Gigantour in NJ

[General Zod]

Jason (Dark One) and I hit this fest last night. Jason got us hooked up with the premium package. Our tickets were front row, first two seats. Literally, the best seats in house.

We tailgated for about 2.5 hours before heading in. We had just enough time to throw down a dog and buy a couple 7$ MGDs and get to our seats before Nevermore came on. The seated section of the venue was practically deserted when Nevermore began (though it filled up nicely before they wrapped up). Mine and Jason's ugly mugs were right in Nevermore's collective face for the entire show. I think they actually got a kick out of us, given how empty the venue was when they started and how into their set we were. They played:

Narcosynthesis
Born
Never Purify
The River Dragon Has Come
Final Product
Enemies of Reality

They fucking slayed! Loomis and Smyth were completely locked in. Warrell sounded great. Van and Jim were awesome as always. When Warrell began to introduce their last song of the evening, I screamed, "Ten more songs!" This got a smile out of some of the guys and a laugh out of Warrell, and he replied, "Dude, you can't do ten more songs in a 30 minute set."

Yeah, I'm a total fanboy.... what of it?

After this, we headed for the 2nd Stage to catch Symphony X. Given that the first few bands on the 2nd Stage were of the NuMetal variety, I was curious to see how the younger crowd would react. Surprisingly, they ate it up. Hell, a pit even broke out. The band sounded absolutely fantastic. At the end of their set, the crowd started a chant of "One more song". The band seemed genuinely taken back by this, and then caught a bit off guard when the 2nd Stage Manager told them it was cool if they wanted to do one more song. After a few seconds of consultation, they busted out with "King of Terrors".

We headed for our back stage tour (which wasn't much of a tour at all). We got our picture taken with Megadeth. I'm not a huge fan, but it was a cool perk, and the guys were all very gracious.

We headed out in time to catch Dream Theater. I hung for a song or two, and then retreated. DT just doesn't do it for me in a live setting. Though, I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed "In the Name of God".

Next was Megadeth, with full pyro and explosions. Given our seat location, my ears are still ringing and I think my eyebrows are gone. The set was solid. The band was tight. Strangely, they played 6 songs before Dave said a single word to the crowd. It was great, finally getting to hear some of 'Deth classics live:

Wake up Dead
Peace Sells
Symphony of Destruction
Hangar 18
In My Darkest Hour
A Tout Le Monde

Not sure what the official numbers will reveal, but the crowd looked pretty strong. All in all, an excellent night.

Zod

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Thanks for the review Zod. I'm glad you had a good time. I caught this tour two weeks ago, and I also had a great time as well. I saw the gig in Milwaukee, Wi.

I only payed attention to four bands the night I went. They were Symphony X, Nevermore, Dream Theater, and Megadeth.

Symphony X was solid in their 5 or 6 song effort, and the crowd seemed to react well.

Nevermore actually got to headline the 2nd stage the night I was in attendance, and they were allowed to play for almost 50 minutes. That was a treat, and the highlight of the gig for me.

Dream Theater was kind of boring, and James sounded terrible from where I was located. I think it was more the general venue sound than Labrie's fault, but it was tough for me to deal with on the songs I didn't no so well. They at least played some of the stuff from ToT I like, so that was enjoyable.

By the time Megadeth hit the stage I was pretty bombed, but knowing all their material helped me to really enjoy the show a lot. The band sounded real tight, and I came away feeling that Megadeth was still somewhat viable, especially as a live act.

Britt

 

[MEFlyingV]

I was there too. Only caught the last 30 seconds of Nevermore though.

I did enjoy Dream Theater, even though I only knew two of their songs. That shows how good the mix was (as well as their talent).

Megadeth was great. Loved the pyro. And I also thought the guitar mix was excellent. I have never heard guitar solos sound so pristine, especially with 2 guitars in the band (often the solos get lost in the mix). It was a real text-book example of how to mix live heavy metal guitar solos.

And I enjoyed Symphony X too, though I was somewhat distracted by the two very drunk “how hot am I?” girls standing nearby. Ha!

 

[Rider of Theli]

oh man, M.E., I can't believe you missed Nevermore . If you thought Megadeth's guitars were 'pristine', you should hear the Loomis/Smyth effect.


Loomis has always been one my absolute favorites when it comes to technical thrashy guitar leads and solos, but Smyth seems to bring a certain element of ferocity I haven't experienced with Nevermore in the past. Damn good mix!

 

[Dark One]

Thanks for the review Greg and I'm glad you had a good time. I think I got sunburn from being so close to the pyro, but it was worth it. For what I was expecting and for what I got, the fun factor was absolutely top notch. Nevermore was the highlight, but Symphony X was a close second and I would say easily tore up the second stage and destroyed all of the other acts. DT and Megadeth were a lot of fun as well (two high profile veteran metal acts in fine form), plus the seven beer factor was in effect and I was just having a blast jamming out.

In fact, I was so excited out there that at one point I professed my love for Greg on the big screen set up at the venue via text messaging! LOL, just kidding man, it was a thoroughly annoying coincidence though, haha!

 

[DementiaGuitar]

I was there too, the show was awesome all around. In terms of music, Dream Theater was the highlight for me, with SymX, Megadeth, and Divinity Destroyed following closely behind. Getting to meet Dave Mustaine was really awesome too.

Originally posted by MeFlyingV
And I enjoyed Symphony X too, though I was somewhat distracted by the two very drunk “how hot am I?” girls standing nearby. Ha!

I was pretty distracted by two very drunk girls during Megadeth's set! I wonder if they were the same people!