Megadeth Live in Philly

This past Sunday I went with 4 buddies to the Electric Factory in downtown Philadelphia to see Megadeth, with openers Suicidal Tendencies, Children of Bodom and Havok. Here are some thoughts on the show, along with a few photos. Enjoy!

Doors were at 7:00 and the opening band Havok went on around 7:30-ish I think. We stayed in the parking lot pounding beers, so we missed them completely. Although we did call up a couple of their tunes on Spotify through the car stereo. Of the 5 of us, I was the only one familiar with them. My friends are posers. Don't know that they made any new fans that night though. Moving on.

Next up was Children of Bodom. I'm only vaguely familiar with their brand of melodic death metal, so we continued to drink in the parking lot during most of their set, haggling with the guys selling bootleg t-shirts ("C'mon man, we're buying in bulk, cut us a deal!"). We finally went in with about 10 minutes left of their set. We made fun of the keyboard player. It seemed like the right thing to do at a thrash show. Next please.



Suicidal Tendencies were great. Aside from Mike Muir and Dave Lombardo behind the kit, the rest of the band were very no-descript and interchangeable. The bass player reminded me slightly of the bass player from Korn. Short, pudgy guy in a basketball jersey. Anyway, very fun and energetic. We were watching from the balcony bar area with a bird's eye view of the floor. The swirling pit was mesmerizing to watch. Mike still sounds great and was bouncing all over the stage. Lotta energy for a 53 year old man that just wanted a Pepsi. From my spot, my view of Lombardo on drums was partially obscured, but I guess he did fine. No solo or anything. ST wrapped up. After a brief trip to release some beers back into the wild, I pushed my way closer to the upper side of the stage.

During the stage set-up, 'Ace of Spades' was played over the PA system. Nice to hear everyone sing along. RIP Lemmy.

Megadeth took the stage around 10:30. From my viewpoint, I could not see the drum riser at all. That kinda sucked.


I did however have a decent view of the rest of the band. And Dave's bald spot.


Kiko looks like a thinner, smaller version of former guitarist Chris Broderick. He looked like he was having a ball up there though. Not sure how big Angra is in their home country, but I'm sure they're pretty obscure here. Dave engaged the crowd throughout the show, although his vocals were kinda hard to hear throughout the night. Junior had a nice chance to show off a little during 'Dawn Patrol'. His hair has a cotton candy-like appearance.

Also, there was a guy dressed in a banana costume on the floor for some reason, which Mustaine found quite amusing.


Overall the band sounded fine if not a bit reserved. The songs more-or-less sounded just
like their studio versions. No room for improvising or showing off, which was a little
disappointing. I would've like to hear Kiko show off his skills a little. Or Chris Adler get a some solo time.


Towards the end, Vic dropped by to say hello...


Here's another shot of Dave taken from further back to the side of the stage...


The band played until a little after midnight. I had a great time. And I got a t-shirt to prove how troo I am.

A banana costume....??

Great review MG. Sounds like you had a blast.

It was fun just hanging out with the guys and not talking about kids or work or wives. Just beer and metal and busting chops, like the old days. And yea, not sure what the banana was about. He did get in the pit though.

You put alot of work into this post, MG.  Nice going.

My thoughts?  If you missed Havok - Ya missed a great band.

And, the banana guy seems to be popping up at alot of shows!!  I have seen him [or a cheap/superior facsimile thereof] personally.  Personally - Deathcult in his Ghostbusters coveralls rules ass.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2138797588321&set=a.10203271677491538&type=3&theater

UNCLE SAXON'S KICKASS CDS wrote:

You put alot of work into this post, MG.  Nice going.

My thoughts?  If you missed Havok - Ya missed a great band.

Thanks. Figured if I bothered to take the pics, I might as well show 'em off (I'm not on Facebook). And yea, I would've kinda liked to see Havok, but since we just arrived and noone but me knew them, we decided to hang outside and drink less-expensive yet higher quality beer from home. Majority rules, ya know? We could hear their muffled set from outside anyway.

^^^^Greg at Testament and Lazurus A.D. at the one and only METAL UP gathering..^^^

Great review!

Sounds like an awesome time! Cool photos too.

Great read and awesome pics - thanks for sharing!!

Great thread/post. Sounds like it was awesome time.

Good review MG. Sounds like a good time.

Excellent review, MG. Glad you had a blast. The comment about 53 year old MM just wanting a Pepsi is awesome.

Quote :

not sure what the banana was about. He did get in the pit though.

I wish you'd gotten video of that

"Banana in the Pit" is just beggin' to be an album title. Well, to my twisted mind, anyway.

Thanks for the kind words, fellas. If only I got out to more shows these days, I'd post more reviews. I don't think I get as many views if I posted reviews of my kid's soccer games.

Banana In The Pit sounds like gay porn.

Nice review...

I wouldn't have missed Havok for sure.

Great band.

Glad to hear you had a great time!

Required Fields wrote:

Glad to hear you had a great time!

Better late than never, RF! Thanks.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

It was fun just hanging out with the guys and not talking about kids or work or wives. Just beer and metal and busting chops, like the old days. And yea, not sure what the banana was about. He did get in the pit though.

This.  "...just beer and metal..."   I'll drink to that, broseph.  Great review. I would love to catch Megadeth again.

Aaron_D wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

It was fun just hanging out with the guys and not talking about kids or work or wives. Just beer and metal and busting chops, like the old days. And yea, not sure what the banana was about. He did get in the pit though.

This.  "...just beer and metal..."   I'll drink to that, broseph.  Great review. I would love to catch Megadeth again.

Thanks, dude.

It ain't easy getting us old timers together for a night out, what with wives and kids and all, so we try and make the most of it on the rare occasion it does happen.