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Dublin's
RDS: 2:30pm: For once in Ireland we had glorious weather. The
greatest thing ever was being able to lie on the grass with a
beer knowing Metallica were coming up soon. That said, I doubt
a bit of rain would have dampened the spirits anyone here. We've
been exceptionally lucky with weather at the two Metallica concerts
in the last year. No
such worries for Slipknot, who in contrast to LP last year were
greeted warmly, not just because we were all being roasted under
the sun. They were confident, loud, brash and heavy and put on
a great live show. Personally, I've never liked them and I hate
what they stand for but, but to be fair to them these guys know
how to put on a show. A completely assured and And so onto the main act. Bottles of water in pocket, beers downed, cameras at the ready, and best singing voices at the ready, the 35,000 crowd gathered to pay homage. At around 8:30, the bands famous theme began and the place went crazy: just hearing Ecstasy of Gold makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck. There were four huge screens playing clips from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly a la San Diego the San Diego show on the Live Shit box set. Finally, after a wait prolonged by the opening to Blackened the band got on stage and Dublin's RDS was rocking. The same intro of "Give me an M.....Give me an E.....Give me fuel..." was used for Fuel last year and for the second time already in the set, jets of flames shot up from the stage, this time accompanied by a shower of fireworks. Sad But True was a headbanger's dream but it was surpassed by Fade To Black which was simply sublime. We missed it last year, but this time around we got it instead of Sanitarium and it was worth the wait. While I'm on the subject of the setlist, this year was far better than last year's. Last year I went into the concert basically knowing the setlist off by heart, no song came as a surprise- last night I was just as surprised as anyone to hear Holier Than Thou, King Nothing and Roam being played. The surprise factors adds immensely to the concert. All three sounded excellent, the parts in each where the crowd gets to shout were very well received. The only really notable exception was Bellz, but most Metallica fans have numerous live versions of it- the other three songs were just as welcome. The other surprise was Clover. I have a few bootlegs of this and didn't think it was that great a live song, but I hadn't counted on its sheer heaviness when you're actually there. It was a pleasant surprise for me. St. Anger had great crowd participation, and for me, had one of the best moshpits of the night apart from maybe Puppetz. Aside from that, Creeping death was as good as always, and Battery was, well...Battery- you know the deal. Anyway,
once Nothing Else Matters ended, I knew that we would most likely
be getting at least 4 more songs- Puppetz, One, Sandman, and then
I had a feeling Whiskey in the Jar or Hit the Lights would end.
One had a slightly different intro initially- they used quotes
from Full Metal jacket. The Throughout the night, the band were plagued by calls of 'Whiskey, Whiskey!' between songs. Personally, I wanted it too, but at the same time I don't like the fact that the band come out here to play only to get shouts of 'Whisky...' after virtually every song (the first calls started around the second or third song). James rebutted earlier claims with, "Not right now, it's a bit too early," as though the crowd were offering him a drink. Still, when James reappeared and asked what song we wanted, it definitely wasn't Slither. The crowd as one shouted for the Thin Lizzy classic and this year, we got it. Yes, Dyers Ever, Leper Messiah, or Four Horsemen might have more appropriate at any other concert, but this is Ireland and Thin Lizzy touches a nerve. It's 'our' song, if you like. Anyway, the RDS very nearly fell down from the amount of singing, flailing, moshing, hugging and shouting that was going on. Every word James sang was drowned out by the crowd. As far as anyone was concerned, that was it. James said something like, "That's it from Metallica," and everyone cheered. Looking pretty incredulously at us he asked, "Are you sure that you want us to leave?" Obviously not judging by the response. Seek and Destroy destroyed the little that was left of my voice, and probably everyone else's as well. Then that really was it, and with the promise of another Metallica concert, 'soon,' according to Lars, Metallica departed Dublin, like their other stops in the tour, leaving another group of very satisfied metalheads. SET
LIST
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