megadethirving

Klaus Kinski catches Megadeth @ The Fillmore

Megadeth @ Irving Plaza (the Fillmore), NYC – Sept 26, 2007(CRED)
Megadeth @ Irving Plaza

I was faced with a difficult choice on Wednesday; I could either see one of my comedic idols, Zach Galifianakis, get interviewed at UCB by the wonderful Carl Arnheinter. OR I could experience one of my all-time top favorite metal Gods, Dave Mustaine, tear the Fillmore a new a-hole with his newest incarnation of the band Megadeth. Thankfully, the choice was made for me; Zach canceled.

Continued below….

Let me start by saying that Megadeth’s show at the Fillmore was probably one of the best shows I’ve ever been to, of any genre. It had all of the qualities of the metal shows I used to go to as a teenager, only this time around I’m tall enough to see over everyone’s heads and have ample time to brace myself for an incoming crowd surfer or out of control mosher. As the jam-packed and sweaty crowd threw up the devil horns, moshed, threw cups of beer, crowd surfed, moshed, and, occasionally, lost shoes or other bits of clothing, Megadeth tore through as good a set list I ever could have dreamed of. The set consisted mainly of their classics peppered with only a few newer ones. For a fan like me who tuned out most of the records that followed the masterpiece Rust in Peace, the show couldn’t have been better.

Going in I was a bit skeptical of seeing Megadeth without Dave Ellefson, Nick Menza, and Marty Friedman, who, with Mustaine, were the ultimate line-up Megadeth ever had. But the crew Mustaine put together had absolutely no problem taking over. Sure, nobody could ever match the ‘ultimate’ line-up, but these guys are as good a forgery as you could possibly get. And, boy, I sure am a sucker for drum kits that have more cymbals and drums than any human could ever possibly use.

The biggest problem with the metal scene nowadays, for me, is that it is saturated with loads and loads of terrible bands that devote their time and effort to tuning their guitars as low as possible, screaming as loudly and incoherently as humanly possible, and modeling their looks to fit some dark, morbid, and grubby aesthetic. And this trend is always reinforced to me by opening bands at metal shows. One of the openers for Megadeth, however, was surprisingly adept at playing really good metal that at times harkened back to the old days. The Confession played solid, anthemic metal with particular focus on awesome guitar harmonies. Not saying they’re the best metal band in the world, but they do bring something really good classic metal to the table.

Another review complete with setlist, clips, and pics can be found at Ear Farm

Klaus

Previously
* Megadeth – 2007 Tour Dates

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