I flew solo for this one but I had to do it because I had somehow never seen Megadeth. Spurred by the amazing riffage of “Symphony of Destruction” I had the Countdown to Extinction album on loop in my Walkman around the time I was a freshman in high school. I had not followed Megadeth very closely since Cryptic Writings and by now they were on tour for the album United Abominations, which was the fourth album since Cryptic Writings. Due to my casual fandom I did not know the majority of songs played during the first part of the set but they went on a nice little run starting with “Ashes in Your Mouth” that made the show for me. I felt like I was in an 80’s music video with all the hair flying around. Randomly enough this concert was professionally recorded and released as “Blood in the Water: Live in San Diego” which I was able to find on YouTube and post below.
SETLIST: Sleepwalker, Wake Up Dead, Take No Prisoners, Skin O’ My Teeth, Washington Is Next!, Kick the Chair, In My Darkest Hour, Hangar 18, Burnt Ice, A Tout Le Monde, Tornado of Souls, Ashes in Your Mouth, Sweating Bullets, Symphony of Destruction, Trust, Peace Sells, Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
Donna being the dear that she was bought a pair of floor tickets as a birthday present for me. Foo Fighters were touring for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace that was released about six months before this. All was well until we tried to get in. The tickets were the printout kind bought off of Craigslist and when the barcode was scanned we were informed that the tickets had already been scanned…as in the person who sold her the tickets printed out multiple copies to sell to us and arrived before us, making our tickets absolutely useless. I was livid. Donna still had the phone number to the gal that sold the tickets to her and I called to light her up. She played stupid and agreed to refund Donna’s money…which did us no good in that moment. We still needed tickets. Walking around in these seeing red moments looking for scalpers I thought I saw Nick “Peeps” Oliveri walk by us. This was later confirmed by a picture I found on the San Diego Union Tribune website. We eventually found someone to sell us two tickets at the very back of the arena in seats near the top. This was a far cry from being on the floor as I anticipated but at least we were still there to witness the greatness that is Foo Fighters. Everything ended up turning out alright because halfway through their set they all came down to a smaller stage that had been set up towards the back which in effect gave us front row seats for their mini-set.
SETLIST: Let It Die, The Pretender, Times Like These, Breakout, Learn To Fly, Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running), This Is A Call, Stacked Actors, Skin and Bones, Marigold, My Hero, Cold Day In The Sun, But, Honestly, Everlong, Monkey Wrench, All My Life, Big Me, Long Road To Ruin, Best Of You
Van Fucking Halen!?! Not Van Hagar, Van Halen! This is another one of those bands I never thought I would get to see because these guys could never seem to keep their shit together, but shortly after Van Halen was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in January of 2007 it was officially announced that after 20+ years David Lee Roth was reuniting with Van Halen and going on tour. Thankfully one of the stops of the fall 2007 tour was San Diego. Sixteen-year-old me had an instant hard on when hearing this news because every kid learning to play guitar knows about Eddie Van Halen. Twenty-nine year old me was impressed to learn that Eddie’s sixteen-year-old son Wolfgang was going to be filling in on bass duties for Michael Anthony. Not sure what the rift with Michael was but like I mentioned earlier these guys could never seem to keep their shit together.
Van Halen was a band that I subconsciously absorbed from just being around it. The single greatest gift my father ever gave me was exposure to good music. That and back when I was a child MTV used to play music videos. What a novel concept! I specifically remember taking a liking to “Hot For Teacher” and the accompanying video.
The concert happened to be on a Sunday when the Chargers had a home game against the Baltimore Ravens that I attended with Donna, Marvin and Marvin’s dad G Money. Looking back I am amazed that I remember going to the concert at all because I get pretty sauced when I go to a Chargers game. I was in good spirits due to a Chargers win and bid adieu to the other three as I once again found myself flying solo. San Diego State University was just a short trolley ride away and since the show was still not for a couple of hours I found myself a pizza joint that served pitchers of beer to keep me company during my wait.
Showtime! They were everything I hoped they would be – loud, loose and into it. They genuinely seemed like they were having a good time. Was this Van Halen at their peak? No, but slightly aged Van Halen was better than no Van Halen. Like a true guitar god Eddie shredded and made it look effortless. David Lee Roth got a little lazy at times not singing all the words but for the most part sounded great (still hit some of those high notes) and was still flying around the stage doing karate kicks and shit. Lots of energy, lots of f-bombs, lots of smiles and lots of rocking. Very happy me.
SETLIST: You Really Got Me (The Kinks), I’m the One, Runnin’ With the Devil, Romeo Delight, Somebody Get Me a Doctor, Beautiful Girls, Dance the Night Away, Atomic Punk, Everybody Wants Some!!, So This Is Love?, Mean Street, Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison), Unchained, I’ll Wait, And the Cradle Will Rock…, Hot for Teacher, Little Dreamer, Little Guitars, Jamie’s Cryin’, Ice Cream Man (John Brim), Panama, Eruption, Ain’t Talkin’ “Bout Love, 1984, Jump
I did not originally set out to see Tool two nights in a row but quickly changed my mind after seeing such a juggernaut performance the night before and realizing that these opportunities do not come along very often. Besides that Macy’s boyfriend Jake had never seen Tool so it was perfect excuse to go again. I remember struggling to find tickets the day of on Craigslist so I think we just went to the venue in search of a scalper and almost immediately scored tickets once we parked and started walking around. Our tickets were a little closer than the night before but off to Justin’s side of the stage. I am fairly sure they did not sell alcohol like they did the night before. Other than that the setlist was the same except they replaced “Rosetta Stoned” and “Right In Two” for “Pushit,” which as told by Maynard was something they had not done in awhile. Don’t take my word for how badass this show was; you can listen/watch it thanks to someone else that was at the show who recorded and uploaded it to YouTube.
SETLIST: Jambi, Stinkfist, Forty-Six & 2, Schism, Pushit, Wings for Marie (Pt. 1), 10,000 Days (Wings, Pt. 2), Lateralus, Vicarious, Aenema
This show was originally supposed to be on March 20th but got rescheduled due to drummer Danny Carey tearing a bicep while “picking up his dog at home.” Danny Carey is six foot five so he must have a giant fucking dog! All joking aside this show’s audience was a little more under control than when I saw them at Street Scene about nine months prior because there were actual seats. Everyone had assigned seats even on the floor and ushers were walking around with flashlights to ensure people stayed in their seats. I am lucky that I have perfect eyesight because my seat was at the back of the arena but the silver lining was that it was behind the mixing board so the sound was excellent. The visual aspect of Tool’s performance intensified every time I had seen them and this my sixth time seeing them was off the charts. The floor of the stage was completely white and they used this previously untapped resource to project things onto the floor. Even the stage crew got in on the action by wearing white lab coats.
Since this was the official tour for 10,000 Days we got to hear some songs they did not play at Street Scene: “Rosetta Stoned,” “Right In Two,” and “Wings” Parts 1 & 2. I remember Maynard commenting something to the effect of how polite it was to drink beer and holler during a song that was written about his mother who passed away when they did “Wings.” Danny’s bicep must have healed up nicely because he put on an absolute drumming clinic during “Right in Two.” Phenomenal show.
SETLIST: Jambi, Stinkfist, Forty-Six & 2, Schism, Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann), Rosetta Stoned, Right in Two, Wings for Marie (Pt. 1), 10,000 Days (Wings, Pt. 2), Lateralus, Vicarious, Aenema
Pearl Jam was touring for their eponymous album aka The Avocado Album that was released in May of this year. Growing up in Washington State I cannot believe that this was my first time seeing Pearl Jam…and it almost didn’t happen. I again for whatever reason did not have a ticket so I decided to scour Craigslist at the last minute. I came across a peculiar ad titled “Free Pearl Jam Ticket.” First I thought it was total bullshit but decided to click anyway. It said something to the effect of “My buddy bailed on me so I have an extra ticket. Just buy me a couple beers and the ticket is yours. First come, first served.” The ad had been posted about 40 minutes before my eyes laid upon it so I thought even if it was legit someone else would have already beat me to the punch but I called the number just to make sure. Guy (sorry I’m bad with names) answered the phone and I said “I know you’ve probably already gotten a million calls for the Pearl Jam ticket…” He said, “Actually you’re the first.” I shot the shit with guy for a couple minutes and we decided upon a meeting place. I was still super skeptical right up to the minute I met him but much to my pleasant surprise the guy met me exactly where and when he said he would. The only thing about the ticket was that it was in the section behind the stage but beggars can’t be choosers. We were looking at the back of the band a lot of the time but to their credit the band paid us a fair amount of attention. This was my first experience of seeing Eddie downing red wine throughout the show which was pretty entertaining. The band was every bit as great as I expected them to be, drawing from all their albums fairly evenly. Pearl Jam fans are a different breed and thankfully so because I was able to locate a YouTube video of “Yellow Ledbetter” from this show and a soundboard quality audio of the entire show. Enjoy!
SETLIST: Oceans, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Brain of J, World Wide Suicide, Love Boat Captain, Gone, Even Flow, Unemployable, Wasted Reprise, Better Man, Satan’s Bed, Not for You, You Are, Inside Job, Life Wasted, Rearviewmirror, Long Road, Come Back, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams), Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone), Alive, Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran) Comatose, Leash, Big Wave, Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young), Yellow Ledbetter
A tour in which Weezer opened for Foo Fighters dubbed the “Foozer” tour. Weezer was touring for their underrated album Make Believe that had just come out in May. I think Dee may have came with me but I’m sure Macy came with me only because I remember she was scared shitless riding in my topless Jeep on the way home. I had only seen Weezer one other time up to this point eight years earlier (ironically also opening up for another band) so I was pretty excited to see them again. I think two bands of this caliber on the same bill elevates the performance of each because I’m sure they have no desire to be outdone by the other. Weezer’s backdrop looked like a jumbo version of the one that the band stands in front of on the Make Believe album. One of the things I love about Weezer is that the music is light, poppy, and heavy all at once and that was on full display here. Several three-minute bursts of hooky rock in rapid succession. Besides the new songs it was also cool to finally see songs from the Green Album and Maladroit performed as well.
SETLIST: “My Name is Jonas,” “Peace,” “Don’t Let Go,” “ In the Garage,” “This is Such a Pity,” “Big Me,” “Perfect Situation,” “Why Bother?,” “El Scorcho,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “We Are All On Drugs,” “Surf Wax America,” “Beverly Hills,” “Buddy Holly,” “Photograph,” “Island in the Sun,” “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Hash Pipe”
This was my third time seeing Foo Fighters. I had just seen them about a year before this but now they were touring for the double album In Your Honor that came out about three months before this show. The album is one half traditional rockers (Disc 1) and one half slower acoustic songs (Disc 2). Foo Fighters flat out rocked on this night and were able to blend four new songs in with some of their classics. Their stage setup was a cool arrangement of asymmetric amps and video screens. I’m pretty sure Dave Grohl could have made it as a comic if he wasn’t so good at being a musician because he is a funny bastard. Besides rocking our world and making us laugh he treated us to a cover of CCR’s “Born on the Bayou.” Kick. Ass.
SETLIST: “In Your Honor,” “All My Life,” “My Hero,” “Best of You,” “Up In Arms,” “Learn to Fly,” “The Last Song,” “The One,” “Stacked Actors,” “Everlong,” “DOA,” “This Is A Call,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Breakout”
