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Wanted to do a quick show review for Metallica's concert Saturday.
We got to MSG around 1pm to find that there was already a bit of a line for GA. The guy that organized the outting is a vet of many shows- This is my third, he's on like his 10th from this tour alone and has a few more to do. He wants to be on the rail, period, so that was the mission- Get to the rail, stake a claim, hold it....which we did.
I've never been on the rail before, and it is a different experience. Rather than ruminating on that for 10 paragraphs, just let me say it's pretty awesome and worth the effort if you really dig the band.
The "Pre Opener" was a band called VolBeat. They're Danish (thanks Lars!) and they're kind of a metal/rockabilly/johnny cash turned up really loud band. I won't spend much time on them because frankly I know next to nothing about them except to say they put on a great short set & I'll probably pick up their album & give it a try.
Next up was Lamb of God. Again, they're not the reason I was there, but I do have to say these cats have ALOT of energy, were obviously pumped to be at MSG, and put on a great show. Mark Morton obviously was my focus, and the cat can flat out play, but what was weird is half the time he does so his thumb isn't behind the neck... it's just down below so he's not really gripping. Interesting technique and I'm not really sure what to make of it. The rhythm guy I got a really good look at- He alternate picks rather than downstrokes the rhythms, again, I probably shouldn't be surprised, but not knowing much about them, I was.
Here's a decent video from someone up a few levels of LOG for those who want to check it out. Choppy at the beginning, but gets better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DrGCU1sFpI
Now- Metallica. Let's get this straight- I'm a big fan. Not a fanboi, but a big fan. Being a guitar guy, I was very focused on the equipment, and I was literally thinking of the JCF when I was trying to snap pictures... "Must get photo of guitar to post, must get clear photo for screwcounting brothers...must not fail" as I'm getting rocked against the rail (but not too badly).
Most of my shots were of Kirk. I have some James shots, but he did, for example, Puppets about 3 feet from me and at that point I said, "Fuck this I'm not watching this moment through the screen of an iPhone". So sorry about that, I'll dig through what I do have to see what I can find at a later time.
The show was, using a word with no creativity on my part but nevertheless accurate, great. They came with a huge amount of energy and kept the night moving. My one complaint would be that Kirk seemed to be way down in the mix on some solos early on, but they got that figured out in fairly short order. Otherwise, just terrific- And not so absurdly loud that I had to keep my plugs in- They were in for VolBeat & LOG, came out for Metallica.
The set list was as follows:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Holier Than Thou
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Turn The Page
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
ENCORE
Helpless
Whiplash
Seek and Destroy
I have enjoyed Death Magnetic, but to be honest I think my perception of it has been colored by my perception of how people have reacted to the album- There seem to be so many "newer" fans that hear it and say, "IT'S JUST LIKE PUPPETS!". I do not mean to denigrate the new fans, but I guess I just did- There's an impulse to be an "old schooler" looking down at the new folks and say, "You don't know what was up back in 1986 when I was a fan maaaaan". This is a bad impulse, and for me, seeing & hearing the album live made it a "classic" Metallica album in just one night- There are some great fucking songs on the album, and if for no other reason I'm glad I went to the show because I'll finally stop being such a tool & give it the fair recognition it deserves.
Now, the guitars. Kirk obviously rocked mostly ESP's. I have shots of a few of em. The coolest one I saw was called "Bride of Frankenstein", obviously the little sister of Franky, who did NOT make an appearance. I didn't get any great shots of it, but I know there are some out on the web somewhere, at least on the Metallica fan sites. He started the night with a mirror pickguard ESP that I did not get a shot of that they were bouncing lasers off of.
One of the best sounding guitars he had out, oddly, was an ESP Gibson V copy- Just a real punch PAF sound. The most well rounded and "holy shit that's some monster tone" moment of the evening.
He also had a Michael Schenker model V, which isn't the PAF-fy one I'm talking about....The MS was a Dean, the copy was a ESP. Various Eclipses and LP's were played as well, but I only got the phone out for the "iconic" guitars...including the black Jackson- I saw her REAL close. She's in decent shape, but if you saw her on E-Bay we'd all be saying, "that guitar is thrashed, lucky to get $900 for it". Chips in all the usual places. Ouija showed up as well- She's also well loved and chipped up. You'll see a shot of Mummy as well. No Bride of Frankenstein, which pisses me off because that was one that I really wasn't familiar with & wanted to get a shot of. Great paintjob on it.
One thing I must say- Rob Trujillo is a monster- Monster player, monster presence. The pure physicality of the guy, both in terms of his playing & his activity, is something to behold up close. The guy is a ROCK and just does not stop for more than 2 seconds. What a terrific fit for this band- he brings a ton. I wish I got some shots of his basses....he just moves too friggin' fast for my phone to not smear the shot. Very simple, beautiful colors- almost like flake automotive paint, as shiny as a Christmas ornament. Never have I seen paint that vibrant. Pretty amazing.
Coolest thing- Went to livemetallica.com and downloaded the show for $10 the next day. If you guys haven't checked this out yet, do it. You get to preview each show the day after it's played- Then the next day the previous night's show goes up. You could listen to Metallica shows for the entire tour this way if you chose to. There's also an iPhone app with a TON of free concert audio, all the way back to the 80's. Check it out.
I'm running out of shit to say, so here are some shots.
We got to MSG around 1pm to find that there was already a bit of a line for GA. The guy that organized the outting is a vet of many shows- This is my third, he's on like his 10th from this tour alone and has a few more to do. He wants to be on the rail, period, so that was the mission- Get to the rail, stake a claim, hold it....which we did.
I've never been on the rail before, and it is a different experience. Rather than ruminating on that for 10 paragraphs, just let me say it's pretty awesome and worth the effort if you really dig the band.
The "Pre Opener" was a band called VolBeat. They're Danish (thanks Lars!) and they're kind of a metal/rockabilly/johnny cash turned up really loud band. I won't spend much time on them because frankly I know next to nothing about them except to say they put on a great short set & I'll probably pick up their album & give it a try.
Next up was Lamb of God. Again, they're not the reason I was there, but I do have to say these cats have ALOT of energy, were obviously pumped to be at MSG, and put on a great show. Mark Morton obviously was my focus, and the cat can flat out play, but what was weird is half the time he does so his thumb isn't behind the neck... it's just down below so he's not really gripping. Interesting technique and I'm not really sure what to make of it. The rhythm guy I got a really good look at- He alternate picks rather than downstrokes the rhythms, again, I probably shouldn't be surprised, but not knowing much about them, I was.
Here's a decent video from someone up a few levels of LOG for those who want to check it out. Choppy at the beginning, but gets better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DrGCU1sFpI
Now- Metallica. Let's get this straight- I'm a big fan. Not a fanboi, but a big fan. Being a guitar guy, I was very focused on the equipment, and I was literally thinking of the JCF when I was trying to snap pictures... "Must get photo of guitar to post, must get clear photo for screwcounting brothers...must not fail" as I'm getting rocked against the rail (but not too badly).
Most of my shots were of Kirk. I have some James shots, but he did, for example, Puppets about 3 feet from me and at that point I said, "Fuck this I'm not watching this moment through the screen of an iPhone". So sorry about that, I'll dig through what I do have to see what I can find at a later time.
The show was, using a word with no creativity on my part but nevertheless accurate, great. They came with a huge amount of energy and kept the night moving. My one complaint would be that Kirk seemed to be way down in the mix on some solos early on, but they got that figured out in fairly short order. Otherwise, just terrific- And not so absurdly loud that I had to keep my plugs in- They were in for VolBeat & LOG, came out for Metallica.
The set list was as follows:
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Holier Than Thou
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Turn The Page
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
ENCORE
Helpless
Whiplash
Seek and Destroy
I have enjoyed Death Magnetic, but to be honest I think my perception of it has been colored by my perception of how people have reacted to the album- There seem to be so many "newer" fans that hear it and say, "IT'S JUST LIKE PUPPETS!". I do not mean to denigrate the new fans, but I guess I just did- There's an impulse to be an "old schooler" looking down at the new folks and say, "You don't know what was up back in 1986 when I was a fan maaaaan". This is a bad impulse, and for me, seeing & hearing the album live made it a "classic" Metallica album in just one night- There are some great fucking songs on the album, and if for no other reason I'm glad I went to the show because I'll finally stop being such a tool & give it the fair recognition it deserves.
Now, the guitars. Kirk obviously rocked mostly ESP's. I have shots of a few of em. The coolest one I saw was called "Bride of Frankenstein", obviously the little sister of Franky, who did NOT make an appearance. I didn't get any great shots of it, but I know there are some out on the web somewhere, at least on the Metallica fan sites. He started the night with a mirror pickguard ESP that I did not get a shot of that they were bouncing lasers off of.
One of the best sounding guitars he had out, oddly, was an ESP Gibson V copy- Just a real punch PAF sound. The most well rounded and "holy shit that's some monster tone" moment of the evening.
He also had a Michael Schenker model V, which isn't the PAF-fy one I'm talking about....The MS was a Dean, the copy was a ESP. Various Eclipses and LP's were played as well, but I only got the phone out for the "iconic" guitars...including the black Jackson- I saw her REAL close. She's in decent shape, but if you saw her on E-Bay we'd all be saying, "that guitar is thrashed, lucky to get $900 for it". Chips in all the usual places. Ouija showed up as well- She's also well loved and chipped up. You'll see a shot of Mummy as well. No Bride of Frankenstein, which pisses me off because that was one that I really wasn't familiar with & wanted to get a shot of. Great paintjob on it.
One thing I must say- Rob Trujillo is a monster- Monster player, monster presence. The pure physicality of the guy, both in terms of his playing & his activity, is something to behold up close. The guy is a ROCK and just does not stop for more than 2 seconds. What a terrific fit for this band- he brings a ton. I wish I got some shots of his basses....he just moves too friggin' fast for my phone to not smear the shot. Very simple, beautiful colors- almost like flake automotive paint, as shiny as a Christmas ornament. Never have I seen paint that vibrant. Pretty amazing.
Coolest thing- Went to livemetallica.com and downloaded the show for $10 the next day. If you guys haven't checked this out yet, do it. You get to preview each show the day after it's played- Then the next day the previous night's show goes up. You could listen to Metallica shows for the entire tour this way if you chose to. There's also an iPhone app with a TON of free concert audio, all the way back to the 80's. Check it out.
I'm running out of shit to say, so here are some shots.
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