GIG: Megadeth/Job For A Cowboy/Evile

As soon as I realised Megadeth were coming to Newcastle, I went bonkers. Without a doubt I knew it would be one hell of a night. And it was! Two months after buying tickets, I and a few mates headed to town with metal in mind. This was touted as Dave Mustaine's UK "Gigantour" - however the lineup supporting Megadeth paled in comparison to America's version. It's easy to see why, as many venues are smaller over here. When we got there, the queue to get in was huge, so we decided to leave it for a while. With Job For A Cowboy and Evile for support, we weren't too bothered about getting in early. After a short wander, we went in anyway in the middle of Evile's set. These guys didn't sound too bad, and they had a pretty good rapport. Unfortunately I had to endure Job For A Cowboy after that, a band I really wasn't liking. Too much growl and spit, with no class. Tension grew in the place as everyone waited for Dave Mustaine and his metal maestros to come onstage. Adrenaline flowed as Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song played over the speakers. Prelude to madness, methinks.

The lights go down. Sleepwalker. The crowd goes mental. The familiar figure of Dave Mustaine filled centre stage. We were at the mercy of Megadeth, an audience of quite literally all ages. Rockers and metalheads young and old. They breezed through Take No Prisoners and Skin O' My Teeth, before Mustaine mocked the balcony-seated-fans for being too scared to enter the floor, where all hell was breaking loose around me. A fair share of more new stuff was played off the excellent United Abominations album, including Washington Is Next!, Gears of War, the new version of A Tout Le Monde, and Never Walk Alone...A Call To Arms. There was no time to admire shiny guitars as In My Darkest Hour (highlight of the night for me) rattled out. Credit to Dave, he put emotion into his performance. This is a man who knows how to express himself. Nearly all of the classic and legendary Deth songs were played in fantastic fashion, including Wake Up Dead, the deja-vu inducing Trust, the intensely satisfying Symphony of Destruction, and of course Rust In Peace...Polaris and Tornado of Souls from the awesome Rust In Peace album - considered one of thrash's best.

By this time, being at the front of the crowd was a fight to stay alive. The heat, sweat and dehydration of attempting to keep on your feet was memorable, to say the least. This was, in my eyes, metal at its greatest. Towards the end I was mostly in front of new guitarist Chris Broderick (see top), and I was really impressed. He didn't seem phased at all, and didn't miss a thing. Megadeth went off stage, but the night wasn't over yet. To massive cheers, Mustaine, Broderick, James LoMenzo (bass) and Shawn Drover (drums) came back on stage. They had saved the best 'til last, powering out Peace Sells. I have a vivid memory of standing next to this fifty-plus year old guy with long gray hair and wearing leather, giving me a mad look and us all singing "Whaddya mean I don't believe in God...talk to him every day...". Frickin' brilliant. After this, the last tune was Holy Wars...The Punishment Due. The best word for that I think is intense.

By the time it was all over, I was exhausted, dehydrated, sweaty, and half deaf. I knew it was one of the best gigs I'd ever see.

GIG: Alter Bridge/Enjoy Destroy

So, I'd only vaguely listened to Alter Bridge before I knew they were coming to Newcastle. However I liked a lot of similar bands - Shinedown, Black Stone Cherry, etc, so I decided I would buy their recently released album Blackbird, and then decide if I would go to the gig. I found myself in awe of how good they were. Stereotypical American rock band? No sir. Blackbird is a surprisingly heavy mix of slow and intense tracks, with meaningful and inspiring lyrics. I listened to their original album One Day Remains, which is fantastic as well.The evening came and I became increasingly excited - I hadn't seen a gig since The Answer, ten months ago. This was my first time at the Carling Academy too. I was impressed right away with the venue and the amount of people there, but support band Enjoy Destroy failed to grab me. Apart from MacTier, most of their tunes are a little too indie-rock (yeurgh!) for me I think, and they didn't suit Alter Bridge at all. You could tell the audience were here for one band alone. Enter Alter Bridge. Wow. The emotion of Blackbird and the guitar sound of Mark Tremonti in White Knuckles just blew me away. There was a hell of a lot of crowd action for that one. Two mosh pits gave me a passage to the front of the crowd during the heavy stuff. Do they know how to get the audience going! As for the voice of Alter Bridge, Myles Kennedy (right) has to be one of the best voices of rock out there. I along with several hundred people sang along to Open Your Eyes, and Rise Today lifted my and a few other souls to new heights. Personally my favourite however was Brand New Start. One of the surprise tunes they finished with was AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie, which brought the house down. I had wanted rock, and I got more than I came for.

Creative Misadventure?

I've had two journals. I've wrote countless silly half finished (but fun) stories. I've half clicked create blog before, but never got round to it. Blog? What for? Why? Well, I know there's a chance nobody will ever read this, these mindless ramblings. But I guess I need an outlet for what's in the mind, and there's nothing better than writing for me.

The only thing worth writing about at the minute is music. There's a few gigs coming up I want to write about, and the last one I've seen is The Answer and Winnebago Deal in March 2007. I'm a little starved of live-ness, to say the least!