The Metal Masters

I did over 2,000 words on the Metal Masters tour that I can’t seem to edit down any farther. My head is still spinning with the majesty of rock, and I’ve grown some respect for Ronnie James Dio after seeing this old fart take command of a crowd. One of the first things I did after arriving home was to berate my wife with endless impersonations of “Children of the Sea” and “Holy Diver.”
I did the same thing at work.
When it wasn’t Dio, it was Halford and “The Green Manalishi.”
As if arena-metal didn’t have enough problems in sustaining an audience (we’re all getting older and there doesn’t seem to any new bands that can replace the legacy of the old guard), the fine folks at Live Nation don’t feel the need to assist with keeping it alive. Within minutes of arriving in the parking lot, we were barely into our first beer before some dude in his early twenties was advising us to move on. For whatever fucking retarded reason, it was perfectly ok to stand around by the front of the gate and drink beer, but it wasn’t ok to hang near the vehicle and maintain a short distance to the cooler. There was no aggression, just pure mellowness, listening to the sponsoring rock station, having a cold one and socializing with the fellow attendees. In perfect 10 minute intervals, a group of three Live Nation douchebags would stroll around with pretend authority and tell us to move along.
What the fuck.
It’s shit like this that is helping to close down these outdoor ampitheatres when they really should be doing all that they can to build the business and fans. They seem to think that by forcing us inside, we’d me more inclined to spend money on Live Nation’s selection of $8 beers (up $0.25 from last summer, btw). The reality is that I was still sober enough after two beers to know that there was no way that I was spending that kind of cash for booze. Maybe after a few more bottles, I would have been buzzed enough to dig in my pocket a little deeper for some extra booze money.
The other problem with the Metal Masters…and it’s something that obviously bit the promoters in the ass…was the idea of a VIP purchase. For an ungodly amount of money, you could get good seats in front of the stage, receive tour package items (a laminent and t-shirt) and meet the band to pose for a picture. Reports hinted that the items and seat didn’t live up to the high ticket price and that the meet-and-greet was nothing more than a cattle call, providing no opportunity to actually converse with the band; you were ushered in, place in a pose, and then sent away to receive your photo.
No wonder those seats remained open and Live Nation staff members were walking around the concourse with signs that read “Ticket Upgrades for $10.”
While there were huge holes in the seats, there was no one to be found in the lawn seating, the blue collar section for what is obviously a blue collar crowd. The guy next to me grumbled about it a little bit, and it seems that Live Nation was more content with pushing the crowd towards the front than allowing the audience to name their own price. I wonder if they lost tickets as a result of this or merely comped the crowd with a better seat.
This price gouging, mark my words, with one day haunt those fuckers at Live Nation and judging by the upcoming shows I failed to see a performer that would draw enough people to surpass what we saw at The Metal Masters show.
Which, if you didn’t guess, was awesome. With decent seats priced at $100, it was the type of value that more aging rockers need to consider.


Setlists:

Testament
Over The Wall-The Legacy
More Than Meets The Eye-The Formation of Damnation
Henchman Ride-The Formation of Damnation
D.N.R.-The Gathering
Three Days In Darkness-The Gathering
Disciples Of The Watch-The New Order

Motorhead
Dr. Rock-Orgasmatron
Stay Clean-Overkill
Be My Baby-Kiss Of Death
The Killers-Inferno
Metropolis-Overkill
Over The Top-b side of “Motorhead” (live version)
In The Name Of Tragedy-Inferno
Just 'Cos You Got The Power-b side of “Eat The Rich”
Going To Brazil-1916
Killed By Death-No Remorse
Ace Of Spades-Ace Of Spades
Overkill-Overkill

Black Sabbath

E5150-Mob Rules
The Mob Rules-Mob Rules
Children of the Sea-Heaven and Hell
I-Dehumanizer
Sign of the Southern Cross-Mob Rules
Vinny Appice Solo
Time Machine-Dehumanizer
Falling off the Edge of the World-Mob Rules
Tony Iommi Solo
Die Young-Heaven and Hell
Heaven and Hell-Heaven and Hell
Encore:
Neon Knights-Heaven and Hell

Judas Priest
Dawn Of Creation-Nostradamus
Prophecy-Nostradamus
Metal Gods-British Steel
Eat Me Alive-Defenders Of The Faith
Between The Hammer And The Anvil-Painkiller
Devil's Child-Screaming For Vengeance
Breaking The Law-British Steel
Hell Patrol-Painkiller
Dissident Aggressor-Sin After Sin
Angel-Angel Of Retribution
The Hellion>Electric Eye-Screaming For Vengeance
Rock Hard, Ride Free-Defenders Of The Faith
Painkiller-Painkiller
Hell Bent For Leather-Hell Bent For Leather
The Green Manalishi-Hell Bent For Leather
Encore:
You've Got Another Thing Coming-Screaming For Vengeance

Most obscure t-shirts
GBH (actually a denim jacket that featured this band as a patch. The dude wearing it was a kid that looked like a punk relic out of the 80’s)
Helloween
Robin Trower

Dream Line-Ups for future Metal Masters shows:

Accept
Armored Saint
Budgie
Deep Purple
Dio
Fastway
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
King Diamond
Metal Church
Prong
Saxon
Scorpions
UFO