Born Metal... Die Metal!

If you're seeing this page because you just made a donation to my heavy metal concert fund... thank you thank you thank you!!!

I love metal. Problem is, not a single one of my friends like it. This means to see any good bands, I have to go alone. Ah well. I seem to always meet interesting (ahem) people. And that makes life pretty interesting.

Honestly, when I was a kid growing up in Mansfield, TX, my parents didn't let me go to concerts. Now, my longing to see great rock concerts burns ever brighter for several reasons: a) I can't get my car stereo to go that loud, b) some of these rock stars are getting old and could go at any minute (i.e. just look at Ozzy), c) it's just something I *need* to experience while I'm young and fiesty enough to endure being smashed up against sweaty, smelly, angst-riddled whackos.

So if you like my tutorials, please considering making a little donation to help send me to see some great metal bands before they fade away. Else, I'll have to flip burgers to pay the bloody credit-card bills ;)

Megadeth's Gigantour, Dallas, Aug. 2, 2005

What an *awesome* concert. My buddy that was supposed to go with me bailed at the last minute. Arg! I was spitting mad but was determined to go anyway. I'd already flown from Nashville to Dallas, then driven in from Linden. With normal tickets it would have been no big deal, but this was my first time in the mosh pit (a very scary area of bodies squished together at the front of the stage). What's that saying, "whatever doesn't strike me down makes me stronger"? I guess it's true because I had a *great* time all by myself. Seriously, it was seven hours of non-stop head banging and my neck has never been so sore! It was way worth it though. Read on.

I got to the arena at 2:30 pm and the concert started at 4:00 pm. I had a special ticket that could possibly get me upgraded to a "meet & greet" with Megadeth so I wanted to be sure I was seen. Turns out I didn't get chosen (I didn't see any official peeps tooling around, but that's beside the point). I stood in a blazingly hot and sunny line outside for about 30 minutes before getting in. I looked so innocent save for my ti-shirt (see entry below). After telling my sob story about my friend bailing on me, driving in four hours from East Texas, bla bla, I received absolutely no mercy from the Fanfire staff.

So I took myself downstairs and tried to find the pit line. While I stood surrounded by unbelievably young, acne-scarred faces, to my surprise, I met a really nice guy named Mike Milsap. He said I could hang with him and his friends in the pit and they'd "watch out for me" since it was my first time. Turns out he's a musician himself. About 30 minutes (now 3:00 pm) Mike and his friends point me to the very back of the pit. Not very many people were there. I completely understood as the first of seven bands was terrible. There was a slight amusement value as the bassist of Bobaflex kept tonguing his guitar in the most peculiar/pornographic manner. Wow, they looked like they were hopped up on some serious drugs. Thankfully I didn't have to endure very much of them. The next couple of bands were okay, but my new friends were telling me that Symphony X was coming up and that they were going to be totally awesome. Though, wow, there were some odd things happening in the pit right in front of us. Guys were jumping around and just slamming into each other at ramming speed. Unreal. Must be why Mike led me to the back of the pit :)

You know what? Mike and his buddies were *right*! Symphony X rocked. Wow, imagine Iron Maiden with the glorious vocals of Bruce Dickenson but with the guitar prowess of, say, Jake E. Lee (he played lead on Ozzy's Bark at the Moon album). They were unbelievably good. The guitarist stayed relatively still the whole time but he just JAMMED. I was too far back to see his fingers but they must have been flying. Literally. The vocalist was really good too; something that's far too rare in these increasing days of grunge and death metal.

Next up came Dream Theater. Now, this is a band who I'll freely admit that I don't care for. I respect them for their technical ability, but they just don't groove. The beat changes so fast and so often that I just can't get into it. That being said, they were *very* impressive live. I don't know if it was the energy of the crowd, or the amazement of seeing them in action but they were great. I now have a new appreciation for their music and am trying to listen to more songs to see if I can glean some type of collection which is tolerable in recorded form. That type of talent just begs to be appreciated.

Next up, my beloved Megadeth! I was able to snatch a few photos plus a short megadeth video (though, dang it, sans audio) through my little Sony CyberShot U camera that I hid beneath my t-shirt). Mike was such a dear, he helped me move up to second row in the pit before Megadeth took the stage. Though Dave Mustaine had surprised everyone and came out on stage and played lead guitar on the last song Dream Theater played, which was a tribute to Pantera's Dimebag Daryl who was shot last year during a concert. I have never seen Megadeth live but they've been my favorite band for years. People were pushing and shoving and guys all around me were trying to elbow this little short girl out of the way. I'm here to tell you I was having no part of that crap. I am *crazy* about Mustaine and literally worship the man's hands and fingers. I wanted to be as close as possible to see the action.

Megadeth sounded as good live as they do on any CD... even better. Honestly, and Mustaine's wrist injury (the reason he left the band for a solid year) didn't seem to impair him one bit. He went straight into the blindingly fast riffs of She Wolf and Holy Wars with all the speed and energy one could imagine. This band is GREAT! Unbelievably great. Goose bump kinda great, which is the state I remained in the whole time they were on stage. Never has the urge to go out and buy a guitar and amp been so strong since seeing Megadeth live. As much time as I've spent listening to their songs and playing air guitar, I think I could do a respectable job picking out some choice riffs. You may think I'm kidding. I have 12 years of classical piano training under my belt. I don't think electric guitar would be that much of a stretch (did I mention I type 120 words per minute??). When I drive really fast in my little Turbo Eclipse, I pick out every chord on the gear shift!

Megadeth played all my favorite songs: Sweating Bullets, Sympony of Destruction, Scorpion, Hangar 18, She Wolf, Angry Again (which was a *huge* surprise), and they encored with Holy Wars. What an amazing concert. It's just not everyday that you get to hear a band that can truly rock, groove in a gloriously grinding sort of way, and has lyrics that are meaningful to boot. Honestly, Megadeth's lyrics have always been very intelligent. Take album titles like "Peace Sells But Who's Buying," "The System has Failed," and songs like "The World Need a Hero." Don't we ever? The lyrics are very political. And what an amazing man, that Dave Mustaine. Such anger and undying spirit. And what a creative outlet he's found with his electric guitar. We should all be so lucky!

Seeing Megadeth live has only fueled my fire of wanting to see them again, and I pledge to stand my ground in the first row of the mosh pit. Next time I'm going to save up and get the Platinum pass which means I get to meet Dave, get his autograph, and get a picture with him. Bands like this just don't come along that often. I have even more respect for Dave because of what those little weasels that call themselves Metallica put him through. In my humble opinion, they were *all* drunken, drug-riddled little, talented teens and they put Dave out in the cold because he got just a little crazier than they did. Well you know what? Though I can't imagine the pain and suffering it must have caused him being ousted with only 15 minutes notice on a tour bus in the middle of who knows where, there's no way a metal band could have gone on with two egos the size of Dave's and that of James Hetfield. As terrible as the split must have been for Dave, the world would have never been able to experience the world of Mustaine in the form of Megadeth. Given the choice, I'd choose Megadeth over Metallica ANY day ;)

Dave Mustaine for President!

Megadeth tickets and tees!

7/29/05

Whee! The tickets and t-shirts came today! How will I ever sleep between now and Tuesday?!

Pathetic but geniune plea for help

7/1/05

Whee! Thanks to my beloved tutorial readers, I'm going to see Megadeth!. The Gigantour is headed to Dallas, TX on Aug. 2. I've never seen them before and they literally just got back together. As volatile (flaky and unstable) as heavy metal bands can be, who knows how long the reunion will last?