Megadeth - Hampton Beach Casino - Hampton Beach, NH - Sept. 29, '07
Posted by Jesse Coy on 10.08.2007
The metal/thrash revival continues, as Dave and Megadeth roll into town.
So here was yet another new venue, this one quite close to us in New Hampshire. It’s called the Hampton Beach Casino, although it’s not a casino. Just to fast forward to the actual venue, I quite like the setup. It’s got an expansive ballroom feel to it. The concert was sold out. I read that the venue can hold 2,200 people… but even though the show was sold out, you didn’t feel crammed in. And with how the stage was set up, the view was great, even if you were standing a bit to the side, which was where my wife and I stood.
Before that, though, I’d gotten up later, of course, as I’m staying awake until 9 or 10 in the morning. I mixed a good drink to go. Shirleen drove. We would’ve gotten to the venue much quicker if we took the right exit. It’s the one right before the toll road (exit 2). So we had to take a slow drive south on Route 1A. Parking was a bit hairy. The parking for the venue was full. As for meter parking in the town, you have to feed the meter every day until midnight, and a quarter only gets you ten minutes. As Ron Simmons would say, “Damn!”
Asked a local and was told that there was parking around C Street for $5. And there was. Finally, nice, brisk weather had returned to New England. Break out the jeans (better than the stifling humidity of a day earlier).
Walked the four or five blocks to the venue, and we arrived perfectly timing wise. I got our tickets at will call, and was told that Megadeth was getting ready to take the stage. We bought a rum and diet cola each, taking in the crowd. There were some scary types. Some folks were quite juiced, too. Of course, I am a certain part of that crowd, because thrash and heavy metal music was what I first got into music-wise.
As for Megadeth, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and let me start off by saying that I discovered I was a static. That’s right, I was one of those folks who finally turned off and tuned out Megadeth directly after their Risk release. I wasn’t very fond of Cryptic Writings or some of Youthanasia, either. One after another, I’d lost a little more interest with each album. I’d heard that the band’s releases after Risk got heavier, hearkening back to the more classic days of Megadeth. I had some curiosity, but just not enough to pick up one of the albums.
I’m happy to say that both the concert and the newer material that I heard were very good.
I’d seen the ending of Megadeth’s set back in May, opening for Heaven and Hell (I would’ve wanted to see their whole show, but parking there did mess me up). Of those three songs that I caught in May, Dave’s voice sounded a little too high. So that was another thing I was unsure of (had his singing style changed?), but for this show, Dave’s kind of snarling and charged vocal style was fully in place. Before that, the only other two times I song Megadeth was long ago, opening for Judas Priest in ’91, and then headlining with Suicidal Tendencies in ’92.
As I said, the band was in great form, both tight and energized. It was an eighteen-song set that spanned most of their albums. There was nothing off their debut (although of those three encore songs I saw in May, “Mechanix” was amongst them). They performed “Wake Up Dead” and “Peace Sells,” and for that one, I haven’t head banged like that in ages (actually, that applied for a number of tunes). And yes, I can head bang, having let my hair grow back in, as opposed to maybe some of the other fans who have either cut their hair or who were balding.
They did “In My Darkest Hour,” and off Rust in Peace, “Take No Prisoners” and “Eye of the Tornado,” along with, of course, “Hangar 18” and “Holy Wars/Punishment Due,” the latter of which was the ending encore song. “Skin O’ My Teeth,” “Symphony of Destruction,” and “Ashes in Your Mouth” all represented Countdown to Extinction, and “Reckoning Day” and “A Tout le Monde” (I was never a big fan of that one, but it must be very popular, because the crowd sang along to that with as much enthusiasm as they did “Peace Sells”) were from Youthanasia. There was nothing from Cryptic Writings or Risk (by the way, it’s not quite a favorite, but as a flip side of “A Tour le Monde,” I never understood why “Crush’em” is so disliked by fans and the band).
So we had six new tracks, one of which I know was “Washington Is Next,” and another being “Case for War.” And for that one, Dave had made a comment, because before the introduction of the band, the radio station folks who did the general introduction made a remark of having thoughts for and giving thanks to the troops. Dave made the short remark, which I agree with, that whether or not you support the war or the reasons behind it, don’t boo the troops (because a few folks had booed during that introduction).
And speaking of speaking, or speaking of being outspoken over the years, Dave occasionally does say stuff that doesn’t endear me toward him, to say it nicely. Well, besides that brief comment during this show, the only other comment he made was, “I don’t say much between songs. We come here to rock, not talk.” And he was true to those words, because happily, this performance did rock.
Can I give an intelligent guess as to what those other four songs were? I'd just be guessing, though they did sound mighty fine to me. Based off the sound of those new tunes (anything after Risk being new to me), I ordered a copy of The World Needs a Hero (not their newest, I know, but I must go in order).
Side notes?
Even though there’s not the two Dave's anymore, and there hasn’t been for a couple albums, I do like the fact that in an age when metalhead thrashers in one band after another cut or lost their hair, Dave is still very recognizably Dave.
Being a devout atheist, I sometimes get skeptical over intentions of devout Christians or anything born again. None of this comes into play directly from this show, except that I heard that there are certain songs that Dave won’t play any longer because of his Christian backdrop. I’d be curious as to which ones those are.
As for what I’d have liked to hear, and I don’t think any of these songs would fall into that above category, one would have been “Set the World Afire” (which I see he’s been doing of late at some shows), or maybe "Hook in Mouth." Another would be the newer (for me), “I’ll Get Even,” which I really like, but I don’t know if that was ever a tune regularly played live. Maybe “Beneath the Skin” or “Chosen Ones,” or even “Train of Consequences.”
In general, though, I was quite happy with the set list, and an excellent show. For me, personally, it's been a long time since I've seen a full Megadeth show. This was an impressive update.
The 411: If you're like me, as in a metal fan who kind of tuned out with regards to Megadeth after Risk, prepare to be rejuvenated. If you go to the tour, you'll probably want to pick up those last three studio releases you might have missed. There's no rust on this live act!
