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OK I was up at 5:30 and on the road at 6am to make the drive from Kelowna, BC, to Calgary. Beautiful scenery,
bit of delay due to construction work, but all the same I was at the Saddledome at 2pm. Funny moment right away as I actually
walked right in the building (back door) and got a sneak peek at the stage being set up. Then the nice security lady came
and said that I really shouldn't be there, to which I readily agreed. So I made my way to where the people for the floor go
and discovered that I was fourth in line. It was really cold (by *really cold* I mean 10 degrees Celsuis, it's been like 25
here lately) so that's probably why. Anyways, my crew showed up at various points of the afternoon and we eventually got inside.
We
were right up at the rail on the long side of the stage (just as I was before), directly in front of one of James' mic stands
(more on this in a bit) and in good location to see Sully during Godsmack's Drum Solo. That shit is so awesome, and my buddy
Dan caught his stick. Really cool for a guy's first major concert eh? Right before Metallica came on, my good friend Mareea
(Blue to Metallica ) showed up and she hung out the rest of the night. Great to see her again.
And then the Metallica
itself started. First five songs were exactly the ones they played in Vancouver, and I was getting a little worried that I'd
be getting the same show twice. It was great to hear Bellz and Sanitarium, don't get me wrong, but I really really want to
hear Harvester or Fade, but hey, this song had to be different from Calgary I and not Vancouver right? Then came a pleasant
surprise with The Thing That Should Not Be. Holy shit is that song ever heavy live. James played a good deal of it right in
front of me, one of only 4 or so songs that he played parts of at that mic stand. Kinda annoying, since I camped out there
hoping to see a lot more of Papa Het. Kirk and Rob spent a good deal of time in our area, and the Ripper visually acknowledged
my frequent flashes of in his direction. End of the night he tossed me a guitar pick with Rob's demon face on it; that makes
two of the four now! Still need James and Lars, so if anybody has extras......
Wherever I May Roam was pretty kicking
after the encore. Was expecting Disappear or Clover, but again, different set from the first Calgary. Awesome live, and the
crowd was totally into it. They were really on fire the whole night, several Go Flames Go chants for their hockey team, which
Godsmack acknowledged and encouraged, but Metallica didn't because James is a San Jose Sharks fan. Funny how that works eh?
Anyways.....
My tour buddy Danica brought along a "Kirk, play Doodle #2 for Me" sign, to which he obliged and did it
right in front of us. That ruled. I think James looks for me at shows so that he can play One directly in front of me. Did
it in Vancouver and did it again last night. As always, it was so incredible live and definitely a highlight of the night.
The encore was nice, No Remorse and Stone Cold Crazy. I saw the setlist in an upside view and I could swear that I
saw Crazy listed first, so when they went right into No Remorse I was afraid that they were short on time and had to cut the
cover tune out. Nuh-uh, did em both and sent us all home happy. Right before the fast part in Remorse, James asked if we wanted
to hear it, 17,000 people instantly responded yes, and I said, "Fuck yeah James!" Then he asked if we wanted one more or Thank
You Goodnight, seventeen thousand people found Metallica guilty of playing one more song. Stone Cold Motherfuckin Crazy!
Really
good show, the crowd was louder than they were for Vancouver. The guys were again spot on, though Kirk's guitar sounded a
little off near the end of the show, like the volume was too high or something like that. It just sounded different than it
did for the earlier portions of the show. Should be interesting to see what it sounds like on the download when it comes out
tomorrow.
All in all, another great Metallica experience. I was with a large group of friends, and that makes it so
much more enjoyable. Like I said, I got another pick at the end of the night, then I went and bought the tour program and
did some Street Team work. Can't wait to see that Club video and some SKOM footage. Here's hoping they come back to Canada
in November or whenever, because I am so there!
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