with Machine Head and Volbeat
Las Vegas @ Mandalay Bay Events Center
Dec 5th, 2009
Metallica continues to tour supporting their latest CD, Death Magnetic, and this is the 2nd time I've seen them on the tour. They've kept pretty much the same stage and all and a lot of the same lights, pyros, giant black beach balls... etc. What changes is the opening bands and the set list, so really you can go right here for a more detailed recap of the show if you want from when I saw them last year.
We timed it pretty good as we completely missed Volbeat, who I really didn't care much about, and got to our seats only about a song into Machine Head's set. This was the first time I've ever seen them and I thought they were excellent. I'm not sure in-the-round in a huge venue like this is the best place to see them, but I'll take what I can get. I screamed along to Davidian, Now I Lay Thee Down and Halo along with the rest of the crowd who was arriving and were really into them. I've got to catch these guy headlining soon.
The show was sold-out and by the time metal legends took the stage the place was packed and about to go off it felt like. When the lights went down and the music for Ecstacy of Gold hit to a huge laser show, the place did just that.
Still heavy on the new CD, they tore through 18 songs in the 2 1/2 hours with the energy of a much younger band. They played songs from 7 different albums: Kill ‘Em All (2 songs), Ride the Lightning (3 songs), Master of Puppets (1 song), ...And Justice for All (1 song), The Black Album (3 songs), ReLoad (1 song), Garage, Inc. (1 song), and Death Magnetic (6 songs). Since I'd already seen them on this tour and have heard them play the new songs, I was hoping they'd drop a couple and replace them with classics (how about For Whom The Bell Tolls or Battery) but since I love about 50 of their songs I could have the same complaints at every one of their shows (unless they play for about 10 hours). Set list highlights for me were Fade To Black and the massive pyro during the song One.
And I am not one of those guys who sits around and whines and moans about a band getting too old and for them to hang it up and blah blah blah. Look, if they love their music and can still get it done, bands like The Stones and Metallica and KISS should play until they're sitting in an old folks home. More power to them I say. And trust me on this, Metallica can absolutely still get it done.
Here's the full set list in order:
* That Was Just Your Life
* The End of the Line
* Ride The Lightning
* The Memory Remains
* Fade to Black
* Broken, Beat & Scarred
* Cyanide
* Sad But True
* One
* All Nightmare Long
* The Day That Never Comes
* Master Of Puppets
* Fight Fire With Fire
* Nothing Else Matters
* Enter Sandman
** Encore **
* Die Die My Darling
* Whiplash
* Seek and Destroy
Yes my photos suck but there are some great close-up photos from the show right here.
Here's a great video from the show posted on YouTube of Fade To Black:
