METALLICA LIVE @ THE BOSTON CALLING FESTIVAL
Memorial Day weekend was spent in Boston enjoying the Boston Calling Music Festival. This was the first time the event was held since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic. Most of the patrons bought 2020 tickets for headliners, Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Due to covid cancellations and the untimely passing of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, none of those bands would be appearing in 2022. Boston Calling is always a great time with fans across all genres joining together for a great weekend of multiple music styles. Metallica was brought in as the festival closer and did not disappoint both musically and in ticket sales as Sunday was easily the most packed day of the weekend.
Metallica is one of my favorite bands. The goal was to get as close to the stage as possible while also not just camping out there at 1 o’clock and missing other great music around the festival grounds. By the encore, after running through circle pits, darting through small openings all the while trying not to lose my son Jagger or friend Christian, we were up front and able to score coveted Metallica picks to add to the concert collection.
The opening notes to “The Ecstasy of Gold” started turning the crowd into a frenzy and the big push towards the stage started en masse. The band led of with “Whiplash” followed by my favorite Metallica song “Ride the Lightning”. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield thanked the crowd for 41 years of support and I have always been with them for the ride. Hetfield was in a great mood this night smiling and joking with the crowd and his guitar was on point. “The Memory Remains”, “Seek & Destroy” and “Holier Than Thou” were next.
I noticed bassist Robert Trujillo, switching between a 4 and 5 string bass, has started to show his age a bit on stage as the constant duck walking has become less noticeable. It’s also strange to think but at this point Trujillo is the longest tenured bassist in Metallica’s history. The movie intro for “One” started to play and the biggest pyro of the set always accompanies this song. “Sad But True”, the band’s cover of “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Wherever I May Roam” had the crowd singing along louder than earlier.
The camera angle from behind drummer Lars Ulrich gave the crowd a great shot during the night of the effort he puts in behind the kit. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” rang out soulfully in the night sky and “Creeping Death” fired up more circle pits and a chance to get up closer to the stage. The crowd singing continued from “Fade to Black” and reached its pinnacle as “Master of Puppets” closed the main set.
“Battery” led of the encore. Next was a special moment of seeing the band as humans. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, who has played the intro to “Nothing Else Matter” thousands of times, messed it up. He fell to the ground laughing and told us he just got carried away little. He got it right on try two. I guess they’ll keep him in the band. The night closed with “Enter Sandman”.
Although the festival lineup was quite different then when the tickets were purchased it seemed like the crowd exited very happy. Walking out, the Celtics beat the Heat to advance to the NBA finals and Boston music and sports fans spent the night celebrating a great weekend all around.
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