We got to the venue around 2 in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day. We sat in the lobby of the arena for a while, but after getting caught trying to sneak in, we were told to wait outside. We ventured around the back of the arena, hoping to maybe get in back there. After a few minutes, we were confronted by another security guard, and he had us go back around front. So we sat out front for a while, just taking in everything that was going on with the crowd that was gathering. There was a couple of local radio stations that had jumped on the bandwagon for the day, and were giving out backstage passes to people who would do outrageous stuff. This one guy had just bought a brand new $15,000 car... he spray-painted the station logo all over the car, and received a pair of passes for the night. Whatever...
At one point, we had a short old man and a short young teenage boy approach us, and ask if we knew where the bathroom was. We said no, it would probably be a long walk to the nearest bathroom. They asked us what the best way was going to be to get in the front row for tonight's show, and we asked them if they were sure they wanted to be up front. The Hampton show was one of the few all-General Admission venues on the tour, and these two guys were sure to get crushed. We started to just refer to them as "father and son". Anyways, father said he hadn't been to a concert in 20 years, but he was definitely looking forward to kicking back and taking in a good show. Whatever...Jeff and I just laughed...those two were probably pulled out of the crowd in the first five minutes of the show. They went inside to use a bathroom, but were turned away. We kept an eye on them for quite a while, watching them wander around, trying to get up the courage to use some bushes. I don't think they ever did... It was pretty amusing watching father and son walk around, but I guess you had to be there. Eventually an older woman arrived and started yelling at the two of them. She was instantly labeled "mother". We never saw whether or not they went in to the show.
Eventually Niclas came out and picked me and Jeff up and took us inside.
I showed him some chapter stuff for a while, then I stepped aside and took
in a little of the COC guys doing a last minute soundcheck on stage. Here's
a shot of Pepper in his boxers...
Eventually it was time for the doors to open. Alan Anderson, a good trading friend of mine, was going to man the booth that night, so I was relegated to handing out flyers at the door. It turned out to be pretty entertaining after all. I got to briefly meet and talk with a couple of Mad members, Marc Robeson and Nathaniel Linsz. Marc soon headed off to the pre-show. Turns out he got a pretty nice picture of himself with James up on the Club website...
After a little while, a rather attractive girl named Jennifer in typical concert skank clothes came up to me and started being really nice for some reason...turns out she thought I was someone with a lot of authority, and was trying to work me for a backstage pass. I went along with it, since it was pretty amusing to watch her. I gave her a stack of flyers, and she stood next to me and passed them out for quite a while. She was very...how should I say...energetic, I suppose? We were at the main doors, so the crowd coming in was very steady for a long time. She kept grabbing me and asking if she could have a pass. I just smiled and gave her more flyers to hand out. Eventually, a friend of hers joined us. She was also blond and appeared "ready to go"...she readily grabbed me and reached for some flyers and joined in the act with Jennifer. It was quite a sight watching them grind all over each other to attract people to take a Club flyer. I just kinda stood back and watched, smiling to myself. Eventually Alan came over from the booth and said one of the other people helping us had ran off, and that I actually could offer this girl a pass for her help. I told her that she would indeed be getting an after-show pass for helping me, and she went ballistic. She didn't know whether to believe me or not, but she continued to work with me until midway through COC's set. Jeff stopped by a couple times and just laughed when he saw the two of them "working it"...quite a sight. She met me after COC was done, I gave her an after-show pass, and told her thanks for her help. I should have taken a picture for Killing Time, but it never even crossed my mind. Sorry everyone...
Finally it was time for the big rock show...Hampton was one of the few all-GA shows on the tour, and it was definitely rowdy. I spoke with a couple people that had seen all of the New England shows, and they all agreed the Hampton crowd put everyone else to shame. Jeff and I entered the mass of people, and were instantly crushed when the boys came on. It reminded me a lot of seeing Rage Against the Machine while waiting for Metallica at one of last summer's Lollapalooza shows.
The show was pretty much the standard setlist, nothing out of the ordinary. I made my way up to the front rail after a few songs, and got the customary high-fives from Jason and James in between songs. Ahh, nothing like seeing the boys front-and-center. As in Roanoke, some guy got the bright idea of trying to smack Jason's head a few people down from me, and Jason landed quite a right to his face in the middle of a song. Look but don't touch, folks...
Eventually the show came to an end, and Jeff and I were just dead sore and dehydrated. General admission shows really take their toll. We made our way to the after-show area (very nice room by the way) and got our own table to sit down at. We discussed the show, and talked with Alan briefly. A guy who had been filming the whole night came by and introduced himself to me, and said he had been told I was big into video trading. He offered to send me a copy of the show and meet-n-greet on tape. We talked for a little while, and I handed him a chapter flyer. He has since joined the chapter (what's up Thomas!)... Incidentally, Jennifer never showed up! After all of her hard work, she didn't use the pass...oh well, you snooze, you lose, I guess.
Anyways, Jason eventually came out and signed things and took pictures
with everyone. He was really patient and took time out for each person.
I gave him a chapter shirt, and he said thanks. He said that he was in
a hurry and had to leave, so we all gave him a rowdy good-bye, and the
evening came to a close. Sort of. It was midnight, and Jeff and I still
had a 5 hour drive in front of us. Jeff gets the Ironman award...he took
a midterm at 9:30 that morning...
Two of the so-called modern rock radio stations set up camp right outside the Coliseum. I am from this area and have listened to these radio stations (FM 99 & 96X) for a long time. They had no business being there. They are only playing Metallica songs when they come out with a new album or come in concert. These radio stations, like many others, are just jumping on the Metallica band wagon. 96X , which had a minivan pumping out songs, didn't play hardly any Metallica songs the day of the Metallica concert!!! I think they played Until it Sleeps, once, and that was it!!! All right, enough of the editorial...Let the show begin!!!
Niclas Swanlund came out around 4:30 and started taking pictures, and he made his way towards Eric and me. For those of you who don't know who Niclas is, well he is one of the coolest motherfuckers I have ever met. He is part of the Metallica entourage. He takes the pictures you see on the Picture Gallery on the MetClub website, and he runs the MetClub stand at all the shows. If you have been in the MetClub since the beginning, you can read a great article he wrote in Volume 1, Issue #4. He is also the guy who got his belly button pierced in the FanCan #1 video. It was good to finally meet Niclas face to face. Eric and I were going to help pass out Metallica Club flyers before the show in exchange for backstage passes. After Niclas rounded up a couple of rather "young" girls and Alan (a fellow metcluber who was working with Niclas) rounded a few friends of his, we were off to start passing out flyers. The doors opened at 5:30 and we started passing out flyers until COC finished. During the two hours I spent passing out flyers, a couple of interesting things took place. First, I met up with fellow mad member, Mark Robeson, who got to go to the pre-show thing. He said Jason and Jamyz came to the pre-show thing and were cool as shit. He also said that he had the pre-show pass mailed to him because Hampton was one of the 3 cities he put on that orange card. I put Hampton as my first choice of the three cities on the orange card. Kind of strange that he is a 2nd year member of the MetClub, and I am a 3rd year member of the MetClub, and I get passed over! Oh well! The other interesting thing that happened was a certain young female was "very determined" to get a backstage pass (if you know what I mean), but...I'll let Eric tell that story. After COC was finished we got our backstage passes from Niclas and headed for the front. Eric had brought his backpack full of chapter t-shirts and other assorted goodies, and had planned to leave the backpack at the Club stand during the concert, but he couldn't, so I suggested that I'll hold on to it...bad mistake - all the stuff we had in there was basically ruined except the chapter t-shirts, cameras, and surprisingly my pictures with Jason and Kirk made it. Metallica was a little late coming out, and the show finally started around 8:20.
They played basically the same set list as in Roanoke except for a few small yet ass-kicking changes. The opened up with a jam of Ronnie, and then proceeded into a new song (me and Eric both agreed that it sounded like something of the FanCan #1 video)...no lyrics, just a 30-45 second ass kicking jam. The Kill/Ride medley was the same as in Roanoke - Seek/Cure/Fight Fire. Towards the end of the show, Eric and I both thought we heard a jam of Trapped Under Ice but we really weren't sure, but fellow mad members who were also there, Mark Robeson and James Richardson, both said they heard the same thing. So, I guess they did play Trapped Under Ice (4 mad members can't be wrong). The Boyz played a little bit of Phantom Lord and the theme from Mission Impossible. According to James Richardson, his friend saw Scott Ian from Anthrax, which would explained Larz and Kirk jamming the intro to Anthrax's, "Caught in a Mosh". The final encore was a little different this time, they played Am I Evil? and Motorbreath.
The show was over and I was totally drained and dehydrated. The crowd
was especially rowdy tonight. Probably one of the best shows on the tour.
Eric and I waited for Metallica to come backstage, and Jason was the only
one to come out, which is fine with me, because I know that Jamyz, Larz,
Kirk, and Jason have to be tired as shit after an intense show. Eric and
I waited till everybody got their autographs from Jason, before we stood
in line (we didn't want to bum rush the guy). Eric got his picture taken
with Jason, and a few autographs, and I got my picture, that I had taken
with Jason from the Roanoke show, autographed. I wasn't as nervous this
time, probably because I was dead-ass tired. As usual, Jason was cool as
shit and signed everything for everybody. Eric gave him a Chapter of the
Mad! t-shirt. Hopefully he'll wear it someday. It was over, and we left
around 12 am, and got back to Blacksburg about 4 am. What a great fucking
beginning to our week and a half of...Metallica.
I picked my friend up in Woodbridge, VA and we hit the road at 4. It¹s only a 2 or 2.5 hour drive to Hampton, so we should get there in plenty of time. A nasty accident on Interstate 64 just outside of Newport News delayed us for about 45 minutes, but while sitting in traffic it was cool listening to the live broadcast from the Coliseum on the local rock station (FM 99), and hearing about the winner of the ³King Nothing for a Day² contest - apparently some crazy Metalli- freak spray painted ³FM 99", ³Metallica², and who knows what else all over a brand new $15,000 Saturn to win the grand prize - the camera, backstage passes, etc. I talked to Niclas in Cleveland about how they were doing this contest all over, and it was cool hearing examples of what people had to do in different cities to win.
We arrived at the Coliseum around 7, and immediately headed to will-call to get the tickets and meet up with my friend Chris from Virginia Beach. We met up almost immediately, and quickly headed in as C.O.C. was starting their set. After C.O.C.¹s set, we looked for a spot on the barrier, but it was pretty crowded on the floor with the entire place being general admission. The show was sold out, but there were definitely some empty seats as more people were ragin¹ on the floor. We got our place one person back from the barrier on the side close to the second stage.
The show was the pretty standard setlist; no ³Fuel² or ³Devil Dance², but all the standards were there and it was still intense as usual. We were pretty close to the smaller soundboard console that was behind us; after the show my friend (who was further back away from the barrier) told me that¹s where the guy was running the lights and pyro from. He said it was cool watching him do some of the pyro explosions and the strobes during ³One² by hand, tapping it out onto a drum pad that controlled the lights. He also noticed Scott Ian from Anthrax standing with the lighting guy. When Kirk and Lars came to the second stage for the first encore, Kirk was pointing at Scott, and they (Kirk and Lars) started jamming the intro to ³Caught In A Mosh², the Anthrax classic. They also jammed the intro part of ³Trapped Under Ice² before going into the encore of ³Last Caress². We didn¹t have the best vantage point for the ³accident² at the end of ³Sandman², but it was still cool, and once again people were wondering what the hell was going on. The break after the stage destruction thing seemed shorter than before, and Metallica returned to finish up with ³Am I Evil² and ³Motorbreath². The lights came on, and we were standing around doing the usual ³Man what a fuckin¹ great show² routine. I found my buddy and he told me about seeing Scott Ian, and how the lighting guy gave him a set list. Cool...we walked over and asked if he had any more and he gave me the last one. This was very cool...a great souvenir.
We then quickly headed out as I had to get back to northern Virginia to finish (or is it start?) studying for an Economics mid-term. Back in the truck cruising out I-64, we heard FM 99 playing the set list from start to finish, with the exception of the opener ³So What². The DJ said something about not being able to play it due to the cussing ....whatever.....we were saying ³just get some balls and play the song!!² Overall, another great Metallica show, and a great warmup for next week, when I¹ve got 4 shows in 5 days.
The drive went smooth, all the way right up to the beltway. Three miles from the arena, I was stopped and given a speeding ticket by PsychoCop. I was in the far left lane to avoid everyone else who was swirling around in the other lanes. As I came over a hill, there was a cop standing outside of his car in the left hand shoulder. He literally jumped out in front of my car on foot, which he later happily informed me was cruising along at 71.4 mph. I didn't argue at all; I knew I was in the wrong, but jeez, if I'm gonna pay a $70 fine, at least you could give me the flashing lights and pull-over routine! Instead, it was a screeching halt in my lane to avoid hitting him at 70 mph on one of the busiest beltways in the country...
Thoroughly frustrated for making the outing even more expensive, I arrived 5 minutes later at the US Air arena, home of the Washington Bullets. The arena looked really bad from the outside. Really run-down looking. Anyways, I ran into Niclas who was outside taking pictures of the venue. He had a new sweetheart on his arm, and a tall blonde beauty from Sweden with him. (Spanky, I'll respect your privacy when it comes to this one...enough said!) He asked me to run the Club booth for the night, and I said sure. He was wearing the chapter shirt I had given him in Roanoke...man, it looked sharp! :) Anyways, he told me he'd meet me in a little while off at a side entrance.
So I walked around for a while, through the sea of tour busses, trucks, etc, just taking in everything. It was a beautiful day again, and I was happy I had gotten there early enough to avoid the criminal $8 parking fee...
Eventually I met Niclas, and we rounded up some people to hand out flyers at the doors. One of them said he recognized the back of my head from the front row of the West Virginia Lollapalooza last summer...he described exactly where I had been standing and everything....STRANGE... We headed in, and I set up shop again at the Club booth. The arena was a lot nicer on the inside. I stuck my head in and checked out the stage setup before the doors opened up. Seemed like a really lousy place to have this particular show. The sides of the arena are very steep, while the lighting rig above the stage hangs pretty low. I never understood how the people in the upper rows of seats ever saw the show...seems like the luxury suites were actually the worst seats in the house...
I held down the fort at the booth for a couple hours, while Niclas took the daily King Nothing competition winners around everywhere. He stuffed my pocket with backstage passes, saying he wouldn't be back in time to pack up and take care of everyone. As always, I met a number of people I had known for a long time through trading. I also got to speak briefly with some chapter members, and heads of other chapters. Everyone seemed really impressed and complimented me on what we were doing with the Mad chapter. Niclas was constantly being mistaken for being the chapter head, since he was wearing his Mad shirt. He was absolutely great about it - he'd tell them that it was a really great chapter to get involved with, then he'd point them over to me. I've gotten a lot of people writing and calling me recently, after spending a couple weeks working with Niclas. I can't thank him enough for his support of our chapter.
As COC ended, I packed the booth up and rounded up all of the people handing out flyers. After distributing all of the backstage passes, I left to find my crappy seat. Niclas was busy with the contest winners still, so no escort to the floor tonight. I wasn't too upset though. I actually wanted to view the show from above just once, to take in the full array of special effects as they were intended.
The Club seats were actually great seats....if you like seats. It was just boring standing there, with no one pushing you around for 2.5 hours. The show was the standard setlist, and the crowd seemed pretty dead. It was a big place and was sold out, but it didn't compare to last week's Hampton GA show. Jason broke a string during Creeping Death, and it looked like it whipped across one of his arms. It looked like it was hurting pretty bad, but he grabbed a new bass and kept on banging away.
The show ended with a bang as usual (ha ha), and I made my way to the
after-show area. Unlike Hampton, this time it was a mess. There were about
a hundred people there, and we had to cram into this tiny room under the
arena. It was cramped and very hot. Everyone was in a decent mood though,
and waited patiently to see if anyone was going to show their face. Eventually
Jason came out, and again, patiently talked with everyone that had something
to say. Hats off to Newsted....he always remembers to take time out for
the fans all the time.
I made the mistake of waiting until after the show to find a hotel room
- not a wise choice. I ended up in a pretty expensive hotel in a really
lousy part of town. I ventured out around 1:30 for some fast food, but
only found one little diner open...that was quite an experience in itself...
Eventually crashed, with high hopes for the next night's show...
After 45 minutes or so, we decided to head to will call to get the tickets I had ordered through be cool. I got the disposable camera past the security pretty easily, and we walked around to find the Metclub booth. Two local radio stations were broadcasting live from the arena (DC101 and 98Rock), so I stopped off at the DC101 booth to give their Djs and program director some shit about how much their playlist sucks, and how they don¹t play nearly enough Metallica, or any other heavy music for that matter. Fuck the Wallflowers, I want Metallica and C.O.C. on my radio! I finally made my way over to the Metclub booth, and noticed that they had the \21497 club shirts displayed. I hadn¹t received mine yet, even though I¹d sent in the membership renewal 2 months ago. It was very cool to finally meet co- Chapterhead Eric, and he told me that was the first time he¹d seen the new shirt also. I definitely think that the \21497 shirt is the coolest one so far, so hopefully mine will arrive soon. It was cool to talk some with Eric, after communicating via email a few times. I also talked some with Maria, who was a friend of Niclas Swanlund¹s from Sweden hanging out at the Metclub booth. I met her in Cleveland and gave her a ride back from the second Philly show. It was very cool talking to her and Eric about the different Metallica shows we had seen on this tour, the chapter, and other miscellaneous Metallica shit. We heard C.O.C. finish up their set, and decided to go find our seats, which ended up being 3 rows up off the floor on the side at the main stage end. There were fellow Metalli-clubbers all around, and a few of them had some signed Metalli-shit, as they just got back from the pre-show .
The show was the standard setlist, with the final encore after the ³disaster² being ³Am I Evil² and ³Motorbreath². We had a great view of the show, but I really wanted to be on the floor to get up against the rail, because everyone down there seemed real calm. Whenever Jason or James would play on the floor and walk around, the people in the front row would just kind of stand into it at all. One thing that was cool, though, was that Niclas Swanlund was sporting the chapter T-shirt into it at all. One thing that was cool, though, was that Niclas Swanlund was sporting the chapter T-shirt when he was walking around at various points in the show taking pictures for the Metclub web site. after trying to ³fix the light² on one of the towers was absent for some reason. They still had the guy on fire and the guy fall from the ladder and be rescued by the paramedics, though. Definitely another great show.
Landover, Maryland
April 9, 1997
(Second Show)
The setlist was changed a lot. Metallica switched Last Caress and So What. Eric and I saw the setlist taped to the second stage, and they were suppose to play Breadfan and Overkill as the last encore, but ended up just playing Battery instead. We figured they did that because of the sucky crowd. One of the many highlights of the night was definitely hearing Fuel for the first time. It was really fuckin good, a lot faster than some of the stuff off Load. I can't wait to hear a studio version of Fuel. Metallica played the famous Kill Em All/Ride the Lightning medley. It was awesome to finally hear this in person. Like most of you, I have heard this many times on bootlegs videos and cds, but hearing it in person is 1000 times better. They played the long version too! (Lightning/Remorse/Hit the Lights/ Horsemen/Seek/Fight Fire) I was glad that Eric suggested that I buy earplugs for these next three shows, because during One, Sandman, etc. the pyros exploded about twenty feet in front of us. After about 25 concerts that I have been to (not all Metallica), my ears are really fucked up. Probably the best thing about the changed setlist was that Metallica played Sucking My Love, an old Diamond Head song. It wasn't just a 10 second jam. It lasted a good 45-60 seconds...no lyrics, just them jammin! They also jammed a little part of Cure before Sucking My Love. Originally Eric and I thought Sucking My Love sounded like "Such a Shame", from the band Cliff was in before Metallica - Trauma. Boy, were we SO wrong! Keep on reading to find out what happened when we asked Jason if they played Such a Shame...pretty fuckin funny!!!
After the Kill/Ride medley, Metallica did their usual stuff by throwing
picks and sticks to the crowd. Eric was about to get a stick from Larz,
but Jamyz came by and stole it. Jaymz was laughing about it and eventually
gave it back to Eric. I was lucky enough to get a pick. It is pretty easy
when there is no one behind you. After the show, we went backstage with
what seemed like 100 other people. We all crammed in this small room. The
"Jason-after-show" finally began around 11:30, Eric and I waited till most
of the crowd got their shit signed until we got in line. We got some autographs
and pictures with Jason. Then we asked Jason if they played Such a Shame
tonight, and he was like, "Huh! I didn't play that! What are you talking
about!" We explained we were referring to the part before Battery, and
Jason said, "That was Sucking My Love...an old Diamond Head song...you
guys are paying WAY too much attention." Me and Eric knew we were right
and Jason was wrong, but of course we were wrong. We felt like total idiots!
Actually, it was pretty fuckin hilarious! We can laugh about...now. Eric
and I made our usual 4 and a half hour drive in the early hours of the
morning and got home around 5 am.
After C.O.C.¹s set, I talked with a clubber who was sitting next to me about the pre-show. He got a pass, and he said it was pretty cool, but quick, as only Jason and James came out to sign stuff. He said James was pretty quick and he said he had to go, and people were confused, but then he walked out and saw him jammin¹ with C.O.C. The arena was only around 2/3 full for the second night, so I was even more disappointed in not getting floor seats. Not that the seats were bad - they were great - but after you get floor seats once or twice and get front row to share some sweat and slap high fives with Jason and James, it¹s just so intense that you want to be down there for every show. I¹ve talked with Eric and Jeff about this, and when you look at the whole picture, the club is spoiling us, and I really have no real complaints. It¹s just part of human nature that when you get front row seats, pre-show passes to meet the band, etc..., that you get a little spoiled and want it for every show.
Before Metallica hit the stage, I could clearly see Eric and Jeff down on the floor, with a spot right on the barrier. Fuckers! It was easy picking Eric out with his chapter shirt, and plus there was probably about 15 feet or more of empty space on the barrier just to their left. Motherfucker I want to be on the floor!!!! Alright, enough about the seats. The show started about 10 minutes earlier tonight, with Jason running out first and doing his traditional lap around the stage slapping high fives with all the front row ragers (although they weren¹t that ragin¹ at the Cap Center - and there was still empty barrier space next to Eric and Jeff!). They made the usual second night setlist changes, and they played ³Fuel², which gets better and better every time I hear it. This was the third time I¹d heard it live, and it definitely kicks some ass. There was no swinging light repairman tonight during the disaster, either, so that part of the stunt must have been outlawed by some local regulation of some kind, or the crew guy who does it was just taking a couple of days off. The final encore was ³Battery², which was great. I also saw James catch one of Lars¹ drumsticks as he tossed it towards Eric and Jeff, which was pretty funny. I¹m pretty sure James went back to give it to Eric, which I¹m sure Eric will tell y¹all about. It was pretty cool seeing this from just up off the floor......and there wasn¹t nearly the fighting for picks and drumsticks that occurs when the floor is general admission. Lars even handed a drumstick to a little girl who was on her Dad¹s shoulders in the front row, which I thought was very cool.
On the way out, I ran into Maria again, and she showed me a very cool
picture of her and Jason that she had taken in Cleveland, and then had
it blown up and autographed in D.C. She also had an autographed drumstick
from Reed Mullin of C.O.C., which was cool. She was understandably pretty
excited about the picture and drumstick, and it was cool talking with her
for a bit about the shows and experiences that went along with them. I¹ve
definitely met some very cool people who are now friends on this tour.
My goal for the next tour is to just start showing up early like Eric and
a few others have been doing on this tour, so I can get in on more of the
after-shows and helping the club out. All in all, two great shows at the
Cap Center. Next up, road trippin¹ to North Cackalacky!
Just as I started drifting off, I fly about 2 feet straight up as some idiot decided to pull up next to me in the parking lot and honk his horn. I sit up, and low and behold, Jeff is hours early! Thanks a lot man!
Anyways, we eventually went over to the side entrance where Niclas was going to meet us. He comes out, and is immediately swarmed by the whole bunch of kids that had handed out Club flyers the night before. Even worse, they had all brought their friends, so there was about 25 kids standing there bugging him for backstage passes. Jeff and I kinda just stood off to the side, shaking our heads. Eventually the kids decided on who was going to get left out, and we finally headed inside. The security at the arena was real impressive. Both nights they searched my backpack, but failed to find the 2 cameras and microcassette recorder...
I set up shop at the Club booth, while Niclas took the kids around to the doors to tell them what they were going to be doing. They didn't do such a hot job...as I was manning the booth for a couple hours, I'd see them out walking around, talking to their friends and stuff. Whatever.
Pretty much S.O.S. at the booth that night. Helped a couple guys who got screwed at the box office, answered a million stupid questions, etc. Got to meet some more chapter members and traders. Tonight's show didn't sell out, so there wasn't as many people walking around.
Niclas came by and said he wouldn't be able to pack up again, that he was busy with the contest winners again downstairs. He gave me a handful of backstage passes, and I told him I'd take care of everything. When COC finished up, I started packing the booth up, and gathering up the kids from the doors. I handed out all the passes, and Jeff and I set off for the show. Our tickets tonight were on the floor...it's a good thing, too, because I couldn't take another show from the seats.
We finally got down to the floor, and found a spot right up front on the rail in between the 2 stages. One of the security goons asked to see our ticket stubs. I showed him mine, covering up the section number, since our "seats" were down at the end of the second stage. He yanked the stub away from me, and pointed us down to the other end of the floor. We slowly walked away, and saw that he was leaving in the other direction, so we just stayed put. As soon as the lights went out, he wouldn't know the difference.
While waiting for the boys to come running out, we started reading the setlist that was taped down on the 2nd stage off to our side. Fuel was on the menu, as was an encore of Breadfan and Overkill. We were really looking forward to this one.
Eventually the show kicked off, and it was pretty much a blur. It was
very strange being in the front row, but not being pushed or crushed one
single time the whole night! The only reason I broke a sweat was because
we were banging heads all the way through. Fuel was really good, although
it's hard banging to a song that you've only heard a couple times. Another
highlight was the full Kill/Ride medley, including Hit the Lights. That
was great. After the medley, it was picks-n-sticks time for everyone on
the floor. Lars came over right in front of me and Jeff, standing on one
of the road cases. We were going nuts, and eventually he bent over to hand
me a stick. Just as I was grabbing it, James comes running down along the
side of the stage, and steals it, laughing the whole way. He came back
after about 30 seconds, smiled, and gave it to me. Very cool. A pick flew
over Jeff's head, and he just turned around and picked it up unchallenged.
Definitely the most bizarre front-row evening I'd ever had...
As the encores started up, Jeff and I were really ready to hear Breadfan. They did a short jam of a song that both Jeff and I vaguely recognized. They spent about 45 seconds on it, and Jeff and I agreed it was "Such a Shame" by Cliff's previous band Trauma. It was cool to hear them pulling something so old out of the archives... It turned out they didn't play Breadfan or Overkill....they did Battery, then left. The crowd had been really lame all night, so maybe they decided it wasn't worth it.
Jeff and I made our way to the after-show again, and just like the night before, it was very crowded and very hot. Even the same room again. Jason eventually made his nightly appearance, and as usual, stayed around and met with each and every person there. Two thumbs up, Jason! Jeff and I went up to him after a while, and complimented them on pulling out Such a Shame. Jason looked sorta confused for a second, then said..."I didn't play that tonight...what are you talking about?!" We told him we were referring to the jam right before Battery. He said "Oh, that was Sucking My Love, an old Diamond Head tune...you guys are paying WAY too much attention..." We laughed, and thanked him again for his time. Turned out he was right, and we felt really stupid...
The drive home was uneventful (and slow, as I didn't want to risk 2 tickets in one trip)....got home around 5 in the morning, drained, but totally looking forward to heading out again for North Carolina in about 24 hours.
The show was the standard setlist, with the final encore being ³Am I Evil² and ³Motorbreath², with a cool jam of part of ³Damage, Inc.² before the first encore. The accident was complete tonight with swinging light repairman and everything, so his few days off are over. After the show, we headed out to get something to eat, since we hadn¹t eaten since getting into town and it was still fairly early. We drove up the road, and then found a Chili¹s to grab some food and a cold beer. After about an hour at Chili¹s, it was only a little after midnight, so we said fuck it, let¹s go find somewhere to grab another beer and maybe catch some of the games that were on.
Just behind the Chili¹s was an upscale looking gentlemen¹s club that we had seen a billboard for, so my friend Tommy and I were like fuck it, let¹s go check it out. We walked in, and the hostess didn¹t let us in \214cause Tommy was wearing a T-shirt, and you had to have a collared shirt to get in. We said fine, no problem, figuring we¹d just go grab a beer at another Charlotte establishment. She was very cool about it. (People in Charlotte were very nice and cool just about everywhere we went). So, were walkin¹ back to the truck when this van pulls up (this place had valet parking). I looked back across the parking lot and said hold on a second, that dude looks familiar. He¹s one of the security guys for Metallica, and then sure enough, James Hetfield steps out of the van and they cruise into the bar. I¹m like, fuckin¹ A, I¹m goin¹ in there for a beer if Tommy has to sit in the truck. But, I looked in the truck and I just happened to have another collared shirt...here, man, put this on. We went back in, and the girl said, cool, just tuck in your shirt. Not a problem. We paid the $9 cover and cruised in. The place was a lap dance place, and just topless. They had 2 bars, and 2 big screen TVS showing games. (The Lakers/Suns game was on one, and they were showing the Orioles on the other - fuckin¹ A!!!!) The place was kind of dark, but a lot more open and spread out than any of the D.C. places I¹d been to, and very nice - I¹m sure this was probably the most upscale titty bar in Charlotte. I told Tommy, let¹s just sit at the bar, grab a beer, and see what the standard operating procedure is. We went to the bar closest to the door and there was only one seat, so I said fuck it, let¹s go over to that other bar on the other side of the room. We walked over, grabbed a cold Coors Light, and sat down to check it out....I was looking around just checkin¹ the place out, and when I turned around Jaymz and his 2 security guys are at the table closest to us about 10 feet away. We were off to the side, and not out in the middle where most of the people were sittin¹. Jaymz and his 2 security guys were just hangin¹ out drinkin¹ a beer checking the place also. I didn¹t want to bother him or anything, so I just started checkin¹ out the O¹s game and the girls. The bar was pretty cool, and the dancers were much better than any of the dancers I¹d seen in D.C., even though a lot of \214em had some surgical assistance. I didn¹t want to sit out in the seats, \214cause I didn¹t want to be repeatedly bothered with $20 lap dance solicitations. So we just sat at the bar enjoying the other maggots lap dances, watching the girls and the games. Beerz were only like $4, so it was cool. Oh yeah, did I mention that Jaymz Hetfield was chillin¹ out at the table next to us?
Then this real dizzy stripper walks up to the bar next to us and asks the bartender....(activate dizzy stripper airhead voice) ³I heard a rumor that Metallica was gonna be in here tonight²....then she starts lookin¹ around, even over at the table where Jaymz is at, and doesn¹t even notice him. Real funny. Then, after another song or so, I¹m checking the O¹s game when Jaymz walks by....I said ³Great show, Jaymz² and he said ³Cool..thanks.² He asked the bartender where the bathroom was and just walked over, unnoticed. Tommy was like, dude, there¹s your man...you should go say something. I was like, fuck that, I¹m not gonna bother him, especially while he¹s takin¹ a piss! He was just walkin¹ back across to his seat and no one was bothering him - very cool. Then a bit later ³Enter Sandman² starts playing. I just had to look over at his table for this - it was real funny seeing Jaymz and his security guys relaxing to some entertainment while ³Sandman² was blasting.
This bar was real cool - we just chilled out watchin¹ dancers and the ballgames drinkin¹ a few beers after the show, and no one bothered us much, unlike other strip clubs where the dancers are continuously soliciting you for dances and money. I definitely enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere that this place had. After a couple more beers, the lights came on as the place was closing (they closed at 2) - so I¹m like, alright, I guess we should cruise back to the hotel. But then I look back and this obnoxious drunk guy walks over to Jaymz to get an autograph, and then a stripper is over gettin¹ an autograph. So I¹m like fuck it, I¹m in the fan club, so I¹m at least gonna go thank him for all the shit they¹re doing and everything. So I went over and said ³How¹s it going² and thanked him for the fan club shit and everything. I then asked him how he likes hearing his music in strip clubs, and he looked up and laughed, and said that it usually makes it sound better, \214cause of the atmosphere, you know? Fuckin¹ cool!!! Then that same dizzy stripper from before comes over with a napkin with the club¹s logo on it and says (activate dizzy stripper voice again) ³I just have to have your autograph!²....so he signed the napkin for her. I then borrowed her pen and asked him to sign my Fan Club ID (which was the only Metallica related shit I had on me) - he was like, yeah, sure, no problem. I asked him a few questions about the tour - how he¹d been jammin¹ with C.O.C. at a few shows, playing a song that¹ll be on the next album (Fuel), and some other shit. He was very cool, answering my questions and basically just shooting the
shit. Too fuckin¹ cool. We then cruised out back to the hotel....I
had a camera in the truck, but didn¹t feel like waiting for him to
leave the club to bother him for a picture.....I was totally high just
from shooting the shit with him for a minute and gettin¹ a quick autograph.
The club was cool, too....got to see some great looking dancers who were
pretty cool (not all of \214em were as spaced out as the one mentioned
above), beerz were relatively cheap, and we didn¹t have to deal with
the usual strip club pressures of getting $20 dances and more drinks. It
was a great place to chill out after the show, and it was just a cool coincidence
that Jaymz decided to chill out there also. And I got to watch Mike Mussina
win his first game of the year, which was also cool.
We got to the arena around 4. It was really nice - it looked more like a brand new mall or something. There was a line outside already for the GA floor section. We walked around the arena once, then sat down next to a window. Niclas saw us, then pointed to a side entrance, and we went over and he let us in a couple hours before the doors opened up. He showed us where he wanted the booth set up, and Jeff and I went to work gathering tables, chairs, and unpacking the Club roadcase while Niclas went off to take care of some other stuff.
As we were finishing up with the booth, Niclas came by and gave me the daily stack of "Warning, this show is going to be taped" flyers. I went around the arena putting them up in the usual spots, when a voice yelled out "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Turned out it was the head of Charlotte Coliseum security I think, and he wanted to know who gave me permission to tape flyers up all over the place. I said it was cool, that we had permission to do it. He didn't believe me, but walked away steaming mad. Screw him.
Eventually the doors opened up, and people started coming by the booth. Met my usual assortment of Mad members, chapter heads, and trading friends. Niclas came out with a big plate full of food from catering and proceeded to chow down in front of me and Jeff. He at least had brought us out a drink. After he finished, he gave me the nightly allotment of after-show passes and I told him I'd take care of everything. Then he left to escort the King Nothing winners around for the night.
As I was handing out the passes to everyone, a guy came up and started begging for one of them. Every night, there would be some people seeing me handing out the passes, and they'd come over, thinking I was just giving them out for the heck of it. Well, this guy had just lost in the nightly backstage pass raffle after spending a lot of money on it, and was frustrated he didn't win. I told him sorry, but I couldn't give him one. He kept bugging Jeff and I. We kept telling him to go away. He didn't. So then he started giving Jeff a hard time. This guy was pretty ballsy - he was a scrawny little guy about a foot shorter than Jeff, and probably 150 pounds smaller. Well, you can read Jeff's review to find out what happened. He kept trying to get Jeff to trade a pass for some cheap cassette re-issue of Metal Massacre, telling us how rare and valuable it was...he's lucky Jeff didn't bloody him just for the crap he said.
Anyways, we were stuck with seats tonight. Ugh. One nice thing I noticed was that the arena had great air conditioning. It stayed really cool throughout the whole show. Anyways, the show went pretty much as usual. Kirk was walking around all night in between songs with a camcorder, filming everyone. Jason got nailed with something in the middle of his solo, and he was visibly upset...
The after-show took place right out on the concourse that night. Much more room to spread out and talk about the show. There was the usual assortment of hot skanky women there, but Jeff and I noticed a pair in a corner, sitting quietly. They were sorta hiding under cowboy hats, but were gorgeous... Jeff and I wanted to have our pictures taken with THEM, but we didn't have the balls to ask... Niclas came over and told me that he would probably have time to finally do the interview for the chapter the next day around noon in Greensboro. I told him we'd be there, and would look for him.
Eventually Jason came out, and we talked to him after a while. It was nice that he was starting to recognize us each night. I asked him what he got hit with earlier, and he said it had been a lighter, and that they didn't appreciate it when fans threw stuff at them. I had him sign a large 8x10 photo of the two of us I had taken in DC. Jeff and I said that he had been right about Sucking My Love a couple nights ago, and that we had felt stupid afterwards...he bailed us out by saying that it had a similar riff to Such a Shame, and they were easy to mix up.
After a while, we were surprised to see Kirk come out. He doesn't usually come to the after-shows. He had his camcorder with him, and was filming everyone that was there. Jeff and I found out later why he made an appearance that night... I asked him to sign a couple things for me, and Jeff took our picture together. I gave him a chapter shirt, and it was a real high when he said he remembered seeing one of the shirts a few nights before. That was really cool to hear. Jeff got him to sign one of his Metallica comic books, which he seemed really interested in. Jeff gave him an extra one he had with him, and Kirk said thanks.
Jeff and I were pretty much the last two to leave, but as we were walking out the door, Kirk went over and sat down next to the two cowboy-hat chicks. He obviously knew them, and we could only guess what sort of an interesting night Kirk had!
As we passed the strip club on the way to the hotel, it looked like
one of the places where you had to be dressed nice to get in. We were still
in our sweaty t-shirts and jeans, so we decided to bag the idea. What a
mistake that turned out to be...
The setlist was pretty much the same as most of you have seen. So What, Creep, Sad, Bitch, Hero, King, One, Hate, Bass solo/Misery/Sanitarium, Nothing Else, Sleeps, Bellz, Roam, Fade, Seek/Cure/Fight Fire, (Damage, Inc jam), Caress, Master, Sandman, Evil, Motor. One of the changes this time was that they played a 2 minute jam of Damage, Inc with no lyrics. I haven't heard this song live since the Guns tour in July 92 @ RFK Stadium. It sounded real fuckin good. The part where Metallica plays Bellz/Roam/Fade has become probably my favorite part because the crowd really becomes loud and crazy. All three songs sound much heavier live. Our seats sucked (this was the second concert that I didn't break a sweat), but it was nice to view the concert from where we were sitting. Especially when the second stage rises during King Nothing, the pyros from One, and the "accident" during Sandman. But I still like GA better than reserved seats.
After the show, we waited in the hall where all the concessions stands and stuff were, instead of waiting in a room. Eric and I patiently waited. The "Jason-after-show" would have some surprises tonight. Once again, Eric and I waited until most of the people got their stuff signed before we got into line. During his bass solo, Jason got hit in the head with a lighter, and we asked him about it. Jason said he was really pissed off. We kind of apologized for the 2nd night in Landover, and said that he was right about Sucking My Love(Of course he was right) He let us off the hook, he said both riffs were similar. It was cool that he kind of remembered us from the other night. We got some stuff signed. (By the way, Eric and I have cornered the market on Jason Newsted autographs). Jason, as usual, was cool as shit and signed everything for everybody. Usually when Jason is done taking pictures and signing autographs, the security people will tell you to leave, but not tonight...maybe someone else was coming out tonight. Eventually, some of the people left, and Kirk made an appearance (you should of seen why he came out!!!) Eric gave him a chapter t-shirt and he said he had seen one before. The ultimate compliment! Larz has said it was "fuckin cool", Jason got a t-shirt at the Hampton show, and now Kirk said he had seen one and now has one. The only person we have left is Jamyz. That was cool as shit. Kirk was really nice. Eric got his picture taken with him and autographs, and I got some autographs. I brought along some old Metallica comic books that I bought 6-7 years ago. Kirk as you know really likes fucked up comics. The one I had him autographed he looked through for a while. I had a extra comic book, so I gave him one. He said, "Cool. I haven't seen this one yet." I think the Boyz like it when fans bring them gifts. We were the last to leave, except for the two of the hottest women I have ever seen in my life!!! Guess who they were waiting for!!! They were gorgeous!!!
Right down the street from our hotel, was a fancy high-class strip joint called the Men's Club. Eric and I were going to see if maybe some of the members of Metallica might go there. We never did go, but according to mad member, James Richardson who did go to the strip joint, Jamyz showed up with a couple of friends. You had to have a collared shirt to get in, so Eric and I wouldn't of got in anyway. The club was so fancy it had valet parking! James Richardson said he chatted with Jamyz for awhile and said it was really cool to see Jaymz.
After COC was finished, Niclas thanked us for helping him out the past week and a half, and we thanked him for letting us help. He gave us a bunch of picks. He is a real cool motherfucker. Niclas got us on the floor (sorry Scott and James). Eric and I stood near the second stage, and watched the concert there (once again, I didn't break a sweat). It was so nice to see our last Metallica concert (for awhile) on the floor. Right as the show was about to begin, Jason came out and did his usual running around the stages and high-fiving everyone, one of the local staff thought he was a fan and tried to tackle him, but Jason pushed him away real hard. I knew he had to be real pissed off! What a way to start a show - have the local security try to tackle you. What a dumbass! The setlist was exactly the same as Charlotte except that Metallica played Whiplash at the end. This was a nice change of pace because they haven't played this song much on the tour. The show of course kicked ass (Jamyz was right. They did come here to kick our ass!). Eric and I didn't get any drumsticks as we were hoping, but I did get a pick! It was so cool to have Jason and Jaymz play right in front of you. Especially during Fade when Jason goes around the stage and jams!!! Jaymz was 2 feet away from Eric and I during the end of Seek - God, that was fucking awesome!!! After Whiplash, we headed backstage once again.
Backstage, we waited in a bigger room this time, and as usual Jason was the only one to come out. We waited for the majority of the fans to get their shit signed before Eric, Scott and myself got in line. Jason actually remembered us which was cool as shit. He said, "Hey, it's the big guys again. Aren't you guys tired of us yet?" I said, "No Way!!!" We got some autographs. Jason jokingly got on Eric's case about the bootleg that Eric wanted signed, but as usual Jason was cool as shit and signed everything for everyone. He eventually left because he said the other guys are waiting on him because they were leaving for Cincinnati (even though their next concert was April 14th in Nashville, TN). And so ended our week and a half of...Metallica. This was probably one of the most exciting times of my life (and one of the most expensive!). Eric and I both agreed we would fall into mass depression after this week and a half was over.
Last summer when
Eric and I went to Lollapalooza in Rockingham, NC, we got lost going
through Greensboro (whoever designed this city is and idiot!). We eventually
found the right road to get on, so we figured it shouldn't be that hard
to get on the right road this time- WRONG! We got lost again in the same
spot on the same road in the same city. We recognized the same spot where
we got lost. Deja-fuckin-vu!!! A word to the wise: Never come to or through
Greensboro, NC unless you positively have to - it is a very shitty city!!!
At the gas station we stopped at to get something to eat, a guy next to
us asked Eric if he had some papers (to smoke with). He later asked me
if I had some papers or a bowl!!! What a shitty town! We finally got on
the right road and got the hell out of Greensboro and got back home around
3:30 am. And so the week and a half in the life of...two mad members was
over...
We got into the Greensboro arena complex parking lot around 11:45 in the morning. We were shocked at the number of cars that were everywhere. We wandered inside, and discovered a gigantic flea market going on. We also later found out that there was also going to be a George Clinton concert and a TV awards show happening all in this same complex tonight! You get the idea - this place was huge.
We thought maybe we could wander through the flea market and sneak in through a back door that might lead us to where the crew was setting up the rock show. We pretty much got lost, then found our way to an information booth. We asked where the Metallica show was being set up, and they pointed us right to it.
We got over to the arena side of the place, and it looked completely empty. It was way too easy - we just walked right in and started snooping around everywhere while the stages were just being brought in from the trucks. We were hoping to catch Niclas somewhere, but we didn't know if it was such a hot idea to barge our way in down on the floor. After all, Big Bad Bob Bender was sitting in one corner of the floor atop a giant roadcase overseeing things. We would surely get pummeled if we went down.
Well we eventually got the balls up to just stroll right down onto the floor. Jeff and I were both wearing the chapter t-shirt, and I'm a pretty tall guy, and Jeff's enormous, so I guess people just took us to be local security or something. We just walked liked we belonged there, and no one said a thing. I remember walking down the long flight of stairs through the seats to the floor and glancing up at Bob Bender, only to see he was staring right at us. I didn't make eye contact, hoping he wouldn't sic the entire entourage on us!
Well, it was a definite adrenaline rush as we walked right by him, and into the depths of the arena where everything was being coordinated from. We just started wandering throughout the hallways, peeking into rooms marked Dressing Room, Rehearsal Room, etc. We passed an old man that was dressed as a rent-a-cop, and he actually asked us who we were. He asked if we were with the union, and Jeff said, "Yeah, the Metalli-union." That was good enough for the old man, I guess, as he just let us continue on... At one point I walked through a door, and was right in the middle of catering, where Zach, Andy, and all of the other techs were sitting eating and watching TV. I just kinda nonchalantly turned around and left... Eventually we ran into an attractive girl who looked like she knew what was going on, and I asked her where Production was. She took us to where they had all the offices set up, and I poked around for Niclas, but apparently we had just missed him. So Jeff and I walked out onto the floor again, and found Niclas standing talking to someone. I caught his eye, and he looked pretty surprised to see us there. He took us to some seats where we wouldn't be hassled, and said he'd be right back.
Jeff and I just kicked back for a while and watched the gigantic stages slowly take their now familiar monstrous form. It is amazing how efficient the crew is, after months of practice. When we had arrived, there was nothing on the floor. After a few hours, the largest indoor rock show ever was set to go, and the techs were taking care of the soundcheck.
Niclas came over to us after a while, and said I could finally do the interview with him. So I pulled out the microcassette recorder, and went to work, with everyone's questions that had been submitted. We had a good time talking, and a number of laughs. We spent about 45 minutes straight on everyone's questions. See elsewhere in this issue for the transcript of our talk.
Eventually I ran out of questions, and Niclas demanded his rewards that I'd been teasing him with for the past couple weeks. He smiled large as I presented him with compensation for his efforts...he ran off like a little kid in a candy store, making sure every crew guy he passed knew what he had just been given... Of course, what would you expect from someone whose All-Access laminate reads "Niclas Swanlund: Swedish Erotica"....?
After thoroughly showing off his new pleasure items, he came back over to Jeff and I and told us where he wanted the booth set up. He pointed us to the roadcase, and we told him we'd get everything happening for him.
It was still pretty early, so we took our time setting up the booth. We had a lot of space in Greensboro, so we made the booth really spread out. There is a stereo in the Club roadcase, so we cranked that while we slowly put everything together. Eventually we had everything all set up and ready to go. By that time, security had taken up positions at the far side of the lobby, where the lines were starting to form for the show. I wandered out to ask one of them what time the doors were going to open. He kinda looked at me funny, and asked if I was supposed to be there. I didn't have a laminate to show him, so I thought real quick, and reached into my pocket, where I had a handful of leftover backstage passes from the previous night in Charlotte. I showed him the stack, and he said, "Oh you must be cool." Yeah, I must be. :)
Niclas came over briefly to snap a picture of Jeff and I in front of the booth for the Club website. We made sure to hold up some Killing Time issues... :) Unfortunately, the website crashed recently, and it looks like the picture is history.
As the time drew near to tap some people to hand out flyers, I took a look out near the box office to see if I recognized anyone. I saw Scott Wiggin picking up his ticket, so I made a mental note to offer him the opportunity for an after-show pass. Alie from the Club asked me to oversee her raffle for the night, and I said sure. Niclas and I ventured outside into the crowd - he went over to a radio station booth to meet the daily King Nothing competition winner, while I gathered some people for handing out flyers and promoting the raffle. Scott agreed to help, and soon we had 8 or 9 people gathered up. We all went back inside, and I helped the flyer-people get situated at the doors. After some last minute posting up of some "this- concert-is-going-to-be-filmed" flyers, it was time for the doors to open.
Jeff and I worked the booth for a couple hours, and dealt with the usual onslaught of dumb questions. "If I fill out this Club application, I'll get backstage passes for tonight?!" Jeez... Since this was our last show, Jeff took it upon himself to waste some film on taking pictures of the dumbest-looking people and the skankiest-looking chicks. It was hilarious, but I guess you had to be there. Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out real well, or I'd put one here.
Fellow Mad member and touring pal James Richardson showed up at the
booth and we ended up talking for a while. He informed Jeff and I that
he had made it to the Men's Club last night in Charlotte...where he met
none other than Master Hetfield himself...it was quite a funny story to
hear, but it's not mine to tell....sorry folks....needless to say Jeff
and I were very upset that we didn't make it...
As COC finished up their set, Jeff and I quickly packed up the booth. I picked a winning raffle ticket out of the big jug, and posted the winning number. As I was handing out the night's backstage passes, Niclas ran up quickly and gave me and Jeff a handful of blue and green picks as a thank-you for setting up and running the Club booth for the past couple weeks. He then quickly escorted Jeff and I past security straight to the floor, pausing briefly to check out a really hot-looking chick...Niclas.... man, that guy knows what's up....ha ha!
Jeff and I found ourselves a spot on the barricade for the evening. We were definitely looking forward to this one, but were going to be sad to see it all come to an end.
The show started off on a strange note. When Jason came running out as usual, a local security guy tackled him, who was then promptly pummeled by Jason's bodyguard. Turns out the local security guy thought Jason was one of the crowd who had gotten loose inside the barricade. I asked Jason about it later, and he said the guy felt really stupid, and apologized for it.
The show went as usual, no real surprises. The highlight was definitely during Seek and Destroy, when James stopped right in front of Jeff and I, and the three of us just banged heads for 20 seconds or so. Niclas was right there, and snapped a picture of the three of us. As James walked off, Niclas came over and showed me the picture (his digital camera is pretty snazzy). Unfortunately, that also got lost in the recent website crash. Ugh!
Soon enough, it was all over, after a rare playing of Whiplash as the
final encore. Hadn't heard that one since Lollapalooza last summer. We
made our way to the after-show, which was held in the room where catering
was when we had ventured down here 11 hours earlier. Unfortunately, the
crew had done a pretty good job on the food.... After a while, Jason made
his usual appearance. He was in a really good mood tonight, talking with
everyone a lot. His brother-in-law was there, and they talked for quite
a while. A couple of really hot girls approached him, and said they recognized
Jason's bodyguard from last night. He said he didn't understand what they
were talking about, but then they explained they were dancing at the Men's
Club in Charlotte last night! That got the room pretty full of energy!
One guy gave Jason a fancy sign for the Chop House, which he thanked him
for. Eventually, Jeff, Scott, and I went up to him..."Uh oh, it's the big
guys again!! Aren't you sick of us yet?" Ha ha, that was cool. I asked
him about being tackled before the show, and he kinda laughed it off, and
said it happens once in a while. He jokingly got on my case for bringing
a boot for him to sign, but he signed it anyways...the guy is just the
nicest guy to talk to in person.
Eventually we made it out to the car, said goodbye to Scott, and started off for the nearest gas station. Greensboro is the WORST place. It took us 20 minutes or so to find a gas station. We finally found one, and the food was horrible. I was sitting in the front seat chowing down, when a guy in the truck next to us asked if I had some paper, he'd share a joint with me. Nice..! I declined, and headed off to the bathroom. That was an experience in itself. When I got back, Jeff said the guy in the truck asked him the same question. We were fully ready to leave Greensboro now!
Like I said, that city is terrible to drive around in. We passed through
here around 2 am on the way home from the Rockingham Lolla last summer.
Well, we got lost in the EXACT same spot we had last summer. We recognized
all of the buildings and stuff. That city sucks!!! We both swore to avoid
Greensboro at all costs from now on. Eventually we made it home around
3 am, gradually slipping into post-Metallica depression. These two weeks
had gone by entirely too fast...
We then cruised to the coliseum complex around 6, and hung out in the parking lot with the locals for awhile. I had thought about getting there early enough to hand out flyers for the club, but since this was the last show, I wanted to take it all in, and I also wanted to leave soon after the show, since I had to drive back to northern Virginia. I was kinda bummed out that this would be the last show for me on this tour, the 10th and final one. The rain started picking up again, so we headed in, and I went to the Metclub booth to hang with Eric and Jeff before the show. I told them about seeing Jaymz at the club in Charlotte the night before, and they were like ³Fuck! We almost went to that place!². They told me the after-show was pretty cool, \214cause Kirk showed up (usually only Jason does after-shows), and he recognized the chapter shirt, which was awesome to hear about. They also told me about how they showed up to the Greensboro Coliseum around noon, and just walked in like they were supposed to be there. They watched the stage go up from scratch, which was very cool to hear about. One of these days I¹m gonna start showing up early! It was real cool just hanging out at the Metclub booth, and it was fuckin¹ hilarious watching Jeff take pictures of the people who came up to the booth with real stupid questions. He had some space left on his disposable camera, so they decided to take pictures of the idiots with stupid questions. This was very funny....it was one of those things where it helps if you were there, but people were really asking some idiotic questions! I¹m sure Jeff or Eric will go into this in more detail....
I then met up with Scott Wiggins, who was handing out flyers for the club. We talked about the D.C. shows, and the chapter website. Niclas Swanlund then stopped by quickly to give after-show passes to the people who handed out flyers for the club (what, none for me?), and after giving him a quick hello Scott and I headed out to find the seats, which were once again up a few rows on the side. They were closer than Charlotte, so that was cool. Eric and Jeff had seats on the side also, but Niclas got them down to the floor - fuckin¹ bastards! The Greensboro show had the exact same setlist as Charlotte, with the exception of the final encore, which was Whiplash!!! This was cool, \214cause I hadn¹t heard that at any of the shows I¹d been to. The Greensboro Coliseum was also smaller than the Charlotte Coliseum, and the crowd was a lot more intense than the Charlotte crowd. Neither show was sold out, which kind of surprised me, although Greensboro was pretty close to being sold out. Both shows were great, and the overall experience made for a great road trip - it was awesome hangin¹ with Eric, Jeff, and Scott, and just gettin¹ to have another cool Metallica experience. I thought the Greensboro show was a little more intense, \214cause we were closer, and the crowd was much more into it. After the show, we hung out for a bit to watch all the Metalli-freaks after the show, and then went back to the truck for some Gatorade and a 4.5 hour drive home. Oh well, you gotta do whatcha gotta do.
Eric here... I just wanna take a brief paragraph to say some "what's
up"'s and thanks to all of the cool people I got to hang out with at different
shows. These aren't all chapter members, but it wouldn't feel right leaving
certain people out. I probably won't get everyone, but I'll try...
Jason Newsted (thanks for our 368,571 autographs and pictures!), Sara,
Lou Dunaway, James Richardson (dammit, where's my collared shirt!?), Brent
Harrison, Marc Robeson, Sonal Pathak and brother (do you guys ever stop
driving?!), Alan Anderson, Jennifer (I gave you a pass...where the hell
were you?!), Steve (head of Frayed Ends of Seymour), head of Of Wolf and
Maryland (sorry I forgot your name), Scott Wiggin, Nathaniel Linsz, Victor
Wang, Thomas Clements (thanks for filming!), Steve Kershner, Robert Reisinger
(head of German Power Wolves in Hannover, Germany), Gerben Kok (from Holland...thanks
for the VIP escort!), Alie (from the Club), Jeff Holland (my travelling
partner...I'm a fourth year member, dammit!), Sally, and last but not least....Niclas
Swanlund, a.k.a. Spanky (thanks for all-access, all-everywhere for 2 weeks!!).....