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Metallica
| January 15, 2009 @ Verizon Center |
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by Courtney Campbell & Michelle Lee
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There might have been freezing cold temperatures in our Nation's Capital, but the Verizon Center was smoking hot as Metallica brought its tour for its current album, Death Magnetic, to town on January 15th. What a way to start 2009.
Kicking off their set with "That Was Just Your Life " and a laser light show, the crowd which included some of the Washington Capitals Hockey Team, started chanting long before the lights dimmed and didn't stop moving, pumping their fists, and singing along until the last notes of "Seek and Destroy " and then they clamored for more. The two-hour set encompassed their 20- year career. The set included six tracks from their current album, Death Magnetic, but it also included three from their first album, Kill 'em All, which was released in 1983 as well as their cover of The Misfits’ "Die, Die My Darling" that Metallica included on Garage, Inc. If you hadn't known that some of these songs were new from a recently released album, you definitely couldn't tell from the crowd's participation as all of the songs were sung along by the crowd. They didn't drown out frontman James Hetfield but complimented him. With Metallica, there is this underlying sound that is Metallica. You can hear old riffs and melody parts in the newer songs and that just ties it all together.
With a rectangular stage in the middle of the floor, this band put on a 2-hour show that proved that this is what metal is all about; not that Metallica had anything that they had to prove to begin with. This stop of the tour didn't include any pyro (someone mentioned it was due to the inauguration) but it wasn't needed. Without the pyro, it gave the band members the ability to actually work the stage and the crowd more. With the multiple microphones around the stage, no matter where you were seated or standing, you had a great view and the drum kit, which sat in the middle, and actually rotated as the night progressed. There wasn't a bad seat in the house. The lighting rigs above the band moved in and out and were in the shapes of coffins, the symbol on the cover of Death Magnetic.
The sold-out crowd was one of all ages. At one point, James Hetfield pointed out a child up front and asked their age. This one was 12 and was brought by their mother. James proceeded to say that he didn't go to his first concert until he was 16 and it was his brother that took him. More and more bands are pointing out the next generation that are attending their shows. It's great when a band has the stamina and longevity for another generation to enjoy them live.
Opening for Metallica on this leg of the tour were The Swords and Machinehead. Machinehead played a set of six songs with one of them being an Iron Maiden cover. Considering that this was a Metallica crowd and not so much a Machinehead crowd, the choice in doing a cover song in such a small set was probably a good one. The job of the opener is to warm up the crowd, but a Metallica crowd needs no warming up. They were more than ready to rock out.
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