Megadeth - Manchester Academy 17th February 2005
Setlist: Blackmail the Universe / Set the World On Fire / Skin o’ My Teeth / The Scorpion / Wake Up the Dead / In My Darkest Hour / Something I’m Not / Angry Again / A Tout Le Monde / Die Dead Enough / Trust / Tornado of Souls / Of Mice and Men / Kick the Chair / Hangar 18 / Back in the Day / Sweating Bullets / Symphony of Destruction / Peace Sells / Mechanix // Holy Wars / Paranoid
OK. So, time for a rather embarrassing admission. Until two weeks ago, I knew precisely nothing about Megadeth. Nada. Zilch. Rien. Bugger all. In my stubbornness, stupidity and intractability, I had always thought the band to be a lameass thrash metal combo, playing unlistenable crap to the mindless masses of the great unwashed. Then, my eldest daughter got tickets for the Manchester gig. She handed me a copy of Capital Punishment to listen to, with strict instructions to actually listen to it, rather than just leave it atop the towering skyscraper of CDs that is the current playlist, as is my wont with things I’m not to keen on.
OK. So, time for a rather embarrassing admission. Until two weeks ago, I knew precisely nothing about Megadeth. Nada. Zilch. Rien. Bugger all. In my stubbornness, stupidity and intractability, I had always thought the band to be a lameass thrash metal combo, playing unlistenable crap to the mindless masses of the great unwashed. Then, my eldest daughter got tickets for the Manchester gig. She handed me a copy of Capital Punishment to listen to, with strict instructions to actually listen to it, rather than just leave it atop the towering skyscraper of CDs that is the current playlist, as is my wont with things I’m not to keen on.
I left it there for a few weeks until, in a Velvet Revolver post-gig slump, I decided I’d give Contraband a rest and try something else in the CD player.
Talk about a veil of ignorance being lifted from mine eyes.
In a true ‘ Eureka!’ moment, I realised that I had been missing out, big-time, for a great many years. What a tosser I’d been! This was really excellent stuff, with a generous flavour of Alice Cooper to it – you can never have too much Alice - and it just rocked like a big, hairy bastard. It wasn’t thrashy at all, just bloody good rock music with hooks, licks and riffs-a-plenty. Capital Punishment took up residence in the CD player, only to be ousted by The System Has Failed, which I think I have actually worn out. Sorry, Chicken.
Talk about a veil of ignorance being lifted from mine eyes.
In a true ‘ Eureka!’ moment, I realised that I had been missing out, big-time, for a great many years. What a tosser I’d been! This was really excellent stuff, with a generous flavour of Alice Cooper to it – you can never have too much Alice - and it just rocked like a big, hairy bastard. It wasn’t thrashy at all, just bloody good rock music with hooks, licks and riffs-a-plenty. Capital Punishment took up residence in the CD player, only to be ousted by The System Has Failed, which I think I have actually worn out. Sorry, Chicken.
So, by gig day, I am Mega-aware and looking forward to the evening’s entertainment. I must admit that Diamond Head being support was my initial reason for getting a ticket, me being a fan of the boys from Dudley since the previous occasion a Labour government was in power (and look how that turned out?!) But, as we wait in the queue, outside the wonderful Manchester Academy – did I mention what a great venue this is once before? - I am quite excited about Megadeth too, but in a manly, cool way. Even the scally shitheads driving past, yelling obscenities from the open window of their ersatz Burberry-paint-job Range Rover, does not sour my mood. In fact, it is a source of much mirth and fun-poking at the limitations of some of the sartorially-challenged members of society.
By the time we enter the venue, Diamond Head have just hit the stage; we make our way down to the front. We can tell from the way the audience is packed in that this is going to be a hot, sweaty, night. My two girls insinuate their way to the barrier, spurred on by their sheer determination, and aided by their cheeky smiles, to stake their claims on a front row location. Meanwhile, I am still apologetically elbowing my way through the ebullient throng, being less than the fine figure of a racing snake that I once was. [Yeah, right! Ed] Oh boy. I’m getting too old for this, I keep saying to myself; I like my gigs in smaller clubs these days, with fewer younguns bumping into me, covering me with their dandruff, making my pictures all blurred with their jostling. Mind you, I not that old that I can’t remember being just like them, either. Apart from having to elbow one tyke in the head for his annoyingly persistent, youthful exuberance, I made it through Diamond Head’s excellent performance remarkably in tact. I figure I can see out at least the beginning of Megadeth’s set.
By the time we enter the venue, Diamond Head have just hit the stage; we make our way down to the front. We can tell from the way the audience is packed in that this is going to be a hot, sweaty, night. My two girls insinuate their way to the barrier, spurred on by their sheer determination, and aided by their cheeky smiles, to stake their claims on a front row location. Meanwhile, I am still apologetically elbowing my way through the ebullient throng, being less than the fine figure of a racing snake that I once was. [Yeah, right! Ed] Oh boy. I’m getting too old for this, I keep saying to myself; I like my gigs in smaller clubs these days, with fewer younguns bumping into me, covering me with their dandruff, making my pictures all blurred with their jostling. Mind you, I not that old that I can’t remember being just like them, either. Apart from having to elbow one tyke in the head for his annoyingly persistent, youthful exuberance, I made it through Diamond Head’s excellent performance remarkably in tact. I figure I can see out at least the beginning of Megadeth’s set.
Now, I’ll be 42 this year (have you noticed that, as you get older, it becomes incumbent on you to share your age with everyone? Well, it does. You’ll start doing it one day, you young whippersnappers! You’ll see.) and I knew as they one-two’d the PA that it was going to be loud. I knew that standing right in front of the PA was not a good idea when I was 17. I knew that this was going to something I would regret in the morning. But, even though I’m old enough on the outside to know better, I’m still young enough inside to be sufficiently dumb to ignore my own advice; I stayed put.
They say (and they should know) that the loudest sound ever heard on this little blue ball of rotating excess, which we call Home, was the final explosion in the series of volcanic eruptions that caused the tiny Indonesian island of Krakatoa to blow itself apart, 122 years ago. It may well have been. Past tense. After Monday night’s gig, the record books needed to be re-written.
They say (and they should know) that the loudest sound ever heard on this little blue ball of rotating excess, which we call Home, was the final explosion in the series of volcanic eruptions that caused the tiny Indonesian island of Krakatoa to blow itself apart, 122 years ago. It may well have been. Past tense. After Monday night’s gig, the record books needed to be re-written.
Megadeth took to the stage and all bets were off. Anyone wearing a syrup would also have needed incontinence pants and bicycle clips, because these boys were heavy and loud. I mean, they were L-O-U-D with a wo and an argh and a whole shitload of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!s. In almost thirty years of gig-going I have never heard anything so ear-splittingly deafening. And I’ve seen my fair share of heavy bands too: I saw Motorhead’s original line-up; Atomic Rooster were so heavy they almost made me vomit; Maiden, Metallica, UFO, Judas Priest, Purple and Sabbath, amongst the many, were all far from quiet, but Megadeth took it to a whole new level in Manchester.
Still, dumb as a stump, I stayed where I was until after The Scorpion, eventually vacating my space, and abandoning my offspring to the hairy hordes, not because of the excessive volume, but because I was so bloody hot and thirsty. Even right at the back of the hall the decibel level must have been well up the scale. I’m sure that if I’d stayed at home I would have still been able to hear it from the comfort of my favourite chair. Had I been younger, I would have remained where I was, just as I did, when I was their age! Growing up is vastly over-rated; growing old is just part of life.
Still, dumb as a stump, I stayed where I was until after The Scorpion, eventually vacating my space, and abandoning my offspring to the hairy hordes, not because of the excessive volume, but because I was so bloody hot and thirsty. Even right at the back of the hall the decibel level must have been well up the scale. I’m sure that if I’d stayed at home I would have still been able to hear it from the comfort of my favourite chair. Had I been younger, I would have remained where I was, just as I did, when I was their age! Growing up is vastly over-rated; growing old is just part of life.
I spent the rest of the gig wandering around, enjoying the show from different angles, taking my pictures, absorbing the atmos, inhaling the sweet smell of third-party ganja and, generally, enjoying the hell out of myself.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to attend more than my fair share of awesome gigs, quite a few mediocre ones, a small number of really disappointing ones, and a handful of downright stinkers. The recent Velvet Revolver show, at the MEN Area51 up the road was, in my opinion, disappointing, and I had so desperately wanted that one to be awesome. Megadeth, which I had expected to be good, but quite frankly expected my attention to wander now and then, turned out to be an absolute stormer. Even during the tracks that were unfamiliar to me, given my rather recent conversion to the faith, I was taken by the sheer quality of the performance and the heart with which the band played. The songs that I did recognise, quite simply, just blew my mind. Of Mice and Men, Trust, Peace Sells and The Scorpion were my favourites of the night, but I couldn’t even begin to find the slightest fault with anything in the set. Yeah, listening to the CDs, Almost Honest and Crush ‘Em have become firm favourites and would have pleased me, but I have no complaints. When they launched into a most unexpected rendition Paranoid during the encore, Holy Wars, I swear that several members of the audience spontaneously combusted.
This was a gig where you felt privileged to have been a part of the event and I have become, albeit somewhat belatedly, a firm follower of this outstanding outfit. I sincerely hope that rumours of this being the last time they will tour are just that, as I would certainly love to see them live in the future.
Over the years, I have been fortunate to attend more than my fair share of awesome gigs, quite a few mediocre ones, a small number of really disappointing ones, and a handful of downright stinkers. The recent Velvet Revolver show, at the MEN Area51 up the road was, in my opinion, disappointing, and I had so desperately wanted that one to be awesome. Megadeth, which I had expected to be good, but quite frankly expected my attention to wander now and then, turned out to be an absolute stormer. Even during the tracks that were unfamiliar to me, given my rather recent conversion to the faith, I was taken by the sheer quality of the performance and the heart with which the band played. The songs that I did recognise, quite simply, just blew my mind. Of Mice and Men, Trust, Peace Sells and The Scorpion were my favourites of the night, but I couldn’t even begin to find the slightest fault with anything in the set. Yeah, listening to the CDs, Almost Honest and Crush ‘Em have become firm favourites and would have pleased me, but I have no complaints. When they launched into a most unexpected rendition Paranoid during the encore, Holy Wars, I swear that several members of the audience spontaneously combusted.
This was a gig where you felt privileged to have been a part of the event and I have become, albeit somewhat belatedly, a firm follower of this outstanding outfit. I sincerely hope that rumours of this being the last time they will tour are just that, as I would certainly love to see them live in the future.
I couldn’t finish this review without a Megadeth/Metallica comparison. Having now seen both bands, I have to say that, whilst Metallica were good, and those members of the band that turned up at Donington 2004, together with the stand-ins for the hospitalised drummer, performed their truncated set with aplomb and gusto, Dave Mustaine and co win that battle by a considerable margin.
The system may have failed, but Megadeth succeeds, in spades.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
February 11th 2005
The system may have failed, but Megadeth succeeds, in spades.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
February 11th 2005
About the photos...
There are a lot of these that I really like and, for once, I was quite happy with the outcome. It makes life so much more pleasant when you don't have the fascist bully boys wandering around threatening to disembowel you if you point your camera at the turn.