w/ special guest
Jerry Cantrell
Gorge Amphitheater
George, WA
September 5, 1998
w/ special guest
Jerry Cantrell
Gorge Amphitheater
George, WA
September 5, 1998
Although it certainly does seem like Metallica is forever on tour, I still can't help myself from seeing at least two of the shows on each of their tours, even when I know the set is going to be almost identical to the previous performance. This year, as I joined the tour at Shoreline, and followed it up to my favorite concert venue the Gorge Amphitheater; which is nestled into the Columbia river gorge in Washington state. I was richly rewarded by the high energy of a general admission show, which seems to be such a rare occasion these days. This also allowed for the inevitable, endless wave of crowd surfers flowing over the rail, which is definitely a paramount trademark of any proper Metallica show. Another bonus was the fact of Washington being the home state of Jerry Cantrell, the lead guitarist from the now defunct band Alice In Chains. This being, I believe, his first live performance in Washington since the breakup of Alice In Chains. And, even though Metallica is from the Bay area; James said he felt like he was at home. All of these factors gave way to reveal an awesome bond between the crowd and the performers, and resulted in a Metallica show that really kicked ass.
Jerry Cantrell was accompanied by all of Alice In Chains, except for lead singer Layne Staley; and they totally jammed some Alice In Chains tunes, including, Heaven Beside You and Them Bones; which was excellent because Jerry said to the crowd, "Everybody say Awwww," and then the audience all screamed, "Awwww," and they busted right into Them Bones. This was one of the high points of the evening for sure. I wasn't fortunate enough to see them when they were in full swing and reaching new musical peaks with each album they produced. But, I remember way back in the day when Layne used to throw parties every thursday night at his house in Lake City and Alice In Chains would jam, oh, maybe that was practice, and it just happened to turn into a party. Of course this was way before the Seattle sound crazed the nation, and Alice just had a few songs on an EP; they had made 500 copies on cassette tapes with red construction paper labeled SAP below some unrecognizable obscured silk-screened design and folded into the case. I only remember two of the songs, I believe they were called Queen of the Rodeo and Grandma I'm A Drug Fiend. Anyway, it was a real treat to see Jerry perform songs from the Alice In Chains repertoire. Jerry is a nut, too, I completely admire him for that. He came out on stage and played the whole first song with this huge afro wig on, it was a classic moment. Jerry Cantrell ended his set with a stunning rendition of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, I think this caught the audience by surprise, to say the least. But, a most pleasant surprise it was.
Metallica played with more vigor and more raw energy than their Bay area appearance, and, I definitely attribute this to the show being general admission. From first note to last there was a constant flow of people crowd surfing to the front and being thrown over the rail at the wall of security guards, I'd say at the rate of at least one one every thirty seconds, there was an never-ending line of people being escorted to an exit stage right. At one point in time, the crowd was so rowdy, that this guy threw a bottle and it hit bassist Jason Newsted. I was so glad when I found out he wasn't hurt badly and the concert would still continue. The crowd was so upset that they passed the guy who threw the bottle to the front, and he was almost mauled by angry and intoxicated fans who fully seemed oblivious to the security guards escorting him. But, the show must go on; and it did!! Metallica played classic tunes Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters, Fight Fire with Fire, Wherever I May Roam, One (which was finished after Jason recovered from the shock of being hit with the beer bottle), a very polished and beautiful acoustic version Four Horsemen, and the all bizarre, but most danceable song of the evening, Last Caress/Green Hell by Glen Danzig. They also played Fuel and Memory Remains which are the first two songs from Metallica's 1998 release Reload. Another treat was King Nothing from Load. The encore was strictly balls out Metallica, consisting of some main staples in a musically balanced daily diet of Metallica, Sad But True, Enter Sandman, and they closed with Creeping Death. Metallica rules, don't be a fool!!! Wherever they may roam, you should be there to make sure the memory remains. Thanks for reading and we'll see ya at the shows.Nick Running
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