Tickets to a Megadeth concert!!
(Megadeth's 2007 line-up...from left: some guy,
Dave Mustaine, some guy and some other guy.)
Let's face it, nothing says "I love you" like a Thrash Metal concert!! (Except maybe the White Castle reservations: http://getoutoflifealive.blogspot.com/2007/02/valentines-day.html).
Becky, always willing to give things the ole college try, agreed to the concert before I purchased the tickets. I didn't want to just spring it on her, you know! When the concert day arrived, I told Becky it would be best if she wore something "hard core" and/or "Metal". the best we could come up with was a black "The Who" concert shirt. I threw on my Devil's Rejects shirt, also black, and we headed towards the Murat Theatre.
Every concert I'd been to at the Murat was in a room that had the lower seating and the balcony seating, which was good because I planned on sitting in the balcony, towards the back somewhere, out of the range of the wild crowd. Unfortunately, we were in the Egyptian room which consisted of a large open area with no seats and a bar right in the middle, because nothing is more safe than crowding a few thousand people into one small area and having booze right in the middle of it all!!
Becky was worried we would get crushed under the weight of a giant black shirted mosh pit, but I assured her we wouldn't...even though I was prepping myself to go to war if the need arose. We settled into the corner in front of the VIP area, which was basically an area with 5 tables and chairs surrounded my those metal guard rails like you see on the wrestling programs to keep rowdy folks from storming the ring.
The crowd was rather tame when the first band, The Confession took the stage. They were pretty good, but Becky and I laughed at the stage antics of the singer more than we listened to the music. He would bob his head like he was Berserking (if you don't know what that is, watch Clerks by Kevin Smith.) After their set was over, we waited around as the roadies tore down the set and prepped for the second opening act, In This Moment. The PA began playing various Metal songs, and then, out of nowhere, they played Barracuda by Heart. I found this to be very odd until In This Moment took the stage and the lead singer was a chick!!
(In This Moment)
Don't be fooled by her schoolgirl looks, this chick was hard core...she had a deep growling yell that would rival the hardest rock bands. I looked at Becky and commented that she "must have a sore throat ALL THE TIME after yelling like that." I'm serious, it was like Gwar or another really heavy growling band (ok, i'm not hip on my heavy metal bands, sue me!!)
They left the stage and the crowd started to build. We still had quite a bit of real estate over in our little corner, but people started to mill around a bit. First, a guy in a wheelchair set up in front of us, then a guy with his 12 year old, headbanging son. Then it got interesting.
A guy basically carrying his drunken friend made their way over to our corner, yelling at him to sit down or he was going to go to jail. The guy, who was probably pushing 300 pounds, refused at first, but finally his friend pushed him against the wall and he sat down after almost falling on me in the process.
He didn't stay down for long.
After his friend took off back into the mosh pit, Drunkie Drunkard decided to get up and lean against the VIP guard railing...then he proceeded to pull out a cigarette. Well, the guards come over pretty quickly to take the cigarette away, as the venue is non-smoking, but they let him continue to lean, which soon became a bigger problem. Without the cigarette to occupy his mind, Drunkie began to lean heavier on the guard rail causing it to begin swaying inwards towards the VIP's.
One VIP in particular, a very tall and muscular dude that looked like he could be a wrestler, took offense to this and preceded to give Drunkie a double handed shove right in the back. Somehow, Drunkie stayed on his feet and held onto the railing, which caused it to sway the other way. He composed himself only moments before the VIP shoved him a second time, which sent DD sprawling across the floor. Unfazed by this, DD got up and made his way back over to the railing!! The VIP was livid and had to be held back by three people while security made their way over to escort Drunkie Drunkard away.
The show began.
It was loud...really loud. I didn't really know the first two songs besides from watching the videos a few times on You Tube. The third song was Skin O' My Teeth, which proved to be the only song I actually knew. Around this time, a new problem came in the form of a drunk chick who decided to lift up her shirt, and leave it there. With boobs flying, Chesty McBoobs made her way over to the wheelchair guy and plopped them right in his face. He was not amused, and quickly rolled to a new spot. McBoobs then proceeded to make her way over to some guys who enjoyed getting their feel. I looked to my right, and noticed that the guy and his 12 year old son were making there way from the area, and then to my left, where Becky had the "If you come over here Chesty McBoobs, I'm gonna beat your ass" look on her face.
Luckily for McBoobs, she kept her distance.
It was 6 or 7 songs into the set when everything started to run together sound wise, and I couldn't discern one song from the next. I waited for Mustaine to make his way over to the side of the stage closest to us so I could see him play up close (we were only about 40 or 50 feet away), and then I grabbed Becky and made for the exit. My ears were burning, and I really wasn't wanting to fight the drunken crowd to get away from this show.
Overall, it was a very interesting night...one that I can honestly say I was glad we did, but I wouldn't attempt it again!!
(I would like to add, I also got Becky some candles and The Office Season 3 DVD, so it wasn't just the concert!!)
