Some of you out there may think that this is a typo or just hard to imagine, but it’s not a typo. Lollapalooza once again resonated from Grant Park in Chicago, IL for three days of music and art. Day one featured some great artists like Gary Clark Jr. and Sir Paul McCartney, but it was day two that I was looking forward to when the mighty Metallica hit the stage to close out the Samsung Galaxy Stage. The trash metal titans hit the stage in Chicago to further show how diversified the festival can really be on a day where it featured such artists as G-Eazy, Charli XCX, Django Django, and many more. Fans of the group were also in for a very rare treat as it was only the eighth or so gig that Metallica has done in 2015 so for a metal fan like me I was chomping at the bit to see the reigning kings of metal. It was also the first time since 2009 that the band played in Chicago and the first time they played Lollapalooza since 1996. After the bands usual intro of Ennio Morricone’s Ecsasty Of Gold, James said that he had an announcement to make and it as, “Give Me Fuel, Give Me Fire…” and the band kicked right into Fuel from the Reload record.
The band was fuel of energy as they delivered their special brand of high octane metal that the crowd was craving to end their day on a high note. At one point in the show, James had asked the crowd how many of them had attended a Metallica show with a lot of cheers and hands flying up in the air. He then told the ones that had ever been to a Metallica show to just follow what the vets did. The band blazed through all of their years as they played songs like For Whom The Bell Tolls, King Nothing, Disposable Heroes, and an amazing rendition of Welcome Home (Sanitarium). I have to admit though that I was a little jealous of the people who got to stand behind the band on the stage during their set as they had the best seat in the house. One of my favorite performances of the night came when the band performed The Unforgiven as James played the acoustic guitar as well as his electric throughout the whole song giving it that dynamic that we all love from the band.
Every show honestly has their funny moments and the one for me came as the band was about to play their classic from Kill ‘Em All in Seek & Destroy. Apparently Lars wasn’t getting the notes right at first and James laughingly joked that the band had a new drummer and they tried it again successfully the second time around. After nearly one hour and forty minutes on stage, I honestly thought that the band was done, but they came back out for an encore and the band certainly didn’t look that tired to be honest. The band opened their encore with Whiskey In The Jar and continued with Am I Evil after that before closing with two classics from the Black Album in Nothing Else Matters and Enter Sandman. It was the perfect ending to a night two that was amazing and this performance was further proof that Metallica are still on top of their game despite what anybody might say. They are the kings of metal for a reason and they are non like them.
Moshpits And Movies 