Undoubtedly some kind of monster

Friday, Sep 3rd, 2004: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX.

The seven of us strode in a rythm with excitement. At least I did not know what was coming. The stage was all set, with more than twenty thousand people eager for action. The concert kickstarted with Godsmack. A relatively new band, they tried their best to entertain the crowd. I realized that though they were definitely better than the rock bands that played at Saarang in IITM, they did not have it in them to get the crowd on to their feet. Poor Godsmack was expecting the crowd to go beserk but nothing close to that happened for the one and half hours when they were on stage. And then it finally happened - Enter the monster - METALLICA.


Everyone in the audience stood up as the band came on to the stage. As if twenty thousand thirst parched souls were being offered champagne. I still remember James Hetfield's words "At the end of this show you are not going to feel good, you are going to feel better." He could not have been more correct. Metallica were obviously a class apart from Godsmack. I understood what a "rock concert" is. The music, the lights, the chant, the intensity, the emotion ... All I can say is one has to experience it for oneself. As the crowd followed the lead, singing in a chorus
"Exit: light
Enter: night
Take my hand
We're off to never-never land"
the auditorium reverberated. The music was enough to take everyone on a drug high. The band played their all time bests including Turn the Page, Battery, Sad but True, Master of Puppets, I Disappear. The concert ended with a fitting finale - Enter Sandman, The Four Horsemen, Seek and Destroy. This concert was one experience I'll never forget. A Metallica concert is something no rock and roll fan should miss. As I recollect those moments, in the words of the band itself

......... Fortune, fame
Mirror vain
Gone insane
But the memory remains ...........