Goin' DOWN to NOLA

Phil Anselmo and Co. are returning to Kansas City after a very, very good opening set for Metallica. They will be at the Beaumont Club on August 3rd. It should be humid and muggy, just how they like it in NOLA. Tickets are $22, and no opener is announced yet.

Metallica -- Kansas City, MO -- October 25th, 2008

What a great concert for my first arena show! I arrived very early, About an hour and 15 minutes before doors at 6:00 PM but there was already a large line and lots of people going in. I got to my second-level seat around. 6:15. One thing about the Sprint Center that took me by surprise: It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be! It only holds around 15,000 people, but my second-level seat was absolutely perfect. I had a clear view of the stage and it was great! Another great thing about this show: The bands started right on time.

The Sword came on right at 7:00 PM. Some of the people commented on how quiet it was. They were definitely loud enough, but a lot quieter than I expected. A good show overall, though. Took around the middle of the first song with vocals to get the lead guitarists voice to be heard. At several points during their set, I thought to myself "It sounds like High On Fire playing Black Sabbath with Karl Sanders writing the music". Not sure if it accurately represents the band, but they were pretty good. The crowd got into them during "Freya", apparently from its appearance on Guitar Hero 2. They'd be way more awesome at a smaller venue, however. Pretty heavy.

?? (Maybe The Sundering or Celestial crown)
?? (Maybe The Forest Giant's Daughter or Barael's Blade)
Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians
The Black River
Freya
Iron Swan

7.5/10

Down came on at about 7:40 and lots of people around me really wanted to see them. I wasn't looking forward to them: Never liked Pantera and I thought they'd be really slow. They were heavy, but never slow! Phil Anselmo really worked the crowd during the songs, including actually throwing the mic into the crowd while he fooled around with something else! All the band worked all sides of the stage, and people went crazy whenever Mr. Anselmo came over to them. My favorite song of them would've had to be "N.O.D.". Very awesome, but once again, I think they'd be better in a smaller environment. Perhaps Ozzfest 2009?

??
The Path
Phil introduced himself and a bassist for being in Pantera, dedicated the song to Dimebag, then played one? I dunno if it was a Pantera song or what, but it sounded like he said "Standing by myself" a lot.
Beneath The Tides
N.O.D.
A song where he said "Bleed My Eyes" or something a lot
Bury Me In Smoke

8/10

Right at 9:00, the lights went down and The Ecstasy Of Gold came over the PA. People went insane, and the entire Sprint Center lit up with lighters and cell phone lights. After Ecstasy, a recorded version of the intro to "That Was Just Your Life" started to play and the band took the stage in darkness, kicking in along with the song at the right time. Metallica also worked the stage very well, moving back and forth across the stage, playing to everyone. During several songs, the four giant casket-shaped lighting fixtures hanging above the stage would slowly lower themselves closer to the stage and twist and contort themselves before retreating back to the ceiling again. The show also made use of laser light shows (That Was Just Your Life, Enter Sandman) and Pyro (One, Fight Fire With Fire). There wasn't a whole lot of banter to the crowd, but that's fine. Made room for more songs. The band played 18 songs within two hours, and threw in some surprises and treats, such as Ride The Lightning and Fight Fire With Fire. By the end of the night, they brought up the house lights and unleashed tons of inflatable "Metallica" balls on the crowd for "Seek And Destroy". Afterwards, they spent a long time throwing things to the crowd and thanking them. One can only hope they come back soon with something even better.

That Was Just Your Life
The End Of The Line
Harvester Of Sorrow
Ride The Lightning
One
Broken, Beat And Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Until It Sleeps
Wherever I May Roam
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
Last Caress
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy

9/10

Metallica's comin' to town!

http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=601097



Multiple sites report that Metallica's upcoming North American tour includes a stop at The Sprint Center in Kansas City on October 25th. Support for this show will be Down and The Sword, with support on other dates being Lamb of God and Machine Head replacing Down.

All dates (thanks to Metallica's site):

All October/November dates with Down and The Sword :

October 21 - Glendale, AZ Jobing Arena
October 23 - Albquerque, NM Tingley Coliseum
October 25 - Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
October 26 - Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
November 1 - Portland, OR Rose Quarter
November 3 - Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena
November 4 - Denver, CO Pepsi Center
November 6 - Omaha, NE Qwest Center
November 8 - Moline, IL iWireless Center
November 9 - Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
November 17 - St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center
November 18 - Tulsa, OK BOK Center
November 20 - Houston, TX Toyota Center
November 22 - Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena
November 23 - New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

All December dates with Lamb of God and The Sword:

December 1 - Seattle, WA Key Arena
December 2 - Vancouver, BC GM Place
December 4 - Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
December 7 - Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
December 12 - Ontario, CA Citizens Bank Arena
December 13 - Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
December 15 - San Diego, CA Cox Arena
December 17 - Los Angeles, CA The Forum
December 20 - Oakland, CA Oracle Arena

All January dates with Machine Head and The Sword:

January 12 - Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
January 13 - Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
January 15 - Washington, DC Verizon Center
January 17 - Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
January 18 - Boston, MA TD Banknorth Center
January 26 - Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
January 29 - Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
January 31 - Newark, NJ Prudential Center