No surprisefor North Carolina in July – it was hot as shit! I helped Eric set up the Met Club booth. It was a couple of hours before the doors opened, so I had some time to kill and sit there and sweat. I saw Joe C from Kid Rock riding around in his mini-motorcycle. I got to hang out with some a bunch of Virginia Fuelers (James, Joanna, Nyk, Dani, Andi, Mike, George, etc…) and Steve (my friend from New York whom I’ll refer to as “crazy Steve” from here on). It was good to see some friends I haven’t seen in a while and make some new ones..
As the beer began to flow, the more fun I began to have. I started to take a bunch of pictures of the various people that came around the Met Club booth (the best two pictures are below). I also saw Munky from Korn riding around on his motorcycle. I guess everybody brought their motorcycle on this tour.
I watched the show from the side of the stage (not on the stage where the guitar techs are), which wasn’t really that great of a view. I saw Pepper from COC hanging out behind me watching the show. During the show, it started raining. The lightning made for some cool visuals. At the aftershow, it was basically just us Virginia Fuelers with the exception of a few people. That made the aftershow really cool. Jason and Jaymz came to the aftershow. I finally got my copy of Rolling Stone with Jaymz on the cover autographed! Jason was VERY IMPRESSED with Andi’s Virginia Fuel picture board (good job Andi!). Jason and Jaymz really liked the Virginia Fuel banner, and as most of you know, Jaymz took a picture with a “very cool local chapter” that appeared on MetOnTour.com. There is also a cool picture of Andi and Jason at metallica.com's "picture gallery" which is in the members only section. Check it out for yourselves.
July 2nd, Sunday (travel day)
After the aftershow was finished (around 2 AM), I decided to drive home (which convinced Dani I was crazy!). I barely stayed awake for the drive home. I made it home around 7 AM – a few hours before my tee time, which I subsequently had to cancel…no surprise...
The show was a little better than Rockingham. The crowd seemed a little more intense – perhaps because it was Independence Day. Everybody was treated to some kick-ass fireworks after the show. One of the best fireworks shows that I have seen. At the aftershow, something happened at the aftershow that probably hasn’t happened in a long time (at least in the United States) – None of there could believe it. Fortunately, all of us Virginia Fuelers brought a bunch of stuff to get autographed and our cameras. All of the band members liked the Virginia Fuel banner and Andi’s Virginia Fuel picture board. To quote Larz, “Very Fucken Cool!” and “Man, this brings back good memories.”
Picture
(c) (above) courtesy of MetOnTour.com
July 5th, Wednesday (travel day)
Just like Rockingham, I drove back home with Mike. We eventually get back around 7 AM. I was so tired that I didn’t go into work the next day until lunchtime.
For me, this concert was a little more special than usual. Not only am I seeing Metallica, but I finally get to watch Slayer! I have missed Slayer every time they have come to Virginia for various reasons (college, following Metallica on tour, etc.), but not this time. They fuckin rocked! So did Slipknot, which I have seen before. I missed Sepultura and Sevendust, but I have seen them several times already, so it was no big deal.
Since Eric had to be on stage right after Slipknot finished their set, crazy Steve and I moved the Met Club road case & tables backstage. The spot where we were suppose to leave it just happened to be where the members of Metallica were talking to various friends and VIPs. Like flies on the wall, crazy Steve and I just soaked everything up. I saw the guitar player from Full Devil Jacket roaming around and people watching…sorta like what we were doing. After witnessing a lot of people kissing Metallica’s ass, we were noticed by Niclas (the metontour dude) and he suggested that we make a hasty retreat, so we don’t get noticed by security guy - Bob Bender. No argument here!
Since there were a limited number of floor tickets, getting up close to the stage was pretty easy. Crazy Steve and I watched the show from pretty close up. At the aftershow, the numbers were pretty low which made the aftershow pretty cool. Jason and Jaymz came out. Apparently, some old friends of Jaymz came to the aftershow which meant Jaymz stuck around and chit-chatted with them. This also meant that we got to stay around backstage a little longer. I just hung out with Eric, Crazy Steve, Jeannie and Sharon. As the aftershow was coming to a close, I did see the members of Slipknot talking with Jaymz. Apparently, Slipknot are huge Metallica fans, but then again who isn’t? One of the metclubbers accidentally took a picture of Slipknot (she actually was trying to take a picture of Jaymz), but it was dark and the picture would not of come out anyway. For those of you who don’t know about Slipknot, they wear masks during their show and don’t liked to be photographed without their masks. Slipknot’s security guy was going to take her camera and film away which made her cry. But The Mighty Hetfield said no and the metclubber got to keep her camera and pictures. Pretty cool.
Later on, I noticed someone trying to weasel his way in the aftershow, like many people try to do. But, Gio, the security guy for Metallica, stopped him. They were several feet away, so I couldn’t hear them, but I saw the guy step up to Gio’s face. BIG MISTAKE! I witnessed the most viscous headbutt in my life. The sound bone makes when it collides with bone does not sound pleasant. The guy staggered back and fell down. As he was lying on the ground bleeding, he was still was talking shit to Gio. What a dumbass! The local security promptly escorted the guy away…
Long story short, I made it to Chicago okay, and fortunatly, Juan and Paco didn’t steal any of my clothes from the bag I had to check in. We had some time to kill, so that night we went gambling on a riverboat in Chicago. I won $50 playing blackjack. No free drinks while we gambled which totally sucked! We eventually got back to the hotel around 4 AM.
“Hey Eric! Get up! We left 5 minutes ago!” Wakeup call was 6 AM. When we got to the gig, I was amazed of how many people were already standing in line at 8 AM in the morning. Must be those die-hard Vertical Horizon and The Tragically Hip fans. Looking at the bands who were playing, I knew Metallica was totally going to blow this place apart. Except for STP, Kid Rock and Metallica all of the other bands sucked! After 12+ hours of walking around, hanging out at the Met Club booth, watching beach volleyball, talking with DJ (one of the googol crew) about "playing the rusty trombone" and dodging water balloons, Metallica finally got on stage. They played their short setlist (1.5 hours) which kinda disappointed me.
There weren't many people at the aftershow, which was cool. Jason was the only one that came to the aftershow. I hitched a ride back to the hotel with one of the crew vans, and "Big Mick", Metallica's sound guy, happened to be on the same van. He was really cool.
Eric and I get to the amphitheater, apparently Lakewood Amphitheater is in the middle of cracktown, so us honky lips better watch so no gangbangers bust a cap in our ass. Evenutally, James and Joanna get to the show and the doors open. I brought "my digital camera" to take some really cool pix. I took over 140, so I decided not to put them all up. However, they can be found elsewhere on this website. 3 of my favorites are below.
James, Joanna and myself sneak our drunk selves past security (when their backs were turned), and find some empty seats about 20 rows (or so) from the stage. I took several incredible pictures (like the ones above). This show was one of my favorite shows, primarily because I was with my friends, drinking beer, had "my digital camera", and we pretty close up. The crowd was really into the show.
In big cities like Atlanta, there is always a shitload of people at the aftershow, and this night was no different. Only Jason came to the aftershow which was cool with me. He said his "what's ups" to James, Joanna and me. I didn't get any autographs from him (I got so many), but I did help out a couple of Eric's "friends" and snap some pictures of them with Jason and Kirk (Kirk was at the after-aftershow - we drink a couple of quality beers, and then had back to the hotel. We drink what beers are left, eat a nice nutrious dinner (cheetos, doughnuts and gatorade for me), watch Timmy on South Park, and then decide to call it a night.
The aftershow was in the same place this time. Jason was the only one that came out. He didn't have time to take pictures with individual people, because Metallica was in a hurry. I did manage to sneak one shot of him (below).
After the aftershow, we all say our goodbyes to Toby, Niclas, and Eric. My summer sanitarium was coming to an end. :(