Scanning the scene in Milwaukee tonight...

My ears are ringing. My neck is a bit sore. And I am at work, tired, but extremely happy. The Metallica show was all it was expected to be and more. Those boys can sure put on a show. Slightly disappointed there was no Creeping Death but there were other surprised that made up for it. First time seeing any band play “in the round”. Not sure I necessarily like the concept. It was ok.

They opened with That Was Just Your Life. Lazers were flashing all over the stage as they played. It was neat as they bounced off of Hammet’s guitar, lighting it up in green and red. The lazers came off of the lighting rig that consisted of 4 silver coffins that would lower and tilt to the side to put the light on the band or the crowd. Also high in the rafters were 3 guys in chairs, turning around, aiming spotlights down onto the band. How does one get that gig?

Of course there was the abundant use of fire. The flames started with One. The mock battle sounds at the beginning had the stage exploding and on fire. At first I thought there were going to play on the stage as it was burning. But they slowly pulled back the flames and they played the song. The fire would return with blasts going up the middle of the stage during Fight Fire With Fire. Yep, they played that oldie. Green, blue, orange and red flames burst from center stage.

The crowd was quite a mix of people. Young, old, white, hispanic, indian, asian. At one point the band asked how many people were seeing Metallica for the first time and a show of hands was about 1/3 to 1/2 the crowd. Hetfield summed it up nicely "Well, thank you for finally showing up." Not sure what some of these virgins made of the show. There was a kid behind me that was 10 tops. I couldn't help but think I had seen this band 4 times before this kid was even an itch in his daddy's pants. He just sat there watching with little reaction. Other people looked blown away but what was not only happening on stage but in the crowd as well. The mosh pit was on the lame side but there was plenty of head banging going on in the crowd. I guess some people can't let their inner beast out and let their body thrash to the music.

At the end of the night they would crank into Seek and Destroy while dropping various sizes of black Metallica beach balls from the rafters. It was funny watching people bat them around at first until people realized they could deflate the ball and take it home with them. Then people began to try and catch them only to keep knocking them further away.

I caught only part of the second band on the bill Machine Head. Not bad but nothing to captivate me. They did do a cover of Iron Maiden’s Hallowed be Thy Name which rocked. They did have the best line of the night. At one point one of the guys said “I want you to bang your heads like it is 1986.” Ask and ye shall receive.

All in all a fantastic show put on by one of the best bands in the biz. It would have been nice to get the shirt I wanted but they sold out of the “city” shirts in my size. Here is the set list as best as I can recall. I will be able to get a download of the concert and verify in a couple of days. Heavy on the Death Magnetic but with some surprises like Fight Fire With Fire and Die Die My Darling.

That Was Just Your Life
End of the Line
Ride the Lightening
One
Broken Beat and Scarred
All Nightmare Long
Where Ever I May Roam
Harvester of Sorrow
Cyanide
Master of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Sad But True
The Day That Never Comes
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman

Encore
Die Die My Darling
Stone Cold Crazy
Seek and Destroy