The Triumphant Return of Live Music

At some point in early-2020, people bought tickets to The Metal Tour of the Year — a roving summertime spectacle featuring the co-headlining legends Megadeth and Lamb of God, supported by the steadily-rising Trivium and Sweden’s legendary In Flames. By late-spring that year, the tour — and any realistic prospects of live music — were, like the Swedes, in flames.

Here and there, across Europe and the Southern Hemisphere, live shows occurred with dismaying infrequency, while most of the festivals and tours in North America were put on ice, including the Metal Tour of the Year. It’s been a brutal time for musicians and really anybody connected to the music industry — the moratorium on touring has hampered bands’ abilities to promote new music, to sell merch and, as many will lament, the very real need to get out and see fans and friends on the road. Two years ago, it was unimaginable that the sublime pleasure of seeing musicians performing live would be taken from us, along with the experience of meeting friends at shows and simply standing should-to-shoulder with people we’d never met, but with whom we share so many passions. We now appreciate the importance of the community of music on an entirely new level.

This year, even with infection rates teeming across the US, many bands have bravely hit the road. Over in Europe, festivals like Bloodstock and a scaled-down Download Festival injected some much needed vitality into the industry. And yes, The Metal Tour of the Year — pushed back one year — has finally kicked off and it rolled into California yesterday, though not as initially envisioned.

First, Hatebreed replaced In Flames, who were unable to secure the appropriate working visas. This complication has afflicted many other European bands who were scheduled to appear on tours and in festivals here in the US. I was pretty pumped to see them, so that was a disappointment for me. I was, however, incredibly excited to see Lamb of God, who delivered an absolute monster of a set — sixty-five minutes of blistering riffs, crushing death metal grooves and the frenzied gyrations of D. Randall Blythe. Normally I would have been able to head backstage and say hello to him and other people working the show, but COVID has understandably changed the rules of access at live shows and management locked down all passes on the tour. No matter, I experienced a deep, visceral sense of joy in seeing the band tear out onto the stage and send the 12,000-strong crowd into the stratosphere.

As far as the first two openers, it was just good to see talented bands showcasing the best of their catalogs. Hatebreed warmed up a half-full pit at 6 pm and by the time Trivium came out nearly an hour later, the sun had begun to set and the stadium was approaching capacity. Trivium sounded ferocious; it’s been ages since I’ve seen them live and, having met them on a few occasions, I’m fans of the guys as much as the music. I remember being at The Rave, in Milwaukee back in 2011, when Trivium were part of Metal Hammer’s “Trespass America” tour, which also featured Killswitch Engage, Five Finger Death Punch, Pop Evil and Emmure. Walking through the dark, multi-floored labyrinth backstage, I headed down to the basement to find the much-ballyhooed haunted swimming pool — apparently an empty swimming pool where supernatural activity reportedly occurred on a regular basis. I’m unsure as to how many of these signtings were proffered by people taking advantage of the pool’s natural cover to enjoy some mind-altering substances.

Anyway, making my way through a dark, empty basement bar, I caught sight of a movement to my right and jumped a bit. I thought I was the only one downstairs. Looking closer, in a dark corner of the room, Trivium’s Matt Heafy was moving into Down Dog in the middle of a quiet yoga set before his show. Apparently I startled him as much as he startled me. He’s a good, thoughtful dude who takes what he does very seriously and who deeply appreciates the support that Trivium receives from the fans.

Anyway, their set was phenomenal, particularly closer In Waves, and I resolved to listen to a lot more Trivium this week after seeing them serve up one reminder after another of how good their catalog is.

Finally Megadeth came out and holy shit, did they sound fantastic. A good bit is down to the superb sound system at FivePoint Amphitheatre but of course, the musicianship in Megadeth is and always has been top notch. Dave Mustaine continues to thrust his ruddy middle finger at the Grim Reaper, though he seems to be relying more on the proficiency of his second guitarist more than he was, say, ten years ago. And mention must be made that Megadeth is once again, featuring a new lineup - James Lomenzo is a familiar face, but it’s been years since he played with Megadeth and this is his first time with Dirk and Kiko in the band. He provided a grounding, energetic presence and the band ploughed through one anthemic belter after another.

Merch lines were pretty nuts — I guess we were all dying to spend some of the cash we’ve saved from not being able to buy concert tickets for the past two years. The overall air was festive and upbeat. I’m reviewing the gig for one of the magazines, so I’ll leave my assessment here and simply say, I had a lovely time.