The Milkmans Music Blog: Metallica November 10 2023

It's been a little while! Anything happen between 2019 and 2023? I would say we are almost back to normal. One thing the time gave people was time to do new projects. And Metallica recorded a new album. 72 Seasons. It's a solid Metallica Album. The news of this album was broke in November 2022 and tickets went on sale a week later. They happened to go on sale on my birthday. Ticket prices (like everything else) have gone up. I wasn't sure if I would buy these, but I did! For 2 shows no less! The 72 Seasons tour has a new gimmick. No repeat weekends! Two shows, one city, two entirely different shows. I wanted to take my daughter and son in law to these shows. Metallica is my favorite band ever and I wanted to share that with them. So I bought three tickets for two nights. I don't ask the people I go to concerts with to pay back the price of the ticket if I buy it without asking them about it first. My daughter (due to her job) would only be able to attend one night. So I figured that she could do one and my friend Tim could do the other with my son in law going to both shows. This would mean a lot of driving. This is the farthest I've drove for concerts. Detroit Michigan is about four hours from where I live. I know it's not that far, but it adds up. Four hours there Friday, four hours home Saturday, four hours there Sunday, four hours home Monday. And each trip would have time tacked onto it because I love to stop at historic and cool sites along the way. I was in for a long weekend, but I didn't care! So any way, after almost a year from the announcement of the shows and purchase of the tickets, Friday November 10 2023 is here. Metallica had a pop up store a few blocks away and were selling freshly pressed vinyl of the new album with colors of the Detroit Lions. I was hoping to grab one of those, but they sold out quick. I had planned to stop somewhere downtown Detroit for a bite to eat and hopefully get a Stroh's draft after checking into the hotel. It was only a 10 minute walk from the hotel to Ford Field. And along the way was what I thought would be the perfect spot for just that. The Old Shillelagh Bar and Grill. Well apparently everyone else thought so too! The place was packed with drunken metalheads! It was a small place and I knew if we had tried to get something to eat, it would take forever. So we decided to try somewhere else. I had grossly underestimated the size of this concert. This is by far the biggest venue I have ever seen any band. Seating capacity is 65,000, and there are even more people on the floor. I don't think the show sold out, but it had to be close. I didn't see many empty seats. So we skipped finding somewhere to eat and went directly to the show. after getting some pretzels and a few beverages (no Stroh's) we made our way to our seats (great seats! 50 yard line!) just in time for the opening band.

Mammoth WVH. I never got to see Eddie Van Halen so this is as close as I'm going to get. I didn't know to much of what Wolf had been doing. I had seen his video for "Distance" a tribute to his dad, that will definitely hit you in the feels! I knew he was going to be an awesome musician, but wasn't sure what type of music he would be doing. I should of known he was going to be guitar driven. I was overly pleased with the heaviness! I bought both his releases when I got home. They're great albums. His dad would be proud! Here's the setlist.

Another Celebration at the End of the World

You're to Blame

I'm Alright

Like a Pastime

Take a Bow

Don't Back Down

The sound was a little muddy, which is understandable for the size of the venue, but it was not to bad. You could hear the guitars really good. Better than the vocals. Not to many people in their seats for Mammoth. I say they missed out!

Up next, Pantera! or a reasonable facsimile there of! This was a first on many different levels for me. I never got to see Pantera back in the day, so it would be nice to hear those songs live. I have seen Rex Brown before with Kill Devil Hill, but have not seen any of the other guys. I have seen Anthrax twice, but have never seen Charlie Benante! I have documented that in other posts. I had tickets to see Ozzy back in 2019, but that show never happened so this was my first time seeing one of my all time favorite guitar players Zakk Wylde! Phil Anselmo has been in many bands, but I have never seen any of them so this All Star lineup tribute to the Abbott brothers was something even more special for me. Zakk and Charlie were the perfect fill-ins for Dime and Vinnie. The Sound was better than Mammoth. Or maybe it was just better because I knew all the songs already. Any way, I loved this show! Here's the setlist.

A New Level

Mouth for War

Strength Beyond Strength

Becoming

I'm Broken

Cemetery Gates (tape) (Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul tribute video)

5 Minutes Alone

This Love

Fucking Hostile

Walk

Domination / Hollow

Cowboys From Hell

The pics suck, but here they are.

And now Metallica!!! Not much to say about this one. Been a fan for 35 years at this point. With the No Repeat Weekend concept, I'm hoping to hear some songs (other than the new ones) that I've never heard in the previous 3 shows I've seen. Let's get to it!!