{"id":5199,"date":"2010-05-26T01:07:23","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T08:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=5199"},"modified":"2010-06-04T08:41:28","modified_gmt":"2010-06-04T15:41:28","slug":"m-metallica-in-israel-2010-m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=5199","title":{"rendered":"Metallica In Israel 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Metallica Concert in Israel, May 22, 2010\/Photo: Asher Krim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Metallica\u2019s performance on Saturday night in Ramat Gan included a small handful of surprises and unexpected glitches. Having paid upwards of 400 NIS per ticket, many fans feel disappointed by the show. Many were let down by the mediocre sound quality, not to mention the numerous problems with the PA system.
\n\u00a0
\nBut other fans feel blessed to have seen Metallica live, problems aside. Metallica only make it to Israel about once a decade and these fans are intent on making the most of it.
\n\u00a0
\nThe turnout at the show was quite varied. Mothers with pre-teen children in tow were spotted, as well as at least 2 grandparents. A young couple was overheard making plans to see Elton John on June 17, while some youngsters complained about being unable to afford to see American metal band Lamb of God next week. The mixture of people from so many walks of life lent the concert a strong sense of community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Before the Metallica Concert in Israel\/Photo: Asher Krim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SHOWTIME<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 High on Fire (hailing from Oakland, California) kicked off the proceedings with some high energy metal which was unfortunately turned up way too loud. Even so, it\u2019s not surprising they completely failed to move the crowd, partly because people were saving their energies for the main event. They played a very solid set and had great chemistry on stage.
\n\u00a0
\nNext up was Orphaned Land, an Israeli metal band finding much international success in recent years. Their unique blend of ethnic Middle Eastern melodies attracts many fans from Arab countries. Orphaned Land sounded crisp and tight. They played a few songs off their new album “The Never Ending Way of OrWarriOr”, and plenty of old stuff as well. They even brought out a few dancers to help get the crowd moving as well.
\n\u00a0
\nMetallica\u2019s show started out in a tasteful, although somewhat predictable way. The crowd was kept waiting and salivating for almost exactly 15 minutes before Ennio Morricone\u2019s \u201cEcstasy of Gold\u201d announced that Metallica was hitting the stage, as has been their tradition for years. Clips from \u201cthe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly\u201d were projected on the giant screens to both sides of the stage. Metallica wasted no time jumping right into the oldies, and opened appropriately with \u201cCreeping Death\u201d, which tells the story of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. From there they continued plowing full-force with \u201cFor Whom the Bell Tolls\u201d and \u201cRide the Lightning\u201d. Many in the crowd were ecstatic to hear Metallica open with such often-neglected old material.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BROKEN, BEAT AND DEAF<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 It was during \u201cHarvester of Sorrows\u201d that technical trouble began: A few minutes into the song the sound system collapsed, leaving fans in aural darkness. There was something absurd in the dissonance between the sight of Metallica rocking out and playing energetically and the lack of music. Metallica, either unaware of the problem or just keeping their cool, didn\u2019t miss a beat and continued right on playing until the sound returned.
\n\u00a0
\nThe problem was never fully fixed and a few other songs (including crowd favorite \u201cFade to Black\u201d) had the sound go out under them. If that wasn\u2019t enough, there were also problems with James\u2019 microphone going out every few minutes. The entire sound production was sub-par and even when the speakers were working; the sound was distorted and muddy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s uncanny how a few seconds of uncontrolled silence is all it takes to almost completely ruin any momentum built up by the opening bands. Just the same, the crowd was very forgiving and even tolerated the few songs off \u2018Death Magnetic\u2019 (Metallica\u2019s 2008 release) in a reserved, if passive, manner.\u00a0
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>
James Hetfield at the Metallica Concert in Israel\/Photo: Asher Krim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Technical trouble aside, Metallica are hardened stadium rockers and gave a motivated, high energy performance. The climax was during the relatively error-free second half of the show, which started with James Hetfield promising some heavier tunes. Metallica delivered \u201cSad But True\u201d followed by \u201cBroken Beat and Scarred\u201d from \u2018Death Magnetic\u2019.<\/p>\n

Next up was \u201cOne\u201d, complete with a two minute introduction of pyrotechnics and sounds of gunshots and mortar shells. The set list got even heavier as Metallica played \u201cMaster of Puppets\u201d and \u201cBlackened\u201d.
\n\u00a0
\nThe high point of the whole concert was during \u201cNothing Else Matters\u201d and \u201cEnter Sandman\u201d, which evoked more crowd participation than any of other songs. Fans literally sang along with every word, including the guitar lines.
\n\u00a0
\nDuring the encore (\u201cStone Cold Crazy\u201d and \u201cWhiplash\u201d, followed by \u201cSeek and Destroy\u201d) the crowd seemed somewhat reserved, either because Metallica had succeeded in wearing them out, or as a result of the technical mishaps.
\n\u00a0
\nThroughout the show James revealed his softer side and requested that love be sent to the stage. At some point after particularly appreciative applause, he remarked \u201cYou\u2019ve made Metallica feel good!\u201d\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0
\nMetallica, all things considered, you\u2019ve made Israel feel good.<\/p>\n

ASHER KRIM<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Metallica\u2019s performance on Saturday night in Ramat Gan included a small handful of surprises and unexpected glitches. Having paid upwards of 400 NIS per ticket, many fans feel disappointed by the show. Many were let down by the mediocre sound quality, not to mention the numerous problems with the PA system. \u00a0 But other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}