Gigantour 2012
Tsongas Center
Lowell, MA
January 29, 2012

2012 saw Megadeth bring their Gigantour festival back on the road, this time with Motorhead, Volbeat and Lacuna Coil. The tour played several dates in the North East, and I was lucky enough to see it twice. The first was at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on January 27th. I went to this show without a camera, to just hang out and enjoy some great heavy metal bands.

The second show I saw was two days later, January 29th, at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, MA.

This was an exciting show for me, as this was my first photopass in an arena. I had some great conversation between sets with some of the other photographers. I’m very happy with how my pictures turned out!

Lacuna Coil

This was my first time seeing Lacuna Coil since Ozzfest 2006. When the Gigantour lineup was announced, I was a little surprised that Lacuna Coil was playing before Volbeat. I guess it’s a combination of me not realizing how big Volbeat has become, and Lacuna Coil must not be as popular as they were six or seven years ago.

2012-01-01 - Lacuna Coil - _DSC2110

Our Truth
Upsidedown
Fragile
Kill the Light
Trip the Darkness
Spellbound

I was a little surprised at the lack of material off of Comalies. That album seemed to really push them into the spotlight, I would have expected either “Heaven’s a Lie” or “Swamped” to have been played, but a good set regardless. At Mohegan Sun they opened with “Survive,” which is one of my favorites of their recent material. Here they swapped it out for “Our Truth,” but I’m perfectly fine with them playing that too!

Their new album, Dark Adreneline, was released about a week before the show. Three of the songs played tonight, “Upsidedown,” “Kill the Light,” and “Trip the Darkness,” are off the album, with the latter being their new single.  The new songs seemed to be well received.

 

 

 

Volbeat

Over the last two or three years, Volbeat has quickly become one of my favorite bands. I first saw them opening for Metallica two nights in a row at Madison Square Garden in 2009. The first night, I said to myself, “These guys are f’ing weird!” The second night, I said “These guys are f’ing awesome!” Since then, I’ve become a huge fan, and this was my seventh time seeing them. If you haven’t given them a chance, you should. And if at first you think they’re a bit weird, try listening to them again later. They’re definitely a little bit of an acquired taste, but it’s a taste well worth acquiring!

2012-01-02 - Volbeat - _DSC2317I was lucky enough to get a meet and greet with Volbeat at this show. They were all very nice, down to earth guys. As I spoke to drummer Jon Larsen, I said “This is my seventh time seeing you guys.” He thought I had said second, and responded with “Second time? That’s cool.” When I clarified seventh, he was a little speechless.
Setlist
The Human Instrument
Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
The Mirror and the Ripper
Sad Man’s Tongue
Hallelujah Goat
Who They Are
Fallen
I Only Want to Be with You
Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
Still Counting

All around, a great set. My only complaint is that they haven’t been playing A Moment Forever since the 2009 tour with Metallica. Before this tour began, they parted with guitar player Thomas Bredahl, and former Mercyful Fate guitar player Hank Sherman has stepped up to fill in. He did an awesome job, and they gave him plenty of space to play his own solos in spots.

 

Motörhead

What is there to be said about Motörhead that hasn’t already been said? It’s Lemmy, the godfather of heavy metal!

2012-01-29 - Motorhead - _DSC2377

Bomber
Damage Case
I Know How to Die
Stay Clean
Over the Top
The Chase Is Better Than the Catch
The One to Sing the Blues
Going to Brazil
Killed by Death
Ace of Spades
Overkill

I love Overkill as a closing song. Everytime you think “ok, now the song is over,” Mikkey Dee bursts back into the drum riff.

 

Megadeth

Megadeth sounded and played great. With the exception of The Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium, where I was about a mile from the stage, this was my first time seeing Chris Broderick play for them. When he first joined the band, I had my doubts that he was a good fit, but he blew me away! In my head, I’ll often “sing along” to guitar solos, and as I was, I watched Chris play these songs note for note like the record… it was Quite impressive!

2012-01-29 - Megadeth - _DSC2634

Setlist
Trust
Wake Up Dead
Hangar 18
Sweating Bullets
Angry Again
She-Wolf
Dawn Patrol
Public Enemy No. 1
Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)
Guns, Drugs & Money
A Tout Le Monde (with Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil)
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
—–
Holy Wars… The Punishment Due

“Trust” is quite possibly my favorite opening song for any band, ever. I love the way it builds in intensity, slowly adding members of the band to what’s being played. This is the song that originally got me into Megadeth. Obviously I love all the classics, but this song will always hold a special spot for me.

Smack dab in the middle of the set were three songs of their latest album, Th1rt3en. The album itself, I feel is what I’ve been referring to as “Megadeth-by-numbers.” To me, there’s nothing that makes it stand out as being special. It’s a good album, for sure, but it’s not a great Megadeth album. That being said, I do really enjoy “Public Enemy Number 1”, and enjoyed it at the show. Dave’s voice, however, sounded at its weakest during the three new songs. Perhaps it’s because the he can perform the other songs in his sleep, and as this was towards the start of the tour

Before the tour started, I had hoped we’d see Christina Scabbia would perform A Tout Le Monde with Megadeth, and luckily they did! While I prefer the original studio version to the re-recorded studio version, it’s a great duet, and was awesome to hear live.

Megadeth played a relatively short set, but when you add together the whole lineup of this show, it has to be the best bang for your buck that’s out there! While it was great for fans like me that they played so many shows in the North East, I think they over-saturated a little bit. They played around 5 shows, all within about a 4 or 5 hour drive of each other, in the span of less than a week. The Mohegan Sun show had a very high turnout, while this show in Lowell was less than half full! That was disappointing for them, I’m sure. I would be surprised if the next Gigantour has more than one stop in New England. If the lineup is anywhere near as solid as this, it is a show not to be missed!

 

 

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