Somehow, practically every band I'm into is playing Chicago this month. It started friday, with Ghostland Observatory at the Metro, in an overdose of fog, lazers and white sportcoats. It was hysterical to have a house DJ as an opening act, which absolutely no one danced to. Reminds me why I never go to clubs. From there, we went directly to looptopia. The next afternoon, we caught the Woodknots at the Empty Bottle, for an art show.
Last night was the Chicago stop for Gigantour, which is probably the highest production show I've seen since Van Halen1, since I mostly go to small independent shows. I didn't realize that the show started at 4:30, so I missed High on Fire before I'd even left work. We got there in the midst of Children Of Bodom, who put on a hell of a show2 , just all out metal. In Flames set was rather lackluster, save for "Only For The Weak".
Megadeth was in another gear entirely. I was really into them in junior high, so it seemed kind of weird to be just seeing them for the first time at 28. Nothing else mattered when they launched their set, though. I was immediately in a state of childlike glee, as they ripped into "Sleepwalker" and "Wake Up Dead". It's like this:
- Megadeth's new stuff is cut from the same cloth as their old stuff. The same can't be said for most metal bands *cough*InFlames*cough*
- Their set heavily favors the songs that made them great (still looking at you, IF).
- When Dave wears tight black pants, he looks like the old school metal god he is. When Anders wears them, he looks like a scene kid.
- For all of COB's technical, precise speed and fun-loving songs, Megadeth still has better songs, better groove, and a ton more energy.
Fuck the haters, Megadeth isn't a 2nd tier thrash band, they're a 1st rate band who plays thrash. Their songs exist outside of metal-for-metalheads. For all that guitar hero has brought metal back, few, if any, bands in this decade have superceded the genre. Going into the show, I expected to enjoy COB and IF, and maybe stick around for Megadeth. COB delivered on my expectations, but Megadeth blew me away.
- Discounting festivals like Lollapalooza
- although my boss was a little non-plussed by the keyboardist's lack of stage presence.
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