Megadeth

One has to wonder what goes through poor Dave Mustaine's mind every time he sees or hears about his one-time bandmates in Metallica. Despite the fact that over 30 years have passed since their booting him out of the band, one always gets the sense that it is a chip that is never far from his shoulder. Mr. Mustaine should be content with his own legacy though. About a quarter of the way into his show Monday night at the House of Blues I witnessed a gentleman bleeding profusely from a broken nose as he stumbled out of the pit. It is safe to say that this is probably something that hasn't occurred at a Metallica show in at least 20 years. And that says a little something about the divergent careers of the former bandmates.

Megadeth have always been the scrappier band. Not quite as polished. A little more political perhaps. They are successful but never quite maintaining the heights of their early career. Yet their legacy puts them in the same realm as Anthrax, Slayer, and Metallica. And despite touring with a new album, the actually quite decent "Dystopia," the set list was dominated by older material. That said the new songs fit right in nicely aside old standards like "Wake up Dead" and "Symphony of Destruction." Once again reunited with founding bass player Dave Ellefson (clearly they have resolved their issues after having sued each other back in 2004/2005) the band took to the stage with an energy the bellied their ages. Mustaine's guitar work was as tight as ever. The man clearly hasn't slowed down. His performance of the aforementioned "Wake up Dead" was as nimble as when I saw them as a denim clad, spotty faced teenager. Actually, it was probably better since he's been clean and sober for many years now. His partnership with Ellefson was also a highlight. It is hard to picture Megadeth without the two Daves on stage together. It was nice to watch their interaction on stage. Brazilian guitar player Pedro "Kiko" Loureiro was also a highlight. While certainly not the fret master that Marty Friedman is (and frankly who is?), Kiko did a remarkable job of keeping up with Mustaine and crew. Chris Adler from Lamb Of God was filling in on drums for this tour. Seeing as they have their own tour coming up it will be interesting to see how he holds up.

Overall Megadeth continues to be a band that is worthwhile seeing live. The songs stand up over time and performance-wise they put on a smart, tight show. At times the multiple LCD screens got a bit distracting but, again, that is also part of their aesthetic. Mustaine connected with the frenetic imagery back in the 80s and hasn't let it go. But, much like Slayer in my previous review, it seems like the times have caught up to what Megadeth are doing and saying. Being on the forefront means that at some point culture is going to catch up to you. And considering how many parents had their tweeners with them at the show, Megadeth is catching on with a new audience. Their particular brand of political thrash certainly has its place beyond the nostalgia circuit.