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| 7/15/2003 |
| Summer Sanitarium |
Sex, Drugs and Fred Durst
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A Concert Review
by Giles Mitchell
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| Metallica |
| Genre |
Rock/ Metal |
| With |
Metallica, LimpBizkit and Linkin Park |
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There were many questions in my head as I approached Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA to attend the Summer Sanitarium Tour. Would Metallica be as potent a live force after a three-year layoff as they were the previous times I had seen them? Had the trials and tribulations of that layoff including the departure of bassist Jason Newstead and James Hetfield’s entering rehab muted the band’s powerful live energy? Could the band prove to the fans of the younger bands on the bill, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit, that they still “rocked?” And why on Earth were Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park there in the first place?
The day began rather ominously, with $30 parking fees greeting concertgoers right off the bat (to put into perspective, that’s 200 percent higher than the parking at the far-superior Giants Stadium). The parking lot scene was amiable, with plenty of sunshine, mini-grills cooking away, and a pleasant mix of beer and classic heavy metal from car stereos contributing to the relaxed atmosphere.
Now, wait a minute. Amiable? Pleasant? RELAXED? For the love of Bruce Dickinson! This isn’t a Dave Matthews Band concert! This is Metallica! Where are the throngs of scantily clad women and insane debauchery? That question was asked of my friends and I by a passing woman who loudly demanded a reason why these elements were missing. Somewhat bewildered by our new surroundings, the blistering sunshine, and the suddenness of such questions, we meekly answered, “Well…we have hot dogs…and beer.” The disappointment in her face inspired us to try and up the energy level in our section of cars and we set about this task with reckless abandon.
Two hours of forced craziness later, with sizable amounts of adrenaline and Jagermeister coursing through our blood streams, we entered the stadium. To our pleasant surprise, we had missed all of Linkin Park’s set and only had to endure fifteen minutes of Limp Bizkit. As soon as the Bizkit departed the stage, we (literally) fought our way to about fourteen rows dead center from the stage, filling the next forty minutes with great anticipation.
During this time, I talked to a few of the fans in our area to gauge their interest in the show. One fifteen-year-old fan was attending his first Metallica show and looked extremely pumped, if not extremely nervous at the far-taller metal heads surrounding him. Another man near me had been seeing them since 1989 and despite the good reputation of new bassist Rob Trujillo, was somewhat saddened that he would no longer be seeing Newstead’s frantic live performances.
As darkness fell on Foxboro, Metallica took the stage to deafening applause. Opening the show with the thunderous “Battery” was an excellent choice, as our fears of a subdued Metallica slowly melted away and were sent packing as the band immediately rocketed into a full version of “Master of Puppets.” James Hetfield looked and sounded great, showing that despite now being clean and sober, he is still as intense as ever on stage. Fellow guitarist Kirk Hammet confidently strutted across the stage with a great smile on his face most of the night, showing that it wasn’t just the fans who were happy that Metallica was back. Drummer Lars Ulrich thundered away at his set with a pounding snare drum and his trademark Ludicrous Speed double-bass pedals flying away with abandon. It is easy to forget that behind Annoying Midget Celebrity Lars Ulrich, lies one of the best and most ferocious drummers in rock history. New to this mix was Trujillo, who adequately filled in for the departed Newstead. It is worth noting here that the position of bassist at a Metallica concert is almost unnecessary, as the mix is so dominated by Hetfield’s guitar and Ulrich’s drums that Hammet has difficulty making his solos heard. Throw in 40,000 screaming fans and it is virtually impossible to hear anything else. However, to his credit, Trujillo must have realized what a live presence Newstead was as he never once stopped moving and firing up the crowd during the two-hour concert.
A Metallica tour is fairly standard concert to concert, so a complete song-by-song review isn’t necessary. The band positively killed on the older material, and it appears that its brief flirtation with other musical genres and sensitivity in the mid-1990s is over, as there was only one song from this era (“Fuel”) included in the setlist. There were only two songs from St. Anger played (the title track and “Frantic”), and despite the dearth of guitar solos in them, the live intensity of the songs comes straight from the band’s thrash glory days. With the rest of the set dominated by 1980s material, the concert had the brutish intensity and feeling of an epic 15-round heavyweight title fight, as compared to the mere basebrawl feel of Limp Bizkit.
The band closed down the concert with a glorious and pyrotechnic-laden 1-2 punch of “One” and “Enter Sandman.” The band took a final bow and it was evident from their on-stage shenanigans and omnipresent smiles that they were clearly thrilled to finally be back on stage where they belong. Despite the musical shortcomings of the St. Anger album, the intensity of that and the great experience of the concert provides me with a sense of optimism for Metallica’s future. During band introductions, Trujillo received a warm ovation from the crowd, who no doubt were happy that the addition of a new member did not destroy the legacy of twenty previous years of hard work (we’re looking at you Gary Cherone).
With the demons of sensitivity and musical exploration finally exorcised, perhaps the band is ready to finally reclaim their status as one of the great heavy metal bands in the history of the genre. |
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| "We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it." |
- Jack Nicholson
A Few Good Men
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Distributed Beers
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| 5 |
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot |
| 4 |
Guinness Draught |
| 3 |
Newcastle Brown Ale |
| 2 |
Bass Pale Ale |
| 1 |
Samuel Adams Boston Lager |
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