"So on I wait my whole lifetime for you...."

Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony
April 21, 1999

So when I first heard about this concert, I almost died. I *needed* tickets. And then, when they sold out in the first ten minutes, I think I died. And when my mom ordered six scalped tickets for us, I think whatever was left of me went into shock.
I had been waiting for this night since January...now that it's over, it's so depressing. But God was it worth it!

Attending this concert was a not-so standard group - both of my parents, myself, my sister Raven and my friends Paul and Jessica. I'm sorry Jess, but you're so damn boring at concerts. She didn't headbang the entire time. Tsk tsk.
Raven and I decided to hella dress up for the concert - she got this black dragon dress and I wore my purple lace and black slip dress with my velvet cape...heh, I wasn't the only gothy person there, lots of bondage people. Anyways, we get there, park a couple of blocks down and wander to the place, which it about the size of my school auditorium, since it's park of Berkeley High. Three limos passed us when we were walking around, I wonder...

We get to the front area where we are greeted by a long-ass line and....CHRISTIANS!!! Argh! I can understand protesting a Marilyn Manson concert, but honestly - THIS concert? Get a life! We were in line and this guy was talking to one of the Christians (holding a "Fear Jesus" sign) about how we were nice people and there was nothing wrong with us and the guy points to me and says "Look, they're a bunch of losers." I curtsey and grin at him wickedly and say I'm not a loser so he asks "Are you a Christian?" to which I reply "GOD NO!!" He continues with his "Yeah, you're a loser" so I finally yell at him "You're just jealous cause we have more gods than you!" I think my parenst were kinda shocked at that but oh well.

We get in the little place and it's madness...people and cameras all over. When we're in line for shirts, a guy with a camera comes up and starts talking to us, it was neat maybe we'll get on the tape. The shirts for the show suck, I'm sorry...a tuxedo front with the info on the back. I was hoping for something with skulls. So I got the shirt, a program (which I'm glad they had cause I missed it the last time around) and a keyring thingy.

We tried to go to our seats but they had to give us new ones cause ours were taken up by a set of cameras...nothing special, just something inthe same row, only in the middle section. I almost died when I saw the stage...Metallica is the only band I'm really into that I haven't seen really up close because we've always seen them at the Shoreline. (Is that Kirk? No, it's a box.) After much confusion, we got to our seats. They orchestra started playing, James came on, then Lars, then Jason (yee) and finally Kirk....
(I cheated, they provided a set list)

Call of Ktulu : It was like a trance...there were all these swirls on the walls and the screen was playing this thing of ink jets in water or something...I was mostly watching Jason. (for the entire night)

Master of Puppets : This was very different from the version by Apocalyptica (The Finnish cello band), much more creative.

Of Wolf and Man : I almot died (again...gotta stop that) I didn't think they'd do this...again, one of my faves. It got me so pumped for the rest of the evening...it just makes me feel so...wild, feral. You can feel the power coursing through you, especially with the violins added in. I howled as loud as I could.

The Thing That Should Not Be : Again, very trippy, they had the flashing swirls again and James had his echo on so it just vibrated through the whole building.

Fuel : Another unexpected! Oh, it rocked...the drumming after the solo sounded even more powerful with the orchestra backing it. Wow.

The Memory Remains : Me! Another favorite, another unexpected. Dance little tin goddess...I think Jason was running around in circles during this song.

No Leaf Clover : New song, it was so cool....it's like a cross between...Astronomy (by Blue Oyster Cult) and maybe Where the Wild Things Are...the only lyrics I can really remember are something about a train. (I have a bad memory)

Hero of the Day : Heh, it actually didn't sound too different with the orchestra.

Devil Dance : Oh, it rocked. The orchestra followed Jason's bass line, making it sound even heavier. God, it made me feel so evil. :)

Bleeding Me : One of the few songs my mom recognized...um, I'm sure if they played the whol thing, I can't remember the "I am the beast that feeds the feast...." part. Maybe I watching Jason too much. Oh, I think this was one of the songs that he played without a pick.

Then there was a thirty minute intermission....20 of which was spent by Paul and I in line to get water, ten spent drinking water from a fountain in the womens lounge.

Nothing Else Matters : I don't know why but I don't remember much of this song, I was in a trance again.

Until it Sleeps : Rocked, as always.

For Whom the Bell Tolls : I couldn't hear Jason's solo! Argh! And by this time, I had headbanged so much, I couldn't keep my head up. James was echoing again, and just for the record, Kirk looked like a poodle. Also, it was really cool because Jason went up to the bass section of the group and played with them.

Human : Interesting new song....it was very heavy and lots of stops. I think this was the other pick-less song for Jason. (Maybe No Leaf Clover too...I remembering noticing that he did it on the new songs.)

Wherever I May Roam : Argh...I was pratically screaming along to this. And it was funny cause at the end, James didn't sing the "Wherever I may wander, wander, wander.." but everyone else did.

The Outlaw Torn : I swear this song almost made me cry. It was so powerful.

Sad But True : Another screaming / headbanging song. It made me feel evil too. :)

One : Standard gun intro...pretty much the same.

Enter Sandman : Ag...I used to despise this song but I got kinda used to it...it sounded good with the orchestra.

Battery : Can't believe they closed with this, but headbanged anyways.


Okay, so I obviously spent the entire time watching Jason...can anyone blame me?I noticed that James mainly used the mic on the left hand side while Jason used the center mic.
I was mad that they didn't play Harvester of Sorrow or Creeping Death...both sound great on the Apocalyptica cd. My neck was floppy until...well, ten minutes ago. Other than that, it was a super show, the best I've been to.
On the way home, we went on our standard Denny's. The trip home was hilarious, we were talking about masturbation, the stupid guy behind us and this chick's chest. And we were all hella thirsty. And I am not going to survive testing at school tomorrow. (It's 2 right now.)
Yes, definitely the best concert.



You coward, you servant, you blind man...

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