Tagged: megadeth
Why would you go to more than one gig?
The past few days, I’ve encountered the same reaction from different people – for the exact same thing.
In the summer, the general conversation opener is: “So, when are you going on vacation?”
That usually implies a beach holiday or working on your house or something. And most of all, it usually means “taking time off all at once”.
I haven’t had a traditional vacation in years. It usually bores the hell out of me.
Instead, I use my vacation days, a total of 32 days here in Denmark, and I spread them out over the year, for CONCERTS.
I travel all over the world for gigs. It’s the essence of LIFE to me, I absolutely love it.
I’ve always traveled alone, because most people I’ve met in my life don’t share the same passion quite on the same level, but since late 2016 I’ve shared this passion with a kindred spirit, a guy from Brazil, living in Germany.
We’ve been all over the planet for gigs: Japan, Australia, South America, USA, Europe… Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath, Monsters of Rock Cruise, whatever tour was announced that sounded cool.
The memories from the trips, good and bad, are invaluable.
The wonderful places we’ve been to, the people we’ve met, the things we’ve learned – those are memories for LIFE – and I wouldn’t have it ANY other way.
Paul McCartney started announcing new European tour dates recently – and we immediately decided that we would try to do as many of those as possible.
I get excited like a little KID, it never gets old.
So, we decided to dedicate December for sir Paul.
I’ve loved The Beatles since I was a little girl. Back then it wasn’t cool to like some “old dudes” from the 60’s and my class mates thought I was weird for not being into any contemporary artists.
But my love for Beatles’ music was like being infatuated. It generated a kind of high that has lasted a lifetime.
I love Paul McCartney as much as I ever did. His music is the soundtrack of my life.
I mentioned my travel plans to a colleague one morning. She just sat there for a few seconds with her mouth wide open and raised eyebrows before she said:
– But… Doesn’t he play the SAME SONGS?
– Yeah, pretty much, I replied.
– But… Isn’t it enough to see that ONCE? Why would you want to see that over and over again??
Here we go again.
I’ve heard that before. Same reaction. Same question. Same facial expression. And I already know that there’s very little point trying to explain to someone who lives on a different planet than me, why I love it so much. She wouldn’t understand.
There is only one way to understand it – and that is to actually BE there.
The the indescribable feeling of being in a huge stadium somewhere in South America or Japan (or ANYWHERE), with thousands of like-minded strangers that just became family…. seeing thousands of lights from mobiles and lighters swinging back and forth to a deafening ‘na-na-na-na-na-na-naaa’ that’s sounding over the stadium from thousands of voices.
Voices of people who all feel the same love for the music and the artists. That’s powerful stuff.
Songs that bring out emotions and memories like nothing else can. There’s that one song that gets me every time. Whenever Paul plays “Here Today”, the song he wrote for John, I struggle not to cry. I always fail.
Nothing else in life does that for me. The roller-coaster of emotions is beyond anything. The greatness of the experience, the kicks, the smiles it generates, it’s just amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Different artists do different things. Going to a Megadeth-gig for instance, is liberating. There’s so much testosterone aggression there, so much anger and frustration, but at the same time it has a soul.
The loud, hard, and heavy music – and the crazy, wild crowd, is like a cleansing of the soul. Whatever frustrations you might have had when you walked in – will be gone by the time you leave.
Going to a concert means that you’re leaving all your daily worries and troubles at the door.
And if you don’t have any, your already good life will feel even greater.
You simply can’t lose.
And then someone asks you “why would you want to see the same songs being performed over and over”…
Yeah.
If they only knew what they’re missing out on.
GUITAR UNIVERSE – Day 3 [Stockholm, Sweden]
Woke up at SAS Radisson in Helsinki.
I had pre-booked a cab early in the morning, to get to the airport on time. So I got up at 5 AM and went downstairs to get some breakfast before the cab came to pick me up. It was almost empty in the big breakfast room, but a decent buffet to choose from. I took a quick look at my phone and saw that I had about 15 minutes before the cab was supposed to arrive, so I went to get my little carry-on that was behind the front desk.
On my way out in the lobby, I see ONE person (at first). Marty Friedman. He smiles and waves a little and I kind of wave back, wondering if he still remembers me or if he just remembered from seeing me the day before (and the day before that).
The reason why I wondered was because the first time I met Marty was when he was new in Megadeth. I did two or three interviews with him during that time. This was, obviously, before there was internet and he mentioned at some point that he had lost touch with a friend of his, drummer Anders Johansson (Yngwie, Hammerfall).
Anders was a friend of mine, so I remember dialing Anders’ number at the hotel, handing Marty the phone before leaving the room. That was the “old” way of getting back in touch with friends. Nowadays I guess it’s Facebook…
About ten years later, Megadeth were opening for Iron Maiden in Stockholm and I was at the hotel where both bands were staying. I ended up right behind Marty at the front desk, because I needed a map to find the venue.
I figured there was no point even mentioning that we had met before cause of course he would have no idea. He turned around for some reason, stopped and went: “Hey… I’ve seen you somewhere before, haven’t I?” And then he went on to give me all the details. That it was an interview in Copenhagen and what it had looked like there and soforth…
I was incredibly impressed by his memory for faces. I don’t even remember people I met last week – and he remembered after all those years. I never forgot that, I thought it was amazing.
However, I honestly doubt that he still remembers now, another 10 years later, we’re talking almost 25 years ago now. But – I still couldn’t help wondering.
As I got closer to the lobby I saw the whole bunch of tired musicians sitting out there, waiting for what I’m guessing was their ride.
I picked up my carry-on and thought that I would be able to stay and chat for maybe 10 minutes before my cab arrived, but the girl at the front desk told me that my driver was already there.
Suddenly I had to run off like a freaking Cinderella..!! The guys were trying to persuade me to hang out a for a few, but as I didn’t know how else to get to the airport later, and I didn’t have time to get the details about what they were planning to do I just barely even had time to say good morning – I just waved as I ran towards the door and said that I’d see them all in Stockholm.
Afterwards I felt mighty rude but I thought I had all the time in the world – and then the driver shows up too early and there you go. Suddenly you end up getting super stressed…!
I got to the airport, expecting a large place with lots of restaurants and shops, but the security was a tiny little station that I breezed right through and much to my surprise, my gate was just a few steps ahead.
Had nothing to do, so I picked up my new little Sony Vaio ultrabook (love it – if it hadn’t been for that annoying Windows 8…). Maybe 30 minutes later or so, I hear some familiar voices. I looked up, and there’s a whole collection of longhaired musicians and crew again, walking slowly like zombies towards the same gate. We were all on the same flight to Stockholm.
So, there we all were, trying to kill some time before departure, which was maybe 2 hours later. It was a computer-central. Mobile phones, laptops, iPads, mini-iPads everywhere. You’d think you just walked in on a DreamHack convention or something. :D
And some…. took a nap.
Once we got to Stockholm, I actually didn’t have a plan, for a change. I thought I was going to just improvise, but luckily, there was room for one more on the bus. :)
So, the whole equipage headed towards the baggage carousels to pick up suitcases and gear. Then continued out to find the tour bus – their rolling home for the coming few weeks across Europe.
The nice British driver welcomed everyone onboard, and while the band went upstairs to find their bunks, I found a place downstairs at the table where I wouldn’t be in anyone’s face. I was joined by two of the guys from the crew and it was really nice to just chat for a bit on our way into town.
When we arrived outside the amusement park Gröna Lund (where the venue was and the festival Stockholm Rocks was taking place) I thanked for the ride and continued on my way to check in at my hotel which was just up the small hill nearby.
The band was getting a bit more well-deserved sleep and the crew had work to do so the best I could do was get out of the way. :)
I had very little time but I’m rarely in Stockholm and I wanted to meet at least one more of my friends there before I left. One of them being my “little brother” Chris Laney (known as a producer at the classic Polar studios (where ABBA recorded their albums), songwriter and band member of a bunch of bands). But frankly, I haven’t seen him in so long that it felt like an hour just wouldn’t be enough.
[Me and “little brother” Chris:]
So I asked another dear friend, drummer Martin who’s now in Stockholm studying to be a producer and learning management, the business part of the music industry and about a million other things. We’ve always had tons of fun, so it would be great to see him. He took the ferry over from Stockholm city to Gröna Lund and joined me while I grabbed a bite at one of the restaurants across the street from the venue Tyrol. Hadn’t eaten all day.
[This is what Martin was doing when I first got to know him and the awesome dudes of the band Chains. The band split up but the guys have been doing great on their own. The guitarist Gabriel for instance, is now in LA, playing guitar and kicking ass]
Time went very fast and I had to run so I wouldn’t miss the festival, and he had to run too as he really didn’t have much time at all but still took the time because we never get to see eachother normally. That’s what happens when you’ve got friends all over the country…!
I was going to review the festival for Sweden Rock Magazine so I picked up my pass at the door.
There was some cool stuff to see and hear. The girls onstage when I walked in, Imber, were really good and I liked the singer’s badass attitude. Very confident but not arrogant and an edgy rock’n’roll voice. She had something unique.
Next band on stage was Finnish glam band Reckless Love – and to be perfectly honest, I expected it to suck. I’ve seen shitload of those bands putting tons of time and effort on their IMAGE, hair, clothes and various props, but when it comes to the music, they usually bore me to tears.
Well, I had another thing coming.
They were quite entertaining and they did their thing very well. Their singer was a total strutter and it just worked with that whole concept. If you didn’t take it dead serious, it was what it was – fun!
What I liked the most was the great vocal harmonies. The guitarist and the bassist could both sing which made all the difference. Few bands can pull that off nowadays (or they don’t even attempt it), so kudos for that.
Honestly, they were a hard act to follow. How do you walk up on stage right after a band that just invited to a rock’n’roll party and got the whole crowd singing and jumping? Phew.
Luckily, the act that followed was no rookie. If anyone knows how to work a stage, it’s Gus G. For a second there, I thought that his fan would have worked great now, just to add a little extra spice and effect on stage. But then again… he doesn’t really need it. :)
I saw another familiar face in the photo-pit (I chose not to go down there, eventhough I had a photo pass, because the angle where I was standing was better than the pit…). It was Tallee Savage, a very cool lady and talented photographer. Was glad to see her, so we went to the bar before Gus got onstage, to get something to drink.
Her husband left after a short while to leave the most expensive cameras at home, as those weren’t needed anymore and it was too risky to walk around with them.
I still hope she will get a chance to get a proper photo shoot with Gus, because I love her photos and I think that her dramatic but very elegant style of photography would suit Gus well, as he already has a bit of “mystery” about him. Someday, maybe, who knows :D
When Gus G hit the stage it was really a pleasure to watch. The crowd was chanting his name inbetween songs: GUS….G! GUS… G!! Some guys in the front were going absolutely wild, headbanging like crazy, reaching for him, trying to get a pick… the whole deal. I just thought it was awesome.
[Pure adoration…]
The rockers were totally into it, especially, of course, during the covers, which was probably the only songs they had even heard before as the solo-album is brand new. The Firewind-song World On Fire generated a bunch of banging heads as well.
In short – it was a successful show. The band couldn’t have asked for a better crowd. :)
During the changeover to Marty, we bumped into Anders Tengner, Swedish journalist and author (one of his latest books was “As Above, So Below – The Unauthorized Yngwie Biography”).
He was the presenter of this festival, so he had a few minutes to come and say hello. “Oh – Tallee – AND Daniela!” he smiled before he hugged us both simultaneously.
When I was a teenager, he was my main role-model and I loved his personal writing style. I’d say that he definitely influenced me a lot cause he was almost like a rock star himself when I was 15. All the stuff he experienced, I wanted to experience too – and then write about it, the same way. I’d say I’ve done okay doing just that. ;)
Marty went onstage to do his thing – and once again he mesmerized the Swedish crowd. You don’t even think so much about it being 100% instrumental. It’s so well carried out that you have a good time from beginning to end and he does have a stage presence that draws people to come check him out.
After his show, Anders picked us up to escort us backstage. We hadn’t even gotten through the door when we bumped into the promoter Christer. He immediately went: “Daniela Pilic! I haven’t seen you in twenty years”.
I knew I recognized his name when I got an e-mail about my pass, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember where from. He said the same thing. I do remember him working with a record company back in the 90’s who handled the band Talisman and that might have been one of those times we first spoke. But it’s a small world – it really is. :)
He continued: “I hear you went to Australia with Gus and the band!”
How on earth did he hear that? I wondered. He laughed and said that the management had mentioned it. Once again, it’s a funny and small world. :D
Once we got right in the middle of the backstage area where all the different bands were hanging out, I bumped into another old friend – Suzan from Playground Music. She’s done everything in this business and been around as long as I have, working with everything from band-PR to being a tour manager and whatnot. She’s a cool lady so it was great to catch up a little! We meet here and there, at least at Sweden Rock Festival every year. :D
The bassplayer from Reckless Love had been left behind, wearing only the thin, white tank-top that he had been wearing on stage. He had had a few beers and kept explaining that everything from their dressing room was gone – including his cellphone and his jacket.
So he couldn’t call his manager to ask where the hell everyone went or how to get back to his hotel. I had seen the manager budging out all the stuff from the dressing room maybe 30 minutes before. This dude was stranded.
Luckily, they were staying at the same hotel as I was, which was not far away so he could make it even dressed in…that. Suzan was about to show him the way when someone came for the poor guy. :)
H.E.A.T got back from their set, they are a very energetic live band and I can’t really find anything to complain about, except that they aren’t quite my cup of tea, that’s all.
TNT rushed by, passing us on their way to the stage and everyone left to go check them out from the side of the stage. Tony Harnell still has an impressive voice, that’s what stuck with me the most.
The backstage area was clearing out after TNT had finished their set and someone suggested that we should go to the classic Stockholm hangout for rockers: Pub Anchor.
This particular evening they had an Ozzy cover band which maybe could be fun for Gus to see. :D
So we all got a large cab/van and headed off to Anchor. I don’t know if I would call the cover band a good band, but at least they were kind of funny. :)
This clip is from the show at Anchor – “Ozzy” hanging from the ceiling singing No More Tears….:
We stayed there for a few hours until the place started to “thin out” just before closing time.
The guys ended up at another club I think, whereas I went back to the hotel to get 2 hours of sleep before crawling on the train back home to Malmo (as a sleepy zombie) a few hours later…
My next destination will be Munich, Germany…..!
The true love for rock’n’roll
This kind of got me thinking of exactly how much I love rock’n’roll.
Was talking to a guy the other day and he said he was into “all kinds of music“, and was trying to convince me that Ultravox (new wave band from the 80’s, playing electronic music) were far better than any metal band – and he was going to make it his mission to make me realize that.
I thought he was kidding, but the dude was dead serious. :) Oh boy. Talk about wasting time and breath for nothing. :)
I can see and appreciate the qualities in other kinds of music, for whatever it may be. It could be good musicianship or a taste for well produced albums or just memorable sing-along songs or whatever. But my HEART is wherever rock’n’roll is. That’s something that people who aren’t IN it, will never understand. Especially not those who say that they listen to “all kinds of music”. I think most of us do, but rockers will always state rock as their favorite music when asked, as opposed to people who don’t passionately love anything, they just listen to “everything”….
Rock’n’roll touches my heart simply because it’s genuine. And I’m not just talking about heavy metal, I’m going back to the 60’s in my trail of thoughts right now. There was all that rebellion going on back then, that paved the way for pretty much all artists today. You had John Lennon – the rebel, you had Stones, Hendrix, Janis, Morrison, The Who… You name it. Mentioning Ultravox in the same breath as those people is just ridiculous. :)
When I listen to Janis Joplin for instance, it’s almost as if she’s transferring her thoughts and emotions directly to the listener, it’s that intense. She was just so amazing and definitely a rebel and a pioneer as no women were doing what she was doing back then. It’s impossible to listen to her sing and feel indifferent.
As far as metal…. It’s got everything that I love about music. It represents strength, power, truth, sex, love, passion, freedom, living life to its fullest (yes I know there are bands in the genre that represent the exact opposite, but generally speaking).
When I first heard Judas Priest, it just knocked me off my feet. There were loud, screaming guitars, loud screaming vocals, pounding bass and drums that just punched you in the face in the most amazing sort of way, the whole combo grabbed my heart and it’s kept that firm grip of it ever since.
The reason why people love bands like Motley Crue for instance, is because they didn’t care about anything, they just did whatever they felt like doing, regardless what was considered tasteful or acceptable.
I’m not saying I agree with all their choices in life but a part of me admires their absolute disregard of what an “acceptable lifestyle” is. Most people are stuck in their everyday lives, being told what to do by their boss, their spouse, their government…whatever other authority you can think of.
Everybody dreams of being able to tell all those authorities to piss off, but most people are not in the position to do that. So, Motley Crue were kind of doing it FOR them.
Societies all over the world also usually tell you to surpress your sexuality, Motley Crue (and most hard rock/metal bands I can think of) are telling you the exact opposite. Embrace it, live it, love it.
It’s YOUR life, nobody else’s. Do whatever you want, as long as you’re not hurting anyone else. That’s why they’re still around. The bad boys dared to just not give a rats ass.
Having said that, I still don’t agree with a lot of shit that they’ve done, but that’s a different story.
The feeling I get from a really great live-show or a crazy good song/album, is almost indescribable. I can’t think of ANY chemical drug that could do a better job. Not in a million years. It’s the same type of euphoria that you experience when you have a crush on someone. That short period of time when you’re up in the pink clouds, can’t eat, can’t sleep and you just walk around with a silly smile on your face. THAT’s what good music does to you.
I’ll never forget that Whitesnake-show at Sweden Rock Festival a few years ago when David surprised everybody by bringing out Bernie Marsden on stage – and then also Adrian Vandenberg…! THAT, combined with the music, oh my god, I was crying like a baby! It was just so incredibly powerful, so touching, I couldn’t stop the tears for HOURS after that…!
One of my colleagues from Sweden Rock still remembers that, he met me right after the show and I looked like Alice Cooper cause my makeup was smeared all over my face from the tears.
I had the same reaction when Rob Halford was playing in Malmo many years ago, at the local rock club KB with his band HALFORD. When he sang “Victim of Changes” something just burst inside and I was just bawling my eyes out. I could not believe that my hero was that close, on a club stage, singing THAT song!
A friend of mine met me outside after the show and I was still crying. She thought I was sad, I had to explain that I was just so goddamn happy that crying was the only way to get it all out of my system.
[Not Victim of Changes, but another one of my fav Priest-covers, Diamonds and Rust!]
I’ve been walking around with Tony Martin’s various recordings in my Motörheadphönes for days now. After all these years….I could listen to that voice over and over again, every day, for 30 years, and I would STILL not get sick of it. In my book. Martin is the embodiment of vocal perfection!
I just feel that “high” every time I hear him. Jesus, he was unreal. He’s always been compared to Dio, but as much as I love and respect Ronnie, and think that he was outstanding, he just didn’t have the same range as Tony. If he did, he wasn’t using it the same way. Tony Martin has this HUGE masculine voice that suddenly just takes detours out into the stratosphere. That voice had a spell on me since 1989 when I first heard him with Black Sabbath.
[Tony belting it out with Mischa Calvin, fantastic album!!]
And lately I’ve been picking up Apollo Papathanasio’s extensive back catalog as well. Vocally, he’s like a Swedish/Greek equivalent to Tony Martin, he’s got the same kind of wide-range voice, deep and sensual, while also being able to hit you with those powerful, strong vocal lines that so few singers have the ability to do. When this song comes on, with one of his many projects, Sandalinas, I just want to kick back, close my eyes, listen and let that voice take me to foreign lands..! :)
Metal is of course also about aggression, which I guess is the one part of it that most non-metalheads have picked up on (and focused on).
But it’s the best way to get all those aggressions OUT. You don’t need expensive therapy or Prozac when you’ve got MEGADETH for example. This is what I wrote right after their show in Aarhus, Denmark back in 2011:
“It feels so frikkin’ great when that heavy, aggressive music, the pumping bass and angry, distorted guitars hits your eardrums – it’s like a spring-cleaning for the soul. Whatever might be stored in there, whether you’re aware of it or not, it just goes away. Amazing.”
Dave Mustaine is an angry man and I love him for it. I love his sarcasm and his grumpy face, I love his fuck you-songs, especially when he has a very intelligent way of approaching whatever issues he’s got with politicians or society. He’s got something to say and he’s certainly not afraid of voicing his opinion, loud and clear.
Megadeth calls to the absolutely most primal sides of us all and hearing those pissed off, aggressive songs is like fucking ANGEL CHOIRS in MY ears! There’s another “high” that metal brings, no doubt.
Rock’n’roll is the love of my life. I’ve pretty much dedicated my whole life to it. I’ll let Lita Ford express it with this song – Rock’n’Roll Made Me What I Am Today.
To have some random dude thinking that he will get me to think that ULTRAVOX is better than rock… lol!
I wouldn’t count on it. ;)
MEGADETH, tiny fans and assholes
Had barely had a chance to get enough sleep after the Whitesnake-show in Manchester, before it was time to get on a train to Copenhagen to see Megadeth.
Talk about contrasts. One evening you’re in a huge arena with mostly older, excited but civilised fans. The next, you’re off to see a band that, dispite their many years in the business, have mostly young, teenage dudes as their audience.
When I got to Vega, the venue, there were a few guys sitting there with a beer case and a boom box that was blasting the “Peace sells….But who’s buying?“-album.
They were pretty entertaining though, as they decided to score goals between two empty beer bottles… Given that they were anything but sober, you can imagine how that went. :) I wish I had filmed that. ;)
As it started filling up with people, I realized that I was the only girl there. Must have looked pretty weird. I wasn’t there with a boyfriend as my excuse, I was the only blonde person and definitely the only female in my “age range”.
One guy even asked me if this was “my first time”. THAT was pretty funny! :)) I told him that my first Megadeth concert was probably more than 20 years ago, so, most likely before he was even born. ;) He quickly realized that maybe he had judged a little bit too fast.
Once the doors opened, I thought it was going to be a riot, but it was pretty civilised, much to my surprise. Eventhough people were very impatient to get in, they behaved like normal people. Thank god. I’ve been to Megadeth-shows before and their fans are usually insane. :)
I got my front row spot and was happy. Mission accomplished. The guy next to me started talking and it was nice to kill that waiting-time with a fellow rock fan. He was very young though, hadn’t been to many concerts yet. It was quite a sight to see how enthusiastic he was once the band got onstage! :)
It’s a funny thing with Dave Mustaine – he always looks grumpy. I guess it’s just the face he was born with and it works perfectly within his line of work where you have to look cool. It’s sort of “built-in” in Mustaine’s case.
A few years ago when I took the day off to see Megadeth in Aarhus, Denmark, he looked so pissed off the whole time, and suddenly he goes: “You’ll have to excuse me, I’m having such a good time up here that I forgot to say hello”. He was having a good time? Lol! He wasn’t being sarcastic either. Priceless. :)
Somewhere towards the end of the show, his face did light up and he was smiling as he was pointing at something in the back. Turns out that there was a kid on somebody’s shoulders, with long hair and a leather jacket, that had been headbanging like crazy. Dave wanted to know his name, and the crowd passed on the info so it would reach the stage. I think it was August or something. “That’s a cool name! Makes “Dave” sound so fucking boring. DAVE… I want your name! he laughed.
So the crowd helped the kid get to the stage, where he got Dave’s sweatband and a chat. I don’t know how much he understood English but he liked his present at least. :)) Very cute. You can see all the pics from that HERE. <-Click
In the meantime, there was some idiot up on the balcony in a red t-shirt that was pouring beer at the people on the floor (I was totally marinated in beer…. but I hear it’s good for the hair so what the hell…) and doing F U-gestures at Dave. (why the hell did he pay for a ticket to see the show, I wonder???)
Dave in turn had a few well chosen words for the asshole, something along the lines of “you have a teeny-weeny….” – you get the picture. The guy wouldn’t stop picking a fight, and Dave walked all the way over to the side of the stage, looked up at the idiot, and eventhough I couldn’t hear what he was saying, I could read his lips – “Get down here, I’ll fuck you up you son of a bitch!”
Security finally got something else to do than bugging the front row fans. They were running back and forth telling people not to film the show. I mean, yeah whatever…. It’s so ridiculous to me. It’s 2013 – have they been on Youtube lately? Seriously, what’s the point? Even if people at the front aren’t filming, you can bet your ass that people in the back, WILL….! It’s not 1984 anymore, just sayin’.
I didn’t care, video or no video, I got great stage-footage at Graspop last year so I’m good. I got a few decent photos instead. Once again, go to the Facebook-page for that. :)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.512736135441485.1073741836.170129566368812&type=3
The crowd turned out to be pretty civilised after all. I’m glad, cause I was way too tired to deal with drunk moshers.
Another memorable Megadeth show over, glad I went. Really cool stage this time as well! And it’s a bit entertaining to see Dave’s constant guitar-changes. I think he used different guitars for every song, almost. I’m guessing most of them are made by Dean Guitars custom shop, awesome work.
Now I’ve got about three days “off” (still have to go to work though) before the next show – Whitesnake at Wembley next week! :)
[A FEW OF MY HIGHLY “ILLEGAL” VIDEO CLIPS FROM LAST NIGHT…! ;P]
Whitesnake, Manchester and other thoughts…
Third move to another blog provider. Let’s hope I won’t get any trouble with this, and thanks to Metalpaths for the kind offer to help out when I was struggling trying to get the other blog to work.
Those of you who used to subscribe and get the updated posts directly in your e-mail (a service that was offered by Posterous) – you can do that now, as WordPress offers that service as well. :) Just scroll down a little and you’ll find the subscription button to the right.
Today is a day off. But my “to do”-list is still long, tomorrow I’m off to Manchester for the Whitesnake (Journey/Thunder) show at MEN Arena. I’m as excited as ever about that, I just don’t like that it’s a seated arena.
Everything is “seated”. I just don’t think that the floor in front of the stage at a ROCK concert should EVER be seated! I want to stand there in the front with a bunch of other maniacs and feel the PULSE, the ENERGY and just get into it. At least at a Whitesnake concert I do. You can’t get that feeling in a CHAIR. :-/
Keep the seats for the Symphony Orchestra, and give the rockers space to go wild.
Other things that are on my mind today are all the losses in our rock’n’roll extended family…
This week has been a sad one for many fans of the Doors and now also for the fans of Uriah Heep.
Ray Manzarek – founder, keyboardist/bassist of the Doors, died of cancer in Germany, Monday evening, at the age of 74. I’d say that the credit for the sound of the Doors goes to Ray. Another historic rock icon has waved farewell.
Uriah Heep‘s bassist Trevor Bolder lost his battle against cancer at the age of 62 yesterday.
English: Uriah Heep’s Trevor Bolder, Live in Milan, 09 November 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It seems that we are losing one after another now.
There’s probably going to be a lot more in the years to come. Hard rock/heavy metal was invented in the seventies, if you don’t count the bands and artists that inspired the development of it, back in the sixties.
The Black Sabbath or Deep Purple guys were young back then – in their early 20’s, and they are hitting their 60’s now, at the very least – and although 60 is not old for a rocker, it’s still an age where many are beginning to battle various health issues. Doesn’t have to be lethal but our heroes are simply not going to be around forever.
And it’s just now that this is beginning to sink in, cause we grew up with these guys, they are such a natural part in our lives. Much like parents, they’ve always been there, it’s hard to imagine the day when they won’t be, eventhough you know that that day WILL come.
Just makes you think. I’m going to as many shows as I possibly can – especially by the great legends of metal, because you never know how long you’ll have that privilege. Might be 10 more years, might be tomorrow.
Sad thoughts aside – hectic times ahead. Whitesnake in Manchester, UK tomorrow, Megadeth in Copenhagen on Saturday, Whitesnake at Wembley next week, and then shortly after that – 4 days of metal madness at Sweden Rock festival. A week after that – Whitesnake again in Zagreb, Croatia.
But it’s the kind of “busy” that I love! See you all out there, somewhere! :)
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 