New York: Day 2
Needless to say was a bit of a rough morning haha. Woke up at 3pm, in part to the gnarly 6hr time change, but mostly because of the 4am return from the bar. Collected myself and was already time to head towards MetLife Stadium for opening night of the M72 Metallica tour. Food was a priority so hit one of the local pizza shops a block over. It’s remarkable how many pizza places there are and also how good the pizza actually is. Sat at the small counter with pepperoni slices and watched all the people pass by.
Finished up my slices and ordered the uber. With the hotel hiccup the uber pricing out to the stadium is a bit higher. The app showed $82 from Manhattan to the stadium but after tunnel tolls and some other bs fee it broke out to $108! Got out of the uber and was surrounded by Metallica fans. People wearing shirts from different albums, tours, pictures, and one dude decided to wear a Green Day shirt lol. Walked the over pass and followed the signs for the Enhanced Experiences check in. The nice lady at the tented greeted me and looked up my name for my pass. The “I Disappear” pass was a little bigger than a baseball card and made of thicker metal. One side showed the infamous “M” with a “72” and “North America 2023. The other side had a headshot of my choosing along with the details of my seats and what shows I can go to.
So moment of truth! I had my camera in hand and checked my backpack as they wouldn’t let me bring in a backpack. Placed my camera in a plastic bag and approached the security check. The lady looked at the camera and saw it had a detachable lens. She raised this concert to a higher up and he walked over. He asked “is this the only lens you have?” To which is calmly, and with a smile, I replied “yes sir just the one.” He looked at me and said “cool, you’re good.” I have him a nod and a thank you, collected my camera, and headed for the GA entrance. I mean, what fortune!
The GA entrance had its own special line. They rescan your ticket and then give you a wristband to signify your floor seat. Walking through the under stadium tunnel was pretty cool. They had photos and writings of the NFL teams that play there, and old photos of the stadium. You exit the tunnel to the most insane stage setup. 8 towers surround the stage with cylinder monitors and more speakers than Marty McFly would know what to do with. The stage is a giant circle with the center cutout for the Snake Pit. For those that ball out the center has no barrier between the stage and them. People rest their arms and lean on to the actual stage next to Jame’s microphones. Its insane!
I had gotten in to the stadium about 5:30pm and a security guard told me the start times which were: Mammoth WVH at 6pm, Pantera at 7, and Metallica at 8:40pm. I know some people had paid extra for even earlier admittance but I walked around the entire stage and tried to guess where a mic might be or a point of interest. The spot I chose landed me 2 people from the stage so, as I appreciate the even earlier entrance some people got, I didnt think it was necessary. I hadn’t heard of Mammoth WVH before. They were the opener and payed for about 45 or so minutes. Not gonna lie they killed it! Awesome stage presence, and had some cool songs. The lady next to me was losing her mind knowing Pantera was next. Their set was a bit bigger than Mammoth WVH’s. They played all their biggest songs, shot fire from the stage, and Zakk Wyled stood in front of us for “Walk.” Was so cool to see and hear so many Pantera songs live when the reality was most everyone thought they would never tour again.
Standing down on the field level and looking up and around the stadium you get this crazy sense of scale and perspective. Every Sunday people watch the Jets and Giants play on that field and you wonder what it’s like to be down on that field. I can safely say it’s insane. The stadium itself, which like most things, isn’t as big as it appears on tv. Sure the stadium is built up and people in the upper sections look small, but the overall scale isn’t as big and imagined. Likewise, taking a moment to really look, when Metallica came on you got to experience their view. During chants there is an echo or delay from chanting fans and the roar of the crowd when a favorite song is played. 8:35 rolled around and people were getting antsy. Classic rock was playing when the music and lights cut. Since I have been seeing Metallica the show starts when “Its a Long Way to the Top” by AC/DC starts. The screens filled with images and videos of past shows and fans from across the planet. Everyone singing along and smiles everywhere. Following AC/DC the scene from “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” plays with “Ecstasy of Gold.” The crowd goes nuts and in front of us walks Kirk Hammett. Checks with his tech and slings on the famous Frankenstein guitar. The scene finished and the show launches straight in to “Creeping Death.”
The band plays for 2hrs and with each stop being 2 shows they won’t play the same song twice. The setlist was killer! Lars had a drum kit right in front of us and we were so close you could hear the actual snare over the speaker system. I couldn’t stop taking photos of the various times Kirk, James, Rob, and Lars were playing in front of us. Being that close and seeing Kirk interact with his tech was a trip. There seemed to be some monitoring issues with Kirk’s earphones which he was sure to let his tech know haha. That is the cool thing about live shows especially with people playing real instruments. Everyone wants it to go perfect but nothing ever does. Being the pros that they are they delivered an EPIC opening night!
The concert and finished and leaving the stadium was a nightmare. The uber area was filled with people. Some were calm, some not so much. A mom with her family yelled at her son “IM NOT SITTING HERE AND LISTENING TO YOUR SHIT!” To which the son shouted back “WHAT THE FUCK MOM!!! AT LEAST IM THE ONLY ONE HERE TRYING TO FUCKING FIGURE IT OUT!!!” They all stomped off and the people around me had commentary about that haha. After a good long wait and the Uber price in the $150 area a lady was telling people you can catch a free shuttle to a bus depot and get an uber from there. Decided to follow some others and go that route. By the end of it I got back to the hotel about 2am and couldn’t wait to put the images on the computer.
What an awesome way to start this adventure! Some have asked “won’t it get old hearing these songs every night?” The answer is “NO.” You can listen to the records a million times over but actually seeing and hearing them will never get old, and the reality is a time will come when bands won’t be around any longer. So go see your favorite band or group as many times as you can because they are real life experiences that no one can take from you.
