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:
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)
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.
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.
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
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