First off, last night’s Metallica concert at Scottrade Center in St. Louis rocked! You simply can't go wrong with hard rock, lasers and pyrotechnics. The band played in the round, moving around the stage to pre-set microphones, giving every fan in the joint a chance to see them in their full metal glory. The drum set turned a quarter turn throughout the evening to let Lars Ulrich cater to that part of the arena for a portion of the show. They sounded tight, and played a lot of the older stuff some fans felt the group had lost touch with in the past. That isn't surprising with the more simplistic, back to basics approach the band has taken with the new album Death Magnetic.
There is a little more to what I had a chance to see last night. Security was everywhere. Not looking for the rebel rousers, one hitters or whiskey filled flasks, no.... They were looking for cell phones, cameras and video devices. They also had many different levels of security. There were your standard ushers, you had the venue security, the band had security and last but not least, St. Louis' finest men in blue. I watched security take a ladies camera between acts with the house lights up. After much begging and pleading, she finally convinced the guard to give her the camera back, but not without some harsh words, stern looks and finger pointing. My wife, also between acts with house lights on, was sending a text from her phone when one of the bands goons approached and informed, if the phone comes out during the show, Metallica will ask you to leave. Now I enjoyed Metallica's performance immensely, but the show was sometimes overshadowed by the ruckus going on between fans, security and cell phones. There were a few instances of security moshing through the general admission floor patrons to mightily demand a fan put down his or her cell phone and stop recording. A kid, around 15 or so I'd say, there with his parents had the misfortune of trying to snap a pic of the band with his digital camera, only to have pre-mature flashulation and cause security to come rushing over demanding the camera. Poor kid, I don't even think he got a shot off. Again, more pleading from his mom and they backed off, only to have a St. Louis police officer come over and give a verbal smack down. Well, I don't know what he really said, but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant by the expressions on the faces of both parties involved.
You know, I understand the pirating concerns bands are dealing with in this new digital age. But, this was a little over board of you ask me. Bands like these better be careful, since one thing I noticed was the lack of youth in the audience. No new generation of Metallica fans waiting to fill the voids of us old farts that have a hard time staying up past 10. Snapping a grainy pic with a cell phone of your favorite band hardly seems to be the criminal offence it has been made out to be. Kids are smart about this stuff Aand they'll bail on you as a fan if you make yourself out to be a tool. They just forked out 80 bucks for a ticket, 20 bucks to park and 15 bucks for a hot dog and soda. Now, you want to throw them out over a 1.5 megapixel photo taken in the dark? Hopefully the new Guitar Hero: Metallica will help launch the band to a younger audience, for the bands sake. I do believe there were tickets available to last night’s show right up until start time.
Kiss said, God gave rock and roll to you, but I guess it didn't come via text message!
Peace.
Posted by email from Ronny World (posterous)
