It felt strange attending a gig where I wasn’t strapped with a camera bag on my back and a heavy camera around my neck! But tonight, I was here merely as a spectator and a fan – even though it would have been a blast photographing a couple of bands I have been listening to since their inception(!)
A few years ago, I caught Megadeth on their Australian Gigantour shows at this very venue, Festival Hall. It was a blistering set from the band and an absolutely classic gig. Check out our archives for a full review.
Tonight, the band was plagued by sound problems and after the third song, stormed off the stage to Mustaine’s disgust. They returned about 10 minutes later when the source of the sound problems had been sorted.
To be honest, they weren’t anything special tonight. No where near as powerful and magnificent as the last time I saw them and in the end, it was all pretty standard fare from Megadeth.
And then there was Slayer.
I knew we were about to have our brains melted when I saw the stacks of Marshall amps, three stacks high and about 8-10 long. Insanity!
And I was right. This was the most painfully loud gig I have ever experienced. In fact, it was just way too loud. Yeah, yeah, “too loud, too old” – fuck you, I’ve seen Motorhead – who probably left me with permanent ear damage back in the early 80′s. Well this was louder. Much louder.
Unfortunately, Tom Araya had pretty much lost his voice so we were left with just instrumental versions of Slayer classics and the occasional fan from the audience providing lead vocals. Kudos to the band for soldiering on, as it was MAGNIFICENT seeing the sublime Dave Lombardo show why he is one of the finest drummers out there today – but in the end, I felt a little disappointed that we got this limited show.
All in all, what could have been a classic performance end up being just average.
Totally agree. Megadeth tried hard but were let down by technical problems (the sound finally got close to good by the end of their set). I’ve also realised that Dave Mustaine has a bit of a James Reyne “what the fuck did he just say?” quality to his vocals – between that and the sound I had no idea what half the songs were.
During the interval, we knew we were in for a crushing aural assault when the a roadie kicked the drum and *POW* everyone’s guts took a hit and we all turned around – “Whatthefuckwazzat?”. As people realised what that sound presaged you could see knowing smiles spread out like a wave through the crowd.
Pity about Tom Araya though. Poor bugger sounded absolutely appalling when he apologised to the crowd. While we did get “Slayer the musical” (as my mate Bill said afterwards), it was certainly better than if they had gone back to their hotel rooms and sent out a “spokesman” (aka sacrificial lamb) to apologise on their behalf. We got to hear Dave Lombardo and Kerry King at their finest (although Jeff Hanneman was bloody terrible).
I must guiltily admit to heartily enjoying the “Slayer Idol” bits where the “guest” vocalists (one roadie and three fans I believe) had a crack. I was right up there with ‘em! Also worth a chuckle was the chick who crashed the stage and was promptly shoved head-first into a foldback speaker eliciting a collective wince – “oooh!” – from the crowd.
While a bunch of people complained about the volume (especially guitar solos), I didn’t find it too bad (having lost part of my hearing in one ear at my first metal gig has its benefits).
All in all a surreal evening of mayhem.
I have seen Slayer only once, and it was too loud as well. In general they’re not my cup of tea, but I enjoy them live. They’re not anything like Slipknot or Manson or Disturbed, but they’re good-:)
Cheers!
I missed the first part of megadeth but when i arrived it sounded good pity too because i wanted to see megadeth wasnt that interested in slayer although when they were about to play i have to admit i was amped and very drunk lol to see slayer id never seen megadeth or slayer live before and ive been listening to them since i was a teenager well over ten years and i was let down big muddy wall of crap sorry i know dave on drums is a legend in his own right but face it that was one of the worst gigs ive ever seen !