (Kristin Stewart and Dakota Fanning from those shitty movies, play Joan and Cherie in the movie…and well I might add). But hey as long as they were getting exposed to her awesomeness, all the better. She was taking a quick break when Sonor guy gets her attention and introduces us. I kept it brief and she told me she’s getting back into music (with the help of Matt Sorum apparently) which is great news. I was cool and she was the fucking coolest, but I had to get a picture (I NEVER do this so fuck it).

 

 After that ended I had some time to kill so it was time to be a fan again. I wanted to check out Mick Mars, one of my all-time faves in Rock N Roll. I know my man has been having a hard time with his health so I wanted to go say hi. Thought it was going to be a demonstration based on the size of his insane line that I was grateful for him for, but when I realized it was just a signing appearance, I just snapped a quick photo for posterity and got out of his way:

Felt a little silly about it but I wanted a first-hand update of his health, and I must admit that my man looked pretty rough and I applaud his courage for getting up there. Even sillier was behind me I recognized this 4 foot tall hot mess:

Went over to speak with Aaron (P-Nut) from 311 who I met and became friends with last summer, but I had just missed him. Now for the  final meeting of the day I went over to the drum room to meet with Vic Firth (sticks) and Bosphorus (cymbals) to secure endorsements for one of my clients. I identify as a drummer so this was the part I was looking forward to the most and when I got to the showroom it was percussion heaven. Between meetings I spotted a little pow wow worth mentioning – imagine the scene of Mike Bordin (Faith No More) and Rikki Rockett (Poison) nerding out together over a new line of drums – (just goes to show you kids, once your in the game, your a member, regardless of how the press plays it).

Night # 2

Ok so like last night, I had a few hours to chill before heading back to the Grove for Night 2 of the private performances. I was really excited as tonight was the Schecter Guitar party that Cheap Trick was headlining. I was taking Steve and Neil to this one as I didn’t want them to have to play this evening and have a night to schmooze and make contacts. They were staying across the street so I went to meet them for dinner first. When I get to their hotel I immediately spot an older, 50-ish gentlemen in their room wearing a Cheap Trick hat and he is equally staring at the CT laminate around my neck. He’s is an off-duty cop from Dallas working “security” for stage-mom. Hey, he was cool enough, and he liked Cheap Trick obviously and I assumed the extra pass was for him so I gave him one and I’m into his excitement.
I’m then introduced to another one of the students- an attractive singer from South Africa named Jordana (and professionally that’s all she goes by-as in Elvis/Madonna/Prince– or in today’s market of Pink/Rhianna/Usher )– she was really cool, funny (alot of the pictures you are enjoying are hers) And like a better looking Griswold’s‘, we all head to dinner.

We are easily the most obnoxious people here but apparently not as much as they were the previous night as our entry was debatable on the forgiving nature of the management. Good times regardless – we get back to the hotel – Neil decided he just wants to chill and explore the new pedal he just received (this is why he’s so good) So its Steve and I, the cop and Billy the drummer and we head to the Grove for free booze and Cheap Trick.

This was a good time – I never drink but we were all getting loaded off the free booze and man I fucking love Cheap Trick. I had just seen them about a month ago in Fort Worth, and they came out and fucking ruled:

Setlist:Way of the World
California Man (The Move cover)
Hot Love
On Top of the World
I Want You to Want Me
She’s Tight
High Roller
These Days
The House Is Rockin’ (With Domestic Problems)
Ballad of TV Violence
Baby Loves To Rock
Sick Man of Europe
Closer, The Ballad of Burt and Linda
SurrenderEncore:

Clock Strikes Ten
Dream Police
Gonna Raise Hell
Goodnight No

Like last night, you would think this would all have been more than enough – and it was but we kept going. We as in Steve and I, as Billy and the cop called it a night after Cheap Trick played, but Steve, bless him, had other plans for us, which was fine by me as finally somebody else was leading the charge. We ran into this band that he was in back in the 90’s (that they played with at the Viper Room on Friday and who’s drumset I needed to secure for a gig I had them booked at tomorrow night at Kim Fowley’s place downtown) ,  then these dudes he’s knows from the band Julian K, and The Last Vegas (who just put out a record produced by Nikki Sixx) who had a freaking limo waiting outside. I never indulge in that kinda rock star shit, but fuck it man, we were in California, I had been working my ass off, I thought it would be piss take if nothing else.
Where were we going? – to a benefit for Chi Cheng (Deftones bassist) out in Fullerton (about 20 mins away) that was supposedly gonna feature some surprise sets from some pretty big names.

I went to find the crew as P.O.D. was starting – Now I normally could give two shits about this band, but I could certainly appreciate that this band normally plays for big money in places 20 times this size and never out in the sticks like this, so the specialness of it was not lost on me. It was for a good cause and I enjoyed the show.

The place closes and we all pile back into the limo and all good and buzzed. Their’s like 20 of us and it becomes the who’s getting dropped off in what order game (complete with shouting and opposing opinions). We get to the hotel nearest to Steve’s and I suggest a cab for the rest of the way. We finally get to Steve’s room and my man who is normally not a big drinker like me is fucking wasted haha. I get him to his room, its after 3am, I still have half a mile to get to my car and then drive back to L.A. It should have been easy to find my rental car as I’m sure at this hour I was the only one left, but so much time (and events and drinks) had happened that I couldn’t find it to the point I was convinced and in sheer panic it had been towed or something. I literally walked around this thing across 5 levels for 45 mins (I’m not kidding) until almost in fucking tears I finally found it. Got back to L.A. after 6am and ka-rashed.
Danced with a porn star and rode around in a limo after getting shitfaced on free booze at a private Cheap Trick show – Good freaking times.

Photos –

Roy Turner
Rick Kosick
Tank Top Diaries

Jagermeister Music Tour 2010 w/ Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax

Exodus – The Prophet Bar – Dallas, TX – September 7th

So on a day off between the Amandla and The Moistboyz tours,  Ryan and I thought we would have some fun and go see Exodus. I personally hadn’t seen them since my senior year of High School, and Ryan, who has kept up with their output for most of that time, had been really excited about their new sound. He played me their last two records in full and I would have to say I agree that they really evolved into something that’s kept them alive and exciting, instead of dormant and repetitive. That mixed with some good ol nostalgia was enough to get us to go. Ryan has become increasingly choosy, so when he’s excited about a show, it’s hard not to be as well.
I hadn’t been here I think since it was the Prophet Bar, I remember coming here when it was the Gypsy Tea Room, but the staff here now are really hard to take. It seemed like everyone in line in front of us their was a problem with something, and then when we get up there its no different. I just went and found Eric, my good friend and Exodus’ Tour Manager and he straightened everything out.
Not a big crowd (probably less than 200 people) and the first person I see is Fred Flintstone (from the Rock N America entry) it was his birthday, so I get him a quick shot and then Ryan and I take our spot.
Now this band has been together for almost 30 years and has survived the death of two singers, and a few other lineup changes, but had a great mixture of the old sound with the new.

…and speaking of nostalgia, one of the first concerts I ever went to was the Headbanger’s Ball Tour w/ Exodus/Helloween/Anthrax (and John Tempesta’s first night on the drums) with my childhood friend Steve. The show was at the Fair Park Coliseum, so being around the Cotton Bowl and the Fairgrounds, and I remember my sister dropping us off. Well this was at the height of slam dancing at shows that was now referred to as moshing and the creation of a mosh pit. Like at that age, getting the t-shirt is as much if not more important than seeing the band, it seemed creating and participating in one of these mosh pits was just as crucial. We had seen it on TV and talked shit about how when its our turn we were gonna fuck shit up.
Secretly I was terrified of this, and never really thought for some reason that I would have to face that, or maybe thought that Steve also harbored some fears about it. However the minute we arrived he spots the pit in full swing, and makes a beeline for it. I was shitting myself, thinking “how the fuck am I gonna get out of this without looking like a total pussy?”.
Exodus had a hit song at the time called the Toxic Waltz (as everyone at the time seemingly was trying to claim this practice as their own by re-naming it).
Steve was a intimidating force and wasn’t a small kid, where as, I barely weighed 100 lbs at the time, and was kinda the target of alot of his outbursts because of it, so I had no choice to jump in.
When I did, I realized that, sure it was pretty violent, but not nearly as horrifying as I had feared and was pretty communal. I went on to spend quite a few nights in this type of environment eagerly as well, but since have grown a bit weary (and older) of the real violence that its kinda become.
But on this night, even though along time has passed I was wondering if they were gonna play it as the hit. And sure enough they did, and I have no idea what came over me, because now I would be the last person to do this, but as the first notes hit, I took of my glasses and handed them and my wallet to Ryan, who looked simultaneously shocked/supportive of this and into the pit I went.
Now because of the lack of attendance, it was one of those really lame ones, where only like 4 people are participating, but just to get myself to do it was enough for me (and enough to leave with a bleeding foot). Good times.

Megadeth/Slayer/Anthrax – Starplex Amphitheater – Dallas, TX – September 24th 

Ok so this was three days of seeing shows in a row, and quite a diverse mix. I had been greatly anticipating this show for a number of reasons. One other the obvious, was as I mentioned in the Exodus post, that when I was a teenager, the Thrash Metal movement was my freaking life. When I was 15, back when the only way to hear about upcoming shows was via radio announcement, our jaws hit the ground when we heard that a tour was gonna start in Dallas called Clash of the Titans – that featured Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth (and a little unknown band at the time called Alice in Chains)
The only band that was missing was Metallica as people were already referring to this elite group as the Big Four. Metallica had moved way ahead of the pack and was set for world domination with the upcoming Black Album and really had nothing to gain by making the collective association (and as time would tell with Nirvana’s Nevermind coming out later that year) and everything to lose. Though the other three bands were at the height of their popularity and at the top of their game they had not reached the ability to play venues this large individually, but collectively it was a not-to-miss event. A friend and I even camped out for tickets and got us and our whole crew front row seats.
The fact that this exact same concert (sans Alice in Chains naturally) was happening again in the exact same location and city as the first time around was enough to get me in the building. Not to mention to add to the festivities, Slayer was gonna do arguably their best LP Seasons in the Abyss in its entirety. as well as Megadeth giving the same treatment to their Rust in Peace LP. Also, Anthrax, who had barely toured with the Joey Belladonna reunited lineup in 2005 (and skipped Texas altogether) were now back with Joey after several severe missteps.
It wasn’t without some brouhaha however – after all this time, why can’t we get all four of the Big Four? – This tour was born after some obscenely large, nostalgia fueled offers were made to do a Big Four tour of festivals in Eastern Europe, were the four bands actually performed all in one show for 7 dates. The Bulgaria date was even simulcasted where you could see it via closed circuit at a local theater (and Ryan and I did exactly that…see April 2010 entry). 
Make no mistake about it this was a Metallica production and I’m sure a hedged bet to see if would be a good idea to bring this tour Stateside, and the film’s ticket receipts would be the proverbial proof pudding. Apparently it didn’t do that well, cause Metallica decided not to pursue it any further, but the other 3 bands, fueled by all the new interest and high-profile activity, brought the tour stateside with just the three of them as the Jagermeister Tour.It was an early start time and I was meeting singer-dude at the show and I was running late. I couldn’t find parking anywhere but thankfully when I did, as I was crossing the street, he saw me and picked me up. We still missed the first two songs from Anthrax but if he hadn’t seen me we would have missed most of them and they were the main band I wanted to see since Joey was back and I’ve seen the other two bands probably 20 times each since I was a teenager.

It was sad to see how much peer-ship Anthrax has lost over the years. Though they will always be apart of this legendary club, they are really only riding a residual wave, as they have been treading water for years, through a series of poor lineup changes, mediocre albums and down-right baffling career choices. At the first Clash of the Titans the bands went in this order:

Slayer
Anthrax
Megadeth

with all bands having basically equal stage time and production. This time around, Anthrax’s backline was pushed all the way to the front
and might as well have been playing a small club with how much stage room they were given. Their name wasn’t even printed on the tickets, their logo pushed into almost obscurity under the tours namesake and now that guitarist/face-of-the-band Scott Ian is a professional poker player, they had to wear Ultimate Bet gear, likely just to pay for the tour, fucking sad for sure.
But they made good with the short time they had, and if nothing else, it was really great to see them and Joey again.

 Setlist –

Caught in a Mosh
Got the Time (Joe Jackson cover)
Madhouse
Antisocial
Indians
Only
Metal Thrashing Mad
I Am the Law

Next up was Megadeth, who I loved as a kid and seem to still see every couple of years, however haven’t owned anything they have released since Countdown to Extinction. Leader Dave Mustaine who is known for a being difficult to work with and am sure was a long-holdout for any Big Four type of event due to his long, over-stated issues with Metallica, always seem to have a new lineup every couple of years. You don’t even really pay attention anymore, and if you had your choice bassist Dave Elefson will be there too, but as long as Mustaine walks out, its a Megadeth show. And let me tell you something, as much as you wanna hate Mustaine, and as much as you want to hear that in-spite of Elefson’s presence that they walked out there with two other faceless jobbers and embarrassed themselves, its the exact opposite. They stole this show, and this new lineup is their best in the band’s 25 + year history.
They fucking killed – Just walked out and played so intensely, and spot on, with zero bullshit. Even their newer, lesser known material did nothing to stop their momentum that just took off as they started the show with Rust in Peace from start to finish.

Setlist –

Holy Wars… The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
Take No Prisoners
Five Magics
Poison Was the Cure
Lucretia
Tornado of Souls
Dawn Patrol
Rust in Peace… Polaris

 Encore:

Trust
Head Crusher
A Tout Le Monde
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells

Next up is the indefatigable Slayer – who I also tend to see about once a year or so. Now, nothing can be said that can detract from the sheer brutality of this band, but the last few times I have seen them, it seemed to be a bit phoned it (as much as this band is capable of such a thing). But tonight we were benefiting, if nothing else, from perhaps maybe a little bit of competitiveness, cause after Megadeth blew things wide open, here comes Slayer with both barrels.
They did just two numbers, both off their newest record World Painted Blood before Tom Araya, asks the crowd in his most sadistic voice “Are you ready?” as we all knew that signaled that the entire Seasons in the Abyss LP was about to begin.

 Setlist –

World Painted Blood
Hate Worldwide
War Ensemble
Blood Red
Spirit in Black
Expendable Youth
Dead Skin Mask
Hallowed Point
Skeletons of Society
Temptation
Born of Fire
Seasons in the Abyss

Encore: 

 South of Heaven
Raining Blood
Aggressive Perfector
Angel of Death

Between Megadeth and Slayer, I walked out to the lawn area to see Ryan, who was sitting out there by himself (by choice, my man is very specific about his comfort) and shared our excitement, and were texting each other a bunch during Slayer’s set. Maybe one day the States will get to see all four of the Big Four together?