There is always a first and I witnessed one this past Tuesday at Artpark in Lewiston, NY. Megadeth graced the stage and in doing so became the first real hard rock or metal act to play there. Taking the stage at 8pm sharp, the band kicked into “Hangar 18.” Lead vocalist & rhythm guitarist Dave Mustaine usually dresses in white shirts but for this show was decked out in pure black. Maybe this was an antidote of things to come?
This show was the first of only 4 North America dates before the band embarks on a European tour. Instead of Buffalo or Lewiston, Mustaine referred to everyone as New York and was more chatty that I’ve seen him at past shows. It didn’t look like the band had to shake off any rust as Megadeth sounded fantastic. Both guitarist Chris Broderick and bassist Dave Ellefson along with Mustaine moved in synchronicity to keep it exciting for the fans. Besides witnessing a hard rock/metal act the other first was crowd surfing. There were 2 fans who participated that I saw. Megdadeth fans are passionate about the music and were whole heartedly paying attention to every note Broderick laid, or every lyric sang by Mustaine or every beat that drummer Shawn Drover pounded out.
As stated before Mustaine and the boys did little talking but Mustaine did dedicate “She Wolf” to all the evil women in the crowd. He also congratulated a couple in the crowd that said they are getting married. His response “may all your ups and downs stay in between the sheets!” A handful of Megadeth song lyrics are politically driven. There was almost no such talk of anything political on this night.
Even though the concert sold less than previous acts this year, I was still glad to see some diversity on the lineup. Minus a few knuckleheads tossing beer cans about in front of the stage and a few pits (slam dancing) opening up, I hope that the Megadeth performance won over some of the board members who decide what to bring to the Artpark stage on a yearly basis.
Setlist:
Hangar 18
Wake up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
Set My World on Fire
Sweating Bullets
Bass solo
Dawn Patrol
Poison Was the Cure
She Wolf
Trust
A Tout le Monde
Public Enemy
Tornado of Souls
King Maker
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Encore:
Holy Wars
We would like to thank Maria Hays from Artpark for her assistance in helping BackstageAxxess review the show.
