I pulled into the parking lot with only a few minutes until Megadeth's set was to begin. I made my way through security and as I walked into the Tsongas Arena, I heard the crowd roar as Megadeth took the stage. Wading through the masses of people and trying to get my camera out and ready to go, I took off towards the photo pit. As I arrived I saw a ton of familiar faces which instantly made this trip more bearable! I settled in right as their opening song took shape and Dave Mustaine approached the mic. Couldn't have timed it any better! Now...I've never been a huge follower of either Megadeth or Slayer...but if you haven't seen either of these legendary bands in person, you are seriously missing out! Just the way the crowd is pumped up is enough to get a person excited to see them. I know it worked for me! As I clicked my shutter away and watched the show through my view finder, I grew an appreciation for Megadeth that I didn't have before. Prior to this show, my most frequent run-in with this band was anytime I played Guitar Hero and wanted to shred some Hanger 18. Now? Well...I might not listen to them daily or anything...but I will be more than happy to hear them when my iPod shuffles in their direction!
After the 3 songs were up, all of us in the photo pit were escorted through the backstage area...out to the entrance doors where we could either choose to watch the show from the general admission area or hang out outside. I chose the latter. Sitting outside, I was joined by Evil Robb, Mary Ouellette and a few others. I sat there for the next hour laughing at the stories being told by everyone...most of which consisted of Robb being drunk or arrested...sometimes both.
So after story time, we all headed back in to shoot slayer. And that's when the chanting started. SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER! People on the barricade were trying to guess their entire set list, in the order it was to be played, people were talking about how many times they've seen them live, which rivals the amount of times I've seen Thrice or Every Time I Die. Water bottles were getting hurled into the air even before the lights went down and security was on high alert. It was almost as if the President was about to take the stage...if the President had long wavy hair, rocked a slayer shirt, and had a guitar strapped to his back...
Then it happened...the lights went dark, the crowd went nuts, the curtain dropped...and there was SLAYER! As my friend Jake would say...they were shredding it...hard! Another band that I had never seen in person before, melting my face with fast and intricate guitar licks. I will probably never run out and buy a Slayer album...but you better bet your biscuits I'd jump at the chance to see them live again! There's just something about watching a legendary band tear it up like they were 25 years before. Something that can't be described...so go see them!
Consider this post a preview of what is to come!!! To see more, visit The Pulse Mag online and view the concerts captured!
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