Megadeth - Gibson Amphitheatre - 2-24-11

• I stand corrected. It's sad how they restrict you. The people want to know about the other bands. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

• mind you, I was a little disappointed in their set list before I got to the show, but was very pleased with what it was by the time it was over.  Foreclosure, Ashes, and Hook in Mouth are all songs I hadn't heard live before... or at least don't remember having seen them 8 or 9 times.  Those and Sweating Bullets highlighted the night for me.   If you are a fan of Megadeth, a fan of Metal, or a fan of quality music & concerts, this was a good show, anyone who said otherwise probably just had internal conflict/ negativity getting in the way of their own entertainment

• I would have a completely different review:  Megadeth by far most entertaining band of the night! consistent moshing in the orchestra pit for the whole show! for those without the debilitating stick-in-the-mud syndrome, the more hits based setlist gave room for more vocal participation from the audience, since only a very small portion of the audience was general admission.  They were the most legible of all the bands and the only one that didn't sound like every song was the same. ..  But no one could touch Mickey Dee of Motorhead on the drums.    Dave never has and never will have a whole lot of energy on stage, unfortunately this was amplified as the video production crew either dropped the ball terribly, or just was not existent.  They literally NEVER went to Broderick during the guitar solos.  The cameras were stuck on Dave and Sean.  This was really lame and made the screens almost useless. 

• Fuck yeah man that's what I am talking about. I guess what I don't grasp (perhaps it's a print issue, I have not had a copy of the LA Weekly in my hands for years) is why do you have a word count on the web? Seems strange that your employer would send you to a four band show and give you a word count.  Glad to get some more dirt on the show - you rock!

• see above comment to the Rev. I hope that provided a little more insight into the entire lineup for you. And I was indeed at the show, otherwise, how would I have known what Dave Mustaine's lone political comment of the night was?

• Unfortunately, writers are often assigned word count limits. In this case, it did not allow me to talk as much about the opening bands as I would have liked. I did have set times before the show. That way, I was able to ensure that I could commute from my totally unhip Culver City apartment and be inside Gibson Amphitheatre before opening band Lacuna Coil took the stage at 6:30PM. Luckily, I was able to catch every song of every band. Lacuna Coil was the shining example of what every opening band should be doing on an arena-metal tour, shouting variations of “Good evening, Los Angeles!”, “Hello, Los Angeles!” and “Are you ready for Megadeth?” between every song to keep the crowd livelier than they usually are at 6:30PM on a weeknight.. Their music is aggressive enough to get people to headbang, but also accessible enough to easily keep up with every beat and almost sing along with them, even if you had never heard them before. Volbeat was next, and it seemed like their brand of Metallica-meets-Social Distortion hard rock went over the heads of a lot of people at first, but they seemed to win over everyone with “Sad Man’s Tongue”, and had everyone with them from that point forward. You’ve expressed dissatisfaction also with my single sentence on Motorhead. Honestly, what is there to say about a live Motorhead show in 2012 that hasn’t been said already? Lemmy was the king of the school on-stage, and Mikkey Dee proved why he is one of the few drummers worth not running to the concession stand during a drum solo. 50-minute set meant it was mostly long-time favorites like “Killed By Death”, “Ace Of Spades” and “Overkill.” Not as loud as a Motorhead show usually is though because of being at Gibson Amphitheatre. Otherwise, nothing too different from every time Motorhead has been to town over the last few years. I do cede that perhaps the phrase “wall-to-wall pitting” may have not been the best phrase to use for a seated venue. But there is also a standing-only pit area that I have seen be nothing but mosh-pitting throughout its boundaries, but that did not happen on Friday night. Small pockets of pitters here and there, and I think Dave’s on-stage lethargy had something to do with that. Also, it would have been impossible for me to take a photo of the setlist, as I was nowhere near the front of the stage. And apparently my college days at dumbfuck state lasted 20+ years, or you didn’t notice that songs I picked out as highlights of Megadeth’s set included Peace Sells-era classics and newer material from within the last few years. Thanks for checking out the article though.

• First off, I am glad to hear you had a good time at the show on Friday night. Thanks for checking out the review and taking the time to read it, even if you disagree with me. Yes, Dave Mustaine has never been the “Scream for me Long Beach type frontman” (nor should he try to be). But to me on Friday night, he seemed tired and seemed to be bored playing his own songs. And if you come off like you are bored by playing your own music, why should I be excited about it? I have seen Megadeth about a dozen times. I have seen them be very ferocious and have a “take no prisoners” fire on-stage. I have also seen Dave look like he would rather be doing something else. Luckily, Chris Broderick seemed very excited to be playing in front of that crowd, and his energy and playing did help keep me engaged throughout the whole set. And a sold-out show doesn’t mean people aren’t able to pit it up, I’ve been to countless shows that were sold out, but the energy level with the band fired up the crowd to be a wall-to-wall pit. This did not happen at Megadeth.

• Is this for real? Maybe go into a little more depth on Motorhead, and Lacuna Coil, and Volbeat. It is a festival-type show, you know. I know Megadeth headlined, but I think you should at least say more than 2 sentences on the other bands that played. And I agree with the Rev. Did you in fact attend this show? Because if you don't have to attend shows to write reviews anymore, then I'm more than happy to share my review of The Beatles' roof-top gig, Nirvana at the Paramount Theater, and Queen at Wembley Stadium. Hugs and unicorns, -Ross.

• Dear West Coast Sounds/LA Weekly, I see we have another example of piss poor journalism from LA Weekly. As someone who used to respect you, I have broken down what you have down wrong with this article below in hopes that you can learn from your mistakes. 1) I would have preferred more than two sentences from the three other acts on this "Festival" show. I am going to assume that Jason checked set times before leaving his Silver Lake home and figured he would make it down in time for Megadave. I mean come one, one generic sentence on Motorhead? No mention of any songs they played?2) Explain to me how there should be wall to wall moshing when 99% of the venue is seated? Had this been at the Palladium and folks were standing looking at their phones it would be one thing, but it was a show with seats, which brings me to point #3.3) Did Jason even attend this show? He talks more about Mustaine's recent comments than the action on stage. In fact I get the feeling he took a photo of the setlist and arranged a "review" around a few song titles that he recognized from his college days at dumbfuck state. Thanks again for another worthless article LA Weekly. Next time I vote that you send someone who actually wants to cover the show, not some pampered sucker of Satan's cock.Your pal,Reverend Justito

• The sound was really low.......i think motorhead had the best sound of the night

• Volbeat stole the show......the crowd went crazy when they did Slayer's reign in blood cover....

• Are you kidding me? Megadeth played a flawless and energetic set and the crowd was totally into it! I was closer to the back than front and everyone around me was headbanging, screaming, and singing along until the very end. You know why there wasn't much pitting? It was because the show was sold out and there was barely any room to move...but of course you wouldn't know that because you're in your own insulated writter's bubble. And if you've ever seen Megadeth, you'd know Dave doesn't do much talking. In fact, I've seen Megadeth about ten times and I thought he talked more to the crowd last night than I've ever heard. Only realistic complaint already mentioned below was that the volume was kind of low. Overall, worst article ever. Get a new writer that actually knows about the bands they write about.

• The sound quality was horrible. I could not even hear Mustaine's voice or guitar at all....and I was in the 5th row!!

• Thanks for catching that.

• u forgot ashes in your mouth on the setlist above, my personal highlight of the show along with hook in mouth and foreclosure.  4 songs from countdown to extinction last night.  great performance by megadeth.

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