my first real gig was Metallica on the Summer Sh!t tour 94. Austin TX at South Park Meadows. Open air, no seats.
I vividly recall every moment. I was 16 and filled with that nervous and seemingly endless reserve of energy that is the province of the young. We had driven up 300 miles from my hometown near the border. Arrived at the venue at 11:30 and promptly staked out our places in line.
The hours passed like nothing. It was Metallica, man. At 5 the doors open and we rushed up and promptly staked out places in front of the stage.
Finally the warm up starts. Rob Halford's band Fight starts it up, followed by Suicidal Tendencies and Candlebox. All respectable acts, but merely a prelude to the main event.
The tension was unbearable. Those bastards really knew how to make us want it. Finally they materialize and open up with 'Breadfan'. My world is ripped asunder, all consciousness drained, the empty husked cleansed and replaced with riffage.
It was Metallica at their peak (for those who like the Black Album anyway), the last tour of reigning metal monarchs, shaggy manes intact (well except for jason but he shaved his head well before the faggification of the others). Shortly after that show they disappeared and the next we heard out of them was Load.
As far as I'm concerned I got to see them before their flame went out. Haven't seen a show like that since. I'm jaded now. Then I was young and the experience raw and undiluted. Now I've seen too many, and I still love a good show, but none, not even Opeth, provide the visceral satisfaction, nay, the fulfillment of being that that show did.
Maybe if Frederik Thordendahl ever takes Special Defects on the road... now we're talkin...
