Metallica ( bit of a rant ) and Volbeat in concert

This past weekend we hit St. Louis for a concert, Volbeat and Metallica.

Now I am a big fan of Volbeat.

Metallica and I…well…have a strenuous relationship at best. When it comes to them their first five albums (and yes I’m counting Garage Days in this) is some of my favorite music of all time. Then the Black album arrived. It was the first time I heard Metallica on the top 40 radio stations. This really shook my foundations as a fan. Top 40 radio Metallica? It was now mass consumption Metallica?  I had no idea what was happening. This seemed to against their M.O. for so many years.

Then the over playing of Enter Sandman, Sad but True, Nothing Else Matters and Unforgiven started. People were running those songs into the ground. It was pretty awful to see people who decried them as garbage and noise now becoming “fans” of them. I was so confused. This trend continued, and still does today.

Then the Napster event happened and seeing Lars throw a hissy bitch fit about losing money by people downloading songs was beyond pathetic! Nothing makes me sicker than famous people complaining about their “problems.” Nothing is more metal than whining about illegally downloaded music and lost money.

Then the Some Kind of Monster documentary came out. That didn’t help matters either. Seeing a band you really like seem to fall apart was weak sauce. I don’t need to see and know about their personal issues with one another. I don’t need to see Metallica’s dirty laundry aired for monetary gain. Plus Jason Newstead left the band about this time and I really liked that guy on bass.

Then add in the much weaker albums: Load and Re-Load. Then the abysmal Death Magnetic and St. Anger arrive.  By this time I was done with Metallica and any music from them past 1989.

Now this being said I did see them in 1999 after they put out the orchestra album. It was a good show and probably the only time I would get to see them.

Jump ahead to present day. My special lady and her brother are huge fans still, but they still think 4 of the last five albums are garbage. They seem to like the newest Hardwired. I have heard five songs and can only really say one is enjoyable, Now That We’re Dead. I was told we were going and that I would have a good time. This was Sunday night in St. Louis at Busch Stadium.

Did I?

Yeah we were this close. No phone zoom here on the pics.



It rained most of the night. Not heavy, but enough to annoy when music wasn’t being played. 

I did get to be on the field of a major league baseball team. Sure I could care less about baseball anymore, but it was still cool to be in center field watching a concert and seeing the stadium packed with people. You know, what the players see every game.

Yeah we were general admission and I am no fan of that. There were too many assholes and too much fighting off assholes during the shows for this guy to enjoy the night.  I had left the floor behind, but here we were again.

Volbeat opened and I loved their set list. We had seen them on this tour already and it was similar set list. Still good time to be had there.

Now it came to Metallica.

We had positioned ourselves about 10 rows from the stage. A good area, not too pushy either.

First their set list…… 5 songs off Hardwired. Five songs the Black album. I was not super pumped about this. The majority of their songs were from these two albums? Really? 36 years and two albums were the majority of the songs?

They played One, because it is their Freebird. I loathe One now due to it being over played so much. I get people love it, just not me. The same for Unforgiven and Enter Sandman, which they played both of those.

Fuel and One were both single songs of their respective albums.

Fade to Black and For Whom the Bell Tolls from Ride the Lightning.

Master o’ Puppets and Battery off that one.

Whiplash, Anesthesia and Seek and Destroy from Kill ‘Em All.

Then Unforgiven, Enter Sandman, Wherever I May Roam, Sad but True and Nothing Else Matters from Black.

Hardwired, Halo of Fire, Now That We’re Dead, Moth to the Flame and Atlas Rise from the new record of theirs.

Add in a guitar and drum solo and that is your Metallica concert.

I was not super impressed with the songs played. Still I can say I saw Metallica up close and personal.

Then the asshole factor came into play! Yes we were on the ground in the mass of humanity. Then the moss pit and crowd surfing trope starts. Thought people would tire of that by the year 2017. Guess not.

My brother-in-law who got the tickets to be on the field, and wanted to be close to the band, left the writhing mass of humanity after the 7^th song. His wife had had enough and they left to watch the show from the back of general admission. What?

I completely missed Battery because I was fighting off three assholes who really wanted to do the mosh pit bit in a section that was more interested in the show than a fake shove fight. I instead kept my special lady in front of me and threw elbows and then punches into them throughout the song. Thankfully another dude and his lady were near us and he was doing the same. See chivalry is not dead.

The same for Seek and Destroy. Yeah they had pulled a drum kit to the front of the stage for this. Super cool! However, that was when some douche canoe ( white shirt and porn mustache guy ) thought trying to climb up and over me was a good idea. A series of elbows to his gut and a punch to the nuts changed his mind. Then, I almost tore the big ear hoop plugs out of a dude (orange shirt and scraggly curly hair guy) who didn’t get the point after the third time I tagged him in the ribs. If only he came back one more time I think I could have torn one of those big stupid hoops, and maybe part of his earlobe, off. That might have slowed him down.

The final song Enter Sandman was another punch and shove-fest as well. I didn’t care so much for missing that since I am so over that song. I think I enjoyed crushing some guys’ knee (Mr. Grey shirt and way too drunk) and the sun glasses he dropped after he fell while trying to shove and elbow his way through us.

Plus there is the throwing of $7 beers at the stage which is always a mind boggling experience too. Who does that and why? You love the band so much you want to pelt them with beer? What? Plus who throw a $7 beer?

I.

Hate.

People.

Those were the highlights of the mosh pits that kept erupting around us. There was so much just inane shoving, thrown elbows and punching to remember all of it. My wife had a lovely time and a great experience. Not a single blow landed on her. The only person, besides me, that touched her was a crowd surfer we didn’t know was incoming. He took a wicked shot to the kidney from me for his effort.

I hate people.

I hate general admission because of people.

Was it cool to be two rows from the stage and see Metallica super close?

Yes because we were stupid close to see and hear them. It makes for a really memorable life experience.

No because I hate people and spent more time on keeping my wife from being hit than watching and listening to the show.

Metallica second concert.

I will remember it for the stage proximity, the unfulfilling set list and the assholes around us.

I guess since I am a fan of everything pre-Black album, there is nothing for me at their live shows.

 My tenuous relationship with this band continues……