Gigantour review

[Gillissie]

I just got home from Gigantour in Louisville, KY (USA). If you're not familiar with this Megadeth hosted festival, check it out here: www.gigantour.com

We showed up after High On Fire already finished (they started at exactly 5:30 pm), so we only caught these bands:

Job for a Cowboy - I have to admit, I was more into their studio recordings than this live set. I think a big reason for that is that the mix wasn't very good, especially the drums. On the studio recordings, the drums are extremely fast and tight sounding. That didn't come across live. This band seems to be mostly known as the band that plays the death metal song in the "Sponge Bob death metal" youtube video (good stuff - check it out).

Children of Bodom - What can I say, these guys just always rock their asses off. This is the third time I've seen them, and it's always a great show. Not only are they energetic, but very technically tight. The keyboard player is fun to watch since he frequently takes drinks from his water/beer bottle while playing, or between playing. He must drink 6 bottles during a set. While in their 3rd song, the front barrier broke and they stopped in the middle of the song. Officials made them leave the stage while they fixed the barrier, which took a full 30 minutes!!! Then COB came back out and rocked on for the rest of their set. Luckily, Megadeth (and the powers as be) let them play their full set, simply pushing back the entire evening's schedule by 30 minutes.

In Flames - Again, these guys are cool to watch every time I see them (I think this is about the 4th or 5th time). They sounded good, but I am quite dismayed at their choice to ignore their old material. They fully admit not playing it in the US because most people don't know it. Uh, seems like a good reason to play it, because IMHO, it's their best stuff. It's probably more honest to say that they're just tired of playing it. At one point, the singer said something like (in his Swedish accent), "Where's the jester fan?" I didn't know what he said at first, then I realized that he was checking to see if anyone was an old fan ("Jester Race" CD). A handful of people on the main floor raised their hands, and he said "oh, there he is. There's a few more." Maybe he's trying to make himself feel better for not playing the stuff by proving to himself that only a handful of people know it. As far as I'm concerned, the way he said it (with his accent), most people probably didn't know what he said, so didn't raise their hands or cheer. Sad, really.

Megadeth - OMG. I've seen them probably 4 times now, but this was by far the best set they've done. The set list was amazing. If you're a big fan of the true speed-metal style, then I think you'd agree that Rust in Peace was their best album. They played FOUR songs from Rust in Peace during this set (Holy Wars, Hangar 18, Take No Prisoners (!!!), and Tornado of Souls (!!!)). Plus (in no particular order) Skin o' My Teeth, In My Darkest Hour, Wake Up Dead, Peace Sells, Washington Is Next, Kick the Chair, Symphony of Destruction, A Tout Le Monde, Ashes in Your Mouth, Trust, Sleepwalker, Gears of War, Burnt Ice (maybe more). The only song that they didn't play that I think would have been great with the crowd was Sweating Bullets. Unfortunately, during the entire set, the second guitarist (forgot his name) was having tech difficulties with his guitar rig. For several minutes at a time he would disappear backstage and his sound would drop out. As a matter of fact, Megadeth was a threesome for the first full song and a half. (opened with Sleepwalker) Luckily, all of the dude's solos were there for the Rust in Peace songs, which is critical since they are so awesome (thanks Marty Friedman).
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Todd M. Gillissie
Gilligames
www.gilligames.com