Show: Megadeth
Date: February 24, 2012
Venue: Gibson Amphitheater
City: Los Angeles, CA
Megadeth
Photos by Andrew Gates
Written by Nicolas Bates
Megadeth—whether you like them or not—has been one of those bands that have influenced many other bands and musicians throughout the years. Even though their heyday was in the 80s, you’re still likely to see Megadeath shirts here and there. Okay, maybe those wearing them are 40s rocker dudes or pimply faced teens, but that’s beside the point that after 25 years, this band still has a following.
On that school night, the Gibson Amphitheater was packed with eager fans (for Megadeth fans, the line-up was probably somewhat of a wet dream: Lacuna Coil, Volbeat and Motörhead). Old, overweight metalheads and old, overweight metalheads-to-be (read: teens in denim vests with long hair) were ready to rock and get their pit on!
Megadeth entered the stage to a roaring crowd and headed straight in to “Trust” without addressing the crowd. After the song is completed, Dave Mustaine calmly, and with almost no emotion, slowly walks to center stage and throws his arms up in to the air. The Amphitheater erupts; the show has commenced.
Megadeth proceeded to play “Foreclosure of a Dream” and “Sweating Bullets.” However, unlike the video for “Sweating Bullets,” there was no Mustaine scowl in sight. In fact, he kept pretty much a straight face the entire length of the song.
The next song, “A Tour le Monde,” was co-sung by Lacuna Coil’s Christina Scabbia. Dressed as if trying to sucker folks into the “oddities” tent at a carnival, Christina came in and took the level of excitement up a notch. Her voice is a powerhouse, and the crowd dug in.
Mostly a seated venue, the GA crowd was nowhere nearly engaged in a pit as potentially expected for a Megadeth show. Mustaine played with great poise, but seemed somewhat distracted (per se). This did not stop him from showing off his skills as an excellent guitar player, however. His vocals were spot-on as well.
Megadeth went on to play “Headcrusher,” “Whose Life (Is It Anyway)” and “Public Enemy No. 1,” where both Mustaine and Chris Broderick played their solos as calm and collected as grandma at her Sunday brunch. Just as expected, Megadeth, as a whole, plays flawlessly. Regardless of how much of this is expected after decades of playing, respect should be given where it is due. Mustaine is an extraordinary guitar player, and even after an injury left him unable to play while he underwent physical therapy on his hand after an accident in 2002.
By this point in their set, the crowd became a little more riled up. While still somewhat subdued overall, the pit seemed to see more action. Men were sweaty. Women wished the men weren’t sweaty. Teens, of both sex I am sure, wished the men weren’t sweaty as well. But all is fair in love and Megadeth.
The rest of Megadeth’s set consisted of the likes of “Guns, Drugs & Money,” “She Wolf,” “Hook in Mouth,” “Ashes in Your Mouth,” to which both Mustaine and Chris Broderick, back to back, slammed in to solos, and the classics “Symphony of Destruction” and “Peace Sells…” During “Peace Sells…” a creature resembling the skeleton in Megadeth’s logo sauntered on stage and walked stage left to stage right, gesturing a slit of the throat every time Mustaine sang, “Peace sells…but who’s buyin’?” It’s not every day you see a 5’8” tall skeleton in a suit.
“Peace Sells…” wrapped up the set and the band walked off stage. Their obligatory wait for the encore was short, and that is always respectable (there is no need to make your fans wait to see your last few songs!). Mustaine slowly came back out onto the stage and addressed the crowd. No controversy here, just an extremely vague political comment about needing change. The band then ripped in to “Holy Wars” and the crowd erupted. The pit was on fire and sweat dripped off of everyone in GA (even those who didn’t want it to).
After their set, the boys in Megadeth acted grateful and loyal to their fans. After all, they have been coming to see them play for over 25 years. Many a person walked out of the Gibson Amphitheater that night with a hoarse voice from belting out lyrics as loudly as possible. Try to tell those people that’s a bad thing…