It was Tuesday, November 10th, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The stage was positioned in the center of the arena for an “in the round” show. Following two opening acts (Volbeat and Lamb of God), the crowd began to chant “Metallica, Metallica, Metallica!” Finally, the lights go down, lasers criss-cross the stage and the moment that everyone’s been waiting for arrives. Metallica hits the stage running with “That Was Just Your Life.” This band is loud and proud as the lights go up and the head banging is underway for two solid hours of heavy metal.
The stage was pretty big and Lars Ulrich’s drum kit was in the center with James Hetfield (vocals, rhythm guitar), Kirk Hammett (lead guitar) and Robert Trujillo (bass) making their way around it to give every inch of the audience its fair share of the action. The drum kit even rotated a quarter turn about every half hour, so everyone had a full, head-on view of the band at one time or another.
Above the stage, there were huge coffin shapes rigged with lights. The coffins began to lower and rotate during “Creeping Death.” This show appealed to the senses of sound, sight and touch. Fire lit up the stage on several occasions and there was so much of it, you could feel the heat, no matter where you were sitting or standing.
James Hetfield delighted the crowd with some banter and even requested a show of hands for first-timers and welcomed them to the Metallica family of Buffalo! The crowd was full of energy as brief mosh pits developed, but were quickly dissolved by the security staff. During “Cyanide” crowd surfers could be seen heading toward the stage, but were also turned back. Following “Sad But True,” Robert Trujillo was left to briefly wail on his bass. This was the first time I’ve seen Trujillo and he totally nailed it. The band was tight and James Hetfield’s voice only gets stronger with time as he shifted gears and belted out a cover of Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page.” It was an awesome rendition and gave the crowd a chance to catch a collective breath.
Later, Kirk Hammett’s mini guitar solo got everyone riled up again, just in time for more pyrotechnics and “The Day That Never Comes.” Then, he did another short solo before “Nothing Else Matters.”
For the encore, they started off with a medley of bands that influenced them and finished up with the house lights on, black beach balls with the Metallica logo bouncing everywhere and rockin’ out with “Seek and Destroy.” Following the show, the band stayed on the stage and tossed out guitar picks and drum sticks for atleast 10 minutes. It was an awesome show. Of course, there were a few more tunes that I was hoping to hear, but band delivered a two hour set, and who can complain about that?
If Metallica is making a stop in your town, this is a concert experience that you don’t want to miss!
Set List:
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
No Remorse
One
Broken, Beat and Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Turn The Page
All Nightmare Long
The Day That Never Comes
Master of Puppets
Damage, Inc.
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Encore:
Jam
Blitzkrieg
Phantom Lord
Seek and Destroy
We would like to thank TJ.Tauriello at Warner Brothers for allowing us to shoot the show.
