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[Metallus Maximus]

Metallus Maximus � Metallus Maximus Forums � Upcoming Gigs (Moderator: Hellboy)
Metallica/Machine Head/The Sword @ Verizon Center, 1/15/09

[Klschmann]

I can't wait!!  It seems like I've had my tickets forever, bought them back before DM was out and got my 2 free copies + free digital download of the show. 

I've paid little to no attention to this tour, but know they are playing "in the round" and are mixing up the set list as Metallica always does.  I'm curious about seeing the "new" bass player.

I've only seen Metallica once before, and that was back on the Load tour and I thought they were good but not great live.  That was the whole "stage falls apart gag, we're too late-90s to want to be called METAL " tour.

I'll post a short review afterwards.  I'm totally taking Friday off of work for a nice 4 (maybe 5) day weekend thanks to MLK day and the Inaguration.

 

[Release]

Awesome.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.

[Klschmann]

2 days to go 

[Klschmann]

Tonight 

[Klschmann]

Overall I had a great time.

I wasn't planning on buying anything, but I'm a sucker for show specific merch, so I grabbed the DC show shirt which looks pretty nifty.

Totally skipped The Sword.  What I did hear was OK.

I was surprise that the openers appeared to have the whole, very large, stage to themselves.  The actual stage was in the shape of a rectangular, perhaps slightly smaller than a basketball court.

Machine Head played a lot of stuff that sounded like echo with some drums until they played the best song of the night.  HALLOWED BE THY NAME  , and they did a damn good version of it too.  That was a pleasant surprise.

So, Metallica came on to the Ecstasy and Gold intro, which was cool because the only other time I saw them they didn't use that intro, and launched into That Was Just Your Life.  The sound was OK for an arena, certainly not very loud at all, I'm wondering how differently they have to do their sound since it's "in the round"?

Set list was-
That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
The Four Horsemen
Harvester Of Sorrow
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Wherever I May Roam
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
Die, Die My Darling
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy

Good mix of new and old stuff.  I was hoping to hear Creeping Death, but because Metallica changes their set up so much I knew there was a risk of them not playing it.

James was OK, his live vocals really are different these days.  He sings now on songs where he really ought to be screaming in key.  Kirk was good. Lars was, well, Lars.  Robert was actually quite fun to watch, he's a great bass player.

I was really surprised that there was NO pyro.  None at all.  Not even during the heavy section of One.  Kinda surprising since I figure the staple of a metal arena show should be some pyro.

So, all in all, it was a billion times better than my only other live Metallica experience back in 1996, and a great time overall.  I'm adding Metallica back to my list of bands I wouldn't mind seeing again.