Bringing the Thunder; Metallica (Night 2) 11/5 Dome @ America's Center Concert Review

Arriving for night number two, we had a better game plan for parking, in addition to being on a Sunday night, helped make for a smoother entry into downtown. So much we arrived with an hour and a half to spare before the 6 PM start time. There was definitely more open seats and the guys that were to my left didn't stay but for maybe a part of the show. It was also unique seeing some of the same people. The guys next to us on the other side, talked about hitting up some of the Metallica pop up events over the weekend.
Ice Nine Kills took the stage and played for a little over a half an hour. They were all dressed in suits and their songs are inspired by horror films. They also featured theaterics, with several actors portraying scenes and the music. I'd classify them as sounding like EMO-Pop Metal. Again if I was more familiar with them, I might have enjoyed them more.
Then Five Finger Death Punch hit the stage and played for around 45 minutes. Their lead singer was similar to Pantea's, bald and working the crowd pretty heavy. But they had a bigger band, complete with someone on turntable and had more range in their songs and vocals. And their lead singer did address the crowd, asking they should be happy because, "The Chiefs kicked the Dolphin's ass today!"and he asked "Patrick Mahomes or Kurt Warner?" He at least he knew where he was at and his facts. I enjoyed them more than Pantera, but Nikki wasn't disapponted because they didn't sound like their records. We had a conversation on the way back on this topic, where I told her I prefer surprises, different songs and different arrangements as part of the live experience.
Metallica took the stage in similar fashion to Friday night, with the same two intro songs and about the same time. But tonight they brought the Thunder. The first quarter of the concert, the volume and drums seemed at a another level. And this was with still not having 100% of my hearing. They kind of tapered down through the rest of the set, but Lars was still pounding like a madman, or a mad conductor as Nikki called him. He was visibly sweating the rest of the night.
Again apart from the opening numbers, where they felt really on fire, again the 72 seasons numbers, including the title track and You Must Burn felt like the better numbers or the ones where they felt more passion for. Too during the title song, there was a mosh pit in front of us as well as some crowd surfing. Defintely matching the vibe from the power of the music
The Rob and Kirk jam was titled, St. Louis Freeze because, "It's cold here for a bunch of California boys like us. We're wimps." It was a pretty solid doodle and more bluesy than their normal routines. James Hetfield kept the banter to a minimum, adressing the crowd a few times and bringing his dad jokes. "How many of you like the new album? followed by, "About 15 of you all," when there was a cheer. And one time when Lars was having difficulty with his monitoring system, he joked that he must be changing his thong out.
As me and Nikki both talked about, we probably enjoyed night one a littler better, because we didn't know what to expect. With a no repeat weekend, you had a general idea what songs that weren't played Friday we were going to hear. It was close because the opening part of the concert the guys were on fire. But I definitely gained a greater appreciation of Metallica. Not that I'll become a metal-head though...


Riverfront Times Review


Metallica Set List
Whiplash
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ride the Lightning
King Nothing
72 Seasons
If Darkness Had a Son
Welcome Home (Sanitarium
You Must Burn!
The Call of Ktulu
No Leaf Clover
Wherever I May Roam
Moth Into Flame
Blackened
Whiskey in the Jar
One
Enter Sandman


Five Finger Death Punch Set List

Lift Me Up
Trouble
Wash It All Away
Jekyll and Hyde
Bad Company
IOU
Wrong Side of Heaven
Burn MF
Welcome toe the Circus
The Bleeding

Ice Nine Kills Set List

Rainy Day
Hip to Be Scared
Meat and Greet
Ex-Mørtis
Welcome to Horrorwood
Wurst Vacation
The Shower Scene
Stabbing in the dark

The Metal Gods; Metallica (Night 1) 11/3 Dome at America's Center Concert Review

I'm not nor have I ever been a metal head. Generally the louder and the angrier, the less likely I am to listen to it. But my other half is and she wanted tickets when Metallica announced their M72 tour almost a a year ago, with a weekend in St. Louis at the Dome. And I opted to get the tickets that covered both the Friday and the Sunday show. It is a pretty different concept, only playing on the weekends and spending that weekend in the same city/venue, with different set lists and different opening acts.
When leaving Friday, I wasn't feeling the best, sinsues and weather changes and even on the way there I was doubting whether I could tolerate a show. But through the day after eating some tasty Lion's Choice and whatever clearing up, I definitely felt a lot better.
Of course it was 5 PM rush hour traffic and 50,000 people converging which made navigating downtown and parking a chore and gave us good distance to walk. (On the plus side, our parking place wound up being great in getting us out better).
We wound up plenty of time to spare before the 6 PM start. This was another first for me, as the Dome at America's Center was a concert venue I had never been to. Our seats were okay. 4 row in one of the lower sections. For whatever reason, the Dome didn't seem that big. Maybe it was sitting so low, but the perspective just didn't seem huge. Maybe the huge towers for Metallica's obstructed some of the grandeur. But the few other stadium's I've been in, seem bigger. And the narrow seats and metal bleacher floors weren't the most ideal for 5 hours.
Mammoth WVH took the stage around 6 PM and played for 30 minutes. The progeny of Eddie Van Halen sounded okay, but I haven't really listened to much of his band and he spent most of his set stationary, not taking advantage of the round walkway and playing on the stage area obstructed by one of the towers opposite towards my end of the stadium.
After a 30 minute set change Pantera, or a Pantera tribute band played for an hour. Without Dimebag Darrell, as far as I'm concerned it's not Pantera. Though it was awesome to see another master guitarist Zakk Wylde, even if from afar. But Pantera is the screamo metal that I really don't care for. Phil Anselmo played the crowd as much as he could, encouraging hands up, singing along, and liberally using the f-word as much as possible. But again while I was majorly unfamiliar with their music, it wasn't horrible. Nikki loved it though, except for getting used to the bass reverberating across your body.
An hour later the headliners took the stage after a double dose intro music of It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) and The Ecstasy of Gold. The drums rose up from underneath a platform I'm guessing and they either move around under the stage/circular walkway, or they have multiple drum sets. It was neat because it let Lars Ulrich finish up in the stage area nearest to our seats. Likewise, the other principle members moved around to different positions through the concert. At one point Hetfield laughed, "There's too many microphones up here."
With a concert of this magnitude so much of it is scripted to keep the details right and the trains on time. There was pyro unleashed during Fuel, huge yellow and white M72 inflatable bouncy balls unleashed out of the towers during Master of Puppets and plenty of light shows and animated art sequences on the huge screens atop the towers. One guys job was to protect Lars at the drum set from the bouncy balls. Without being a major fan or honestly knowing their music like I should, it was hard to know what was added jam wise and what was spontaneous(speech and music wise)...
But I very much enjoyed the concert and the music. If it tells you anything, I have had their music and melodies going on in my head all day. I knew there was strong craftsmanship to their music, but seeing it live gave it more appreciation for me. Kirk Hammett is another guitar legend that deserves his praises. As for highlights, on the new song Lux Æterna, they seemed to have more of a fire and passion behind it, as well as seeing Master of Puppets, which Nikki was looking forward to.
And props for the band not to use the fake encore, though it looks like they play pretty close to the same set list for each 1st show at least. Hetfield's stage prescence wasn't overblown like Anselmo's was, in trying to pander to the audience. Of course that comes with experience and knowing the crowd was in their corner anyway. The band was throwing out pics and giving thanks to the audience as we were leaving, mentioning some of the previous excursions in St. Louis.
On to Night #2...


Review St. Louis Concert Review
Quincy Hearld-Whig Review

Metallica Set List

Creeping Death
Harvester of Sorrow
Holier Than Thou
The Memory Remains
Lux Æterna
Too Far Gone
Ktulu Burrito (Kirk and Rob jam)
Fade to Black
Shadows Follow
Orion
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
The Day That Never Comes
Hardwired
Fuel
Seek & Destroy
Master of Puppets

Pantera Set List

A New Level
Mouth for War
Strentgh Beyond Strength
Becoming
I'm Broken
Five Minutes Alone
This Love
Fucking Hostile
Walk
Domination/Hollow
Cowboys From Hell

Mammoth WVH Set List

Another Celebration at the End of the World
You're to Blame
I'm Alright
Like a Pastime
Take A Bow
Don't Back Down

Slow Hand; Eric Clapton 9/12 Enterprise Center Concert Review

Clapton is one of those giants of the classic rock era, that I'd never seen and when a St. Louis show was announced this Spring, it was an impulse decision to try and go. I didn't realize though, that it'd been since 2006 he'd played in St. Louis. Another factor as to why I'd never seen him. 

We got there with an hour before the scheduled 7:30 start time. This was my first show at Enterprise Center, since seeing the Who there in 2016. Nikki wasn't sure if she'd ever been there. Our seats were stage right, about 11 rows up almost in line with the stage. A good view, but the video screen was right above us, where we couldn't see detailed views. 

 Jimmie Vaughan, the opening act didn't hit the stage until 7:50 and played eight songs for roughly 40 minutes. `I saw Vaughan in 2007 when he opened for Dylan in Kansas City at the Starlight Theater. He had his Tilt-A-Whirl band with which included a three piece horn section. Not being a big blues fan or familiar with his work, I enjoyed his set a little more this time. Not being in the blistering sun probably helped. A funny bit was about halfway through, after looking at his set list, he got visibily agitated, and when the song was over, he kinda punched a whole in something on his music stand. 

Jimmie Vaughan

Clapton and his band took the stage right around 9 PM. I'd seen previous set lists of his, but hadn't looked at any on this short run. So I had a rough idea of how his concerts were set up and did see the headline on an article about his Toronto show having a couple of Robbie Robertson tribute songs, which he did the same here. 

Most of his set, was covers of blues songs or others. And most of them he's made his own or done his own recordings. It followed his general practice of playing 5 electric songs, then an acoustic set, followed by another electric set. Highlights for me were the laid back acoustic Call Me the Breeze, the opening of the 2nd electric set with Tearing Us Apart seemed really powerful (though probably after the acoustic set it just jumped out more), and hearing that guitar playing of Wonderful Tonight, which was pretty straight forward, was magical. I was just hoping to hear, Badge, but alas, it wasn't to be. 

He gave his seven piece band ample time to shine, which included Andy Fairweather Low on guitar and Chris Stainton on keyboards. Of course he took his share of guitar solos. One of the worst things about our seats and not seeing the video screens, was not being able to see some of his fretwork. 

For the encore, he brought Jimmie Vaughan back out and they played a cover of High Time We Went, with more opportunities for the backing band to shine and Paul Carrack, his organ player taking vocals. It was a crisp two hour, 16 song concert, for good or bad it felt like was over in a breeze. 

I knew Clapton was always the laid back bluesman, not overtly showy. Nikki's opinion was that his playing was good, but not enough excitement for her. He didn't address the crowd or have any banter, aside from a few shout outs to the artist he was covering and the polite Englishman, "thank you," after almost every song. And as such we didn't have to worry about standing. Aside from a few high points, and the enterances and exits, the crowd stayed in their seats most of the show. 

It was a fine show overall and I got to see another legend. Riverfront Times review

Jimmie Vaughan Set List

DFW
Roll Roll Roll
Dirty Work at The Crossroads
I Ain't Never
Just A Game
Baby, Please Come Home
Six Strings Down
Texas Flood
The Crawl

Eric Clapton Set List

The Shape I'm In
It Makes No Difference
Key to the Highway
Hoochie Coochie Man
I Shot the Sheriff
---
Driftin' Blues
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
Call Me the Breeze
Layla
Tears In Heaven
---
Tearing Us Apart
Wonderful Tonight
Crossroads Blues
Stormy Monday
Cocaine

Encore
High Time We Went

The Outlaw, the Golden Rock God and the Angelic Bluegrass Queen; Willie Nelson, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss The Outlaw Music Festival @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater 6/25 Concert Review

I had never seen Willie Nelson. Recounting to my dad on the way home, we should have went to see in 2005, with Dylan and Mellencamp on their minor league ballpark tour in Sauget, Illinois. But he was always just one of those people, I was never super amped to see. Hell, he even played at the Midway fairgrounds on the other side of Columbia in around 2010. But when this Outlaw Music Festival Tour was announced, with Robert Plant and Allison Krauss being a part of it, it scratched the itch for me to want to go. 

The festivities began at a little after 4 PM, with Particle Kid, which was Willie Nelson's son, Micah playing. Which, me and my dad weren't there for. We arrived for the last two mintues of Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway's set, who were the second act of the day. I hadn't been to Hollywood Casino Amphitheater or Riverport, since 2011 when I saw Brad Paisley there. And it was a scorching June day. Hence the not arriving til later in the festivites. And the Outlaw Music Festival site, had times which showed how long and when each act was playing. 

We did see all of Trampled by Turtles set.

They're a sextext in the Indie Bluegrass Americana vein. They jammed 14 songs into their one hour set. They weren't bad, but I was unfamiliar with them. They did a cover of Ooh Laa Laa and then were joined by Alan Sparhawk of Low, for two songs, including a cover of Low's, Days Like These. 

Then came Allison Krauss and Robert Plant with their fantastic backing band, which was my prime reason, for attending this concert. They played in Kansas City at the Starlight Amphitheater in early May, but I didn't want to risk a concert in the rain, as Starlight doesn't have a pavillion or covered seats. 

But in their 13 song set, 70 minute, which was almost perfect, they hit everything I wanted to hear. They hit the highlights from their two albums together, had some Zeppelin covers and some wicked musicanship. Stuart Duncan, a maestro is a part of the five piece backing band as well as JD McPhearson playing some hot guitar. The music is a rollicking blend of rock, blues, Americana, folk, bluegrass, roots, whatever you want to call it. 
Plant in dialouging with the audience, mentioned it 'being a bittersweet day, as it was Elton John's last performance at Glastonbury', made many to assume something had happened to Elton. 

And Plant's voice is still in great shapeat 70 plus. Combined with Krauss' amazing voice, you definitely want to see this pair if you can. 

Then after a 25 minute set change, Willie Nelson and the Family took the stage. Thankfully by then it was dark and the breezes flowing it made it very nice and cool. His son Micah joined him on guitar, along with Mickey Raphael his long-time harmonica player and another three members of the backing band. 
Willie played sitting down the whole time, but for age 90 his voice still sounded like it did 30 years ago to me anyway. And his guitar picking is still on point as well. 

During his 21 song, hour long set, he hit a good chunk of his hits and well known songs, let his son Micah take a few turns, played various covers and couple less known songs. Basically doing what Willie's been doing the last 50 years. I think a lot of it is probably autopilot for him, but again at age 90, it's amazing the level that's he's still preforming at. 

Upon leaving, the shitstorm of leaving Riverport, reminded me why I'm not fond of going to concerts there. It took almost an hour to get onto I-70, from getting out of the show a little after 10 PM. And with an I-70 detour, another 20 minute deviation on the way home. 

Trampled by Turtles set list

It's So Hard to Hold On

Annihilate

Nobody Knows

The Darkness and the Light

We All Get Lonely

All the Good Times Are Gone

Walt Whitman

Quitting Is Rough

Wait So Long

Midnight on the Interstate

New Son/Burnt Iron

Ooh La La

Days Like These 

Alone

Robert Plant Allison Krauss set list

Rich Woman

Fortune Teller

Can't Let Go

The Price of Love

Rock and Roll

Please Read the Letter

High and Lonesome

Trouble With My Lover

In the Mood/Matty Groves

Gallows Pole

The Battle of Evermore

When the Levee Breaks

Gone Gone Gone

Willie Nelson Set List

Whiskey River

Stay a Little Longer

Still is Still Moving to Me

Bloody Mary Morning

I Never Cared For You

(Die When I'm High) Halfway to Heaven

Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

Angel Flying to Close to the Ground

On The Road Again

You Were Always on My Mind

Everything is Bullshit

Good Hearted Woman

Georgia on My Mind

I've Been to Georgia on a Fast Train

I'll Love You til the Day You Die

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die

Write Your Own Songs

Move It On Over

I Thought About You, Lord

Will the Circle Be Unbroken/I'll Fly Away

It's Hard to Be Humble

Ghosts of Springsteen Shows Past; Bruce Springsteen 4/18 Concert Review at the T-Mobile Center

I hadn't been to a concert since seeing Foreigner in August of 2019. COVID had a large part in helping with that. But as I've grown older, I've seen many of the acts I have wanted to and many are no longer with us. I really wanted to see The Rolling Stones in St. Louis, but a) not going to have a job in a few weeks after the show, made me balk and b) without Charlie Watts it felt a bit of a let down too. (I still kick myself for not going to see them at Arrowhead in 2015.) There have been a few others, but I just don't have the concert bug like I used to. Concert ticket prices haven't helped either. 

Which brings us to the Boss. Kansas City got an early date, when Springsteen announced his 2023 tour last summer and I was fortunate to get decent seats, side stagish about 18 rows back. But they were on the pricey side. More than double what I paid when I last saw him in 2016, at the same venue. 

And it's well documented the heat he has taken from fans for the dynamic and just in general astronomical prices. But it was the Boss who's never truly disappointed with shows. 

And I was lucky to make it to the show, as I came down with a cold/sinus/flu like stuff several days before(which turned out to be, surprise, COVID.) But the day of the show I felt strong enough and better to make the two and a half hour trek to KC (And not wanting to have wasted $700+) . My girlfriend and I got there well before the doors opened. Not feeling well, we didn't explore or do shopping like I wanted. Alas. 

The doors opened at 6 PM and the show was schuduled to start at 7:30. And compared to previous shows Springsteen was on the stage, by 7:45, compared to yesteryears where it was 45 minutes or later before the band struck up. And it was a packed house. There was a couple of empty seats in the row ahead of us. But the upper level was packed and nearly every seat I could see was filled. 

There was a strong opening salvo of No Surrender, Ghosts, Prove it All Night to lead off the festivities. Promised Land was one of the favorites that I was excited to hear. I'd heard him do it before in St. Louis in 2009, but its grown on me since then. 

This was my fifth time seeing him, and Patti his wife was absent again. I've never seen her. I guess she sticks to the bigger shows on the coast or new Jersey and skips flyover country. Jake Clemons was out with COVID. Bruce mentioned this during Ghosts, that "Jake was back in the hotel room eating barbeque and watching pornographic films.," and leading the crowd in a F-U-C-K C-O-V-I-D chant. And Ed Manion, "who's played horns with us for 40 years finally gets to come down front." 

And along with the E Street Band, there was a four piece horn section, a percussionist and four back up singers. 

Other highlights were hearing Johnny 99, which was reworked to add his backing horns time to shine. And finally getting Glory Days. And watching Max is always a joy. One of the best drummers around. And I love how if you watch him, he's singing along while playing. I know I mention that everytime in my reviews. 

As for the rest of the show, it was...okay. As a Springsteen fan I've probably been spoiled. It was a fine show, two hours and 45 minutes worth, but there was no surprises. It was pretty much the same set-list as every other city, but with two less songs and no tour debuts. One of the major things that drew me to his shows were the uniqueness he brought to every show. Different songs, audibles, sign requests, unique banter with the audience. There was very little of that. This felt like Taylor Swift or any other similar act, where every part was lined out, and it's just the same show, different city aspect. 

There might be several reasons for this. For starters, he is 73 and might not have the manicial energy he used to. Age catches up to his all. And he still brought the energy don't get me wrong. 

This is also an early date on the tour. Most times I've seen him, it's been on later legs, where he's started to tinker, get looser with set lists and not so locked-in. Looking at older tours, he usually kept a similiar set list on the beginnings then opened things up as the shows wore on. 

Tying into that, there might be an overarching theme, he's trying to go with. His last album Letter to You, was fraught with the themes of mortality and death and growing older. Obviously his entire catalogue deals with a lot of these thoughts and themes, but this set list seems to hit on many of these. 

And maybe the Springsteen on Broadway residency got him more into locked tight shows. There wasn't too much interaction with the audience. He gave intros to Last Man Standing and before the end of I'll See You In My Dreams, with the food bank request, that was the only dialogue. 

My girlfriend, who I tried to coach into listening to more of his songs, besides when stuck with me on the odd car ride, kinda lost interest early. She also sat most of the show! (I'm dating an old woman!) And she only recognized two of his songs. I've got some work to do with her. 

One of her comments was this was the whitest crowd she's seen. And just listening to some of the conversation of people around me, they were taking in multiple shows. Going to Tulsa show the next Tuesday. One guy was from Phoenix and had flew in for this show, and seen one of the Texas ones. 

This doesn't dispel the bad image Springsteen got from the Tickemaster and high tickets debacle, that only his diehard and rich white people are the only ones who can afford these type of shows. 

I did have a good time and if I'd never seen him before, would come away with a different feeling and opinion. I think the magic of his past shows are working against him with me. I'm still hoping for another leg of the tour in 2024 and a St. Louis date. But if there is, he'll definitely have to start changing it up more over the summer European festival dates and Fall US shows for me to go. I love Springsteen, but it is a pretty penny just to see the same show again. 

Set List

1. NO SURRENDER
2. GHOSTS
3. PROVE IT ALL NIGHT
4. LETTER TO YOU
5. THE PROMISED LAND
6. OUT IN THE STREET
7. CANDY'S ROOM
8. KITTY'S BACK
9. NIGHTSHIFT
10. THE E STREET SHUFFLE
11. JOHNNY 99
12. LAST MAN STANDING
13. BACKSTREETS
14. BECAUSE THE NIGHT
15. SHE'S THE ONE
16. WRECKING BALL
17. THE RISING
18. BADLANDS
19. THUNDER ROAD
20. BORN TO RUN
21. ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)
22. GLORY DAYS
23. DANCING IN THE DARK
24. TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT
25. I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS

It's Been Way Too Long...

Three and a half years, since the last blog. Whew! I guess COVID and no concerts and a lack of a life will do that to you...