The reviews of the Metallica show in Ottawa are ridiculous.
First off, in the Ottawa Sun, they call him Rick Hammett (it’s Kirk! You know…guitar player extraordinaire?) AND they say they played Die, Die Die My Darling last night (not true!).
So then I have higher hopes for the Ottawa Citizen. While it isn’t a bad review, this piece made me cringe:
“That made me feel good!” exclaimed Hetfield after a rousing rendition of the hyper-kinetic Battery, a song all the young dudes want to air-guitar slay. Enter Sandman, full of post-grunge bravado, sent the Bank into a frenzy of equal parts nostalgia and fist pumping. The pyro during closer Motorbreath warmed the cheeks and compelled the six-foot Trujillo to wildly swing his axe with abandon as Hetfield & Co. riffed out into the sunset.
POST-GRUNGE BRAVADO? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT ALL ABOUT? Do these writers not realize that this is metal at it’s finest…what the heck is post-grunge anyhow? Everything that came out after the grunge scene died? If anything, the year was 1991 and Enter Sandman came out DURING the grunge period and secondly, it shouldn’t even be related to grunge in any way! Argh…I will admit that it’s hard to find adjectives for a show…but come on! Shawn Jam Hill from the Ottawa Citizen…come on. I admit the rest of the article is a well written piece and this was a mere slip-up…but come on.
But at least it wasn’t as bad as Denis Armstrong calling Kirk Hammett -> Rick.
Oh man, I can’t believe I finally have a recording of my first ever Tea Party concert. I must have a review of it somewhere out there in Cyberspace.
My cousin Troy writes in with a review of what seems to be an excellent Metallica show in Toronto! I am looking forward to the Ottawa show next week (although I have misplaced my tickets!)
Next up…….metal juggernauts Lamb of God. I was expecting the energy to be ramped up once they took the stage and I wasn’t disappointed. The guttural vocals of the lead singer, matched with the fury of the dual guitar attack and the thundering bass and drums whipped some fans into a fury. The difference was like night and day between Volbeat and Lamb of God. Though I did notice that some fans were still fairly reserved. It didn’t take long for a mosh pit to start to the left side of Rick. I didn’t notice it was occurring until Rick was shoved into me. When I turned my head to look there was a mass of approximately 20 or so people slamming into each other with fists, elbows and bodies. The look on Rick’s face was priceless as I believe he thought he was in for some punishment. He asked me if I “had his back” and I said I would step in if needed. I did move my large carcass in their direction with the expectation of keeping them at bay, and managed to shove a few guys away before they moved on to another area of the floor. All in all Lamb of God delivered their brutal form of metal to the delight of many fans, and in the process raised the energy level up for Metallica to take the stage.
Finally, the headliner Metallica……the band we were all there to see. The house lights darkened, and the instrumental Ecstasy of Gold that Metallica has opened every show with for over two decades began to ring out. The fans erupted with an ear shattering cheer. When Metallica took the stage I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I had been following this band religiously since 1983, when as a young teenager I obtained a copy of a tape through a friend. I have seen Metallica live eight or nine times and by far this was the best. Being that close made the interaction with the band simply incredible. Rick was floored by the energy the band was putting out, and the fans were sending it right back at the band. It’s really hard to put it all into words, it must be experienced. The fans were incredibly loud from the get go…so much so that James Hetfield stopped singing and was shaking his head in disbelief at how loud the crowd was after the second song. Throughout the show he kept making comments about the decibel level of the crowd. James Hetfield – singer/writer/rhythm guitarist extraordinaire was in prime form. His vocals never sounded better. Lars Ulrich on drums appeared to be having a great time. Interacting with the fans every chance he could get. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett had many moments to shine as he shredded his way through his guitar solos while smiling the whole time. Robert Trujillo on bass crept around the stage and was an anchor of the rhythm section. It was apparent the guys were having a good time. They could all be seen grinning from ear to ear, especially when the crowd took over the vocals that were loud enough to shake the walls of the ACC. All of the band members made a point to move around to each area of the stage, but Rick and I both agreed they tended to spend a lot of time right in front of us. I was fortunate enough to lock eyes with each member of the band on many occasions and got a response from each one when I would express my excitement. The band played a fairly tight set…..there were a couple of times when they got off tempo, but they recovered quickly with no dip in enthusiasm by the crowd. The set list was pretty good that included six songs off of the new Death Magnetic album. With a catalogue of music as large as theirs, they can’t obviously play everyone’s favorite songs.
Some observations that may interest only me:
Yesterday after work, Eric, Michael, Juan and I went to see Saw VI at the World Exchange Plaza. A new found combo deal had me smiling…a student combo for $10 which included admission to the film as well as some popcorn and a drink. Sweet!
I find this photo of Moby Dick to be quite hilarious. I want to make a t-shirt out of this.
Last Wednesday, Mike and I went to see Silversun Pickups, Cage the Elephant and An Horse at the Civic Center. Unbeknownst to us, this was a non-beer event which made it quite lackluster once we arrived after a chilling 45 minute walk to discover there just wasn’t much to drink. Also, it was held in the Exhibition Hall and not the regular hockey arena. Strange! It felt like a school cafeteria.