One of the greatest things was this one food stand had no line because nobody really knew what it was that they had. But after awhile you'd get desperate and because there was no line you'd go there. One of the things they had was truffle fries. Drunk people were like "WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN EATING THESE ALL MY LIFE"
I don't really plan on doing a full review. Just a few points though.
The longer sets were nice but they also made the day go by either quicker or made you feel like you did less. They fucked up the set times at least once. The program had Death Grips at 4:30, they got pushed back to 5 and didn't come on till 5:30. All the while the Metallica set was going on by the stage next to us. Now that I've seen Metallica, I can now confidently say I'd still rather see Megadeth. Deftones were great.
I'd rank: RHCP Deftones Metallica
Being so close to the water, seagulls were a major problem. By day two they weren't chicken shitting, they were flying head level. We saw several people get shit on which made eating by the food area a dangerous game. Globe of death was cool. Didn't check out really much of the entertainment at all like Kirks Crypt, the car show and such. Went to the dubstep tent and actually had fun. Saw several black people but no Ed. Official merch kind of sucked but we scored two tie die shirts for $20 together after day 2.
We got to Detroit at about 11:30 am, a half hour after the shuttles were supposed to start running over to Belle Isle. The original plan was to park at the garages adjacent to the Cobo Center, where the shuttles picked everyone up, but a cancer walk ran right in front of the center and down Woodward, so we ended up parking a few blocks away near the casino parking garage. By the time we got to the shuttle line, it was wrapping all the way around the block and down the sidewalk. Thankfully the line moved at a pretty decent pace, and we were in the shuttle (just regular school buses) after about a half hour of waiting.
Once we arrived at Belle Isle and entered the festival gates I picked up a cool event shirt with all the bands listed on them. Checking out the layout of the festival, we could see that it would take no more than 3 minutes to go between any of the stages. With some more time to kill until the music started playing at 2, we hopped in the line for Kirk's Crypt. There were a few people dressed up in monster costumes but it was basically a museum for all of Kirk's horror movie merch, which mostly consisted of masks, guitars, posters, costumes, and props. The collection as a whole was very impressive and cool to look at. At the end of the museum there was a little stage area for special events during the weekend and a few merch booths where you could buy some vintage horror stuff and an exclusive poster.
At about 2:30 we made our way to the Frantic stage, a small stage situated underneath a tent, to watch the first band of the day, Battlecross. James and Rob came up and personally introduced them, and we watched the locals play through the first half of their set. They're a very high-energy band, and the crowd responded in kind as the area under the tent where they were playing filled up pretty quickly and a large pit formed during their opening song. They premiered a couple of new songs which look to continue in the thrashy style of their debut and even pumped out a nice version of Slayer's War Ensemble. They were set to play from 2:30 to 3:30, but knowing that they would be coming back on Mayhem in July, we left the area early to go check out a new band.
Setlist (incomplete):
Breaking You Man of Stone Ghost Alive (new) Never Coming Back (new) War Ensemble (Slayer cover) Kaleb
Next we headed over to the Fuel stage, probably the second biggest stage size-wise, to check out Foals, arriving in enough time to get near the rail before the crowd started to fill in. This was my first time seeing the English indie rock band, and they didn't disappoint. With their mix of atmospheric rock and poppy melodies and hooks, they kept me interested throughout the entire set. The sound of their guitars were very light and airy, interplaying well with the keyboard on many of their songs. However, songs like Inhaler, with its Muse-like guitar riff, prove that they can provide more than just atmosphere. They are a lot of fun and I'd definitely see them again.
Setlist (may be incomplete):
Prelude Total Life Forever My Number Bad Habit Spanish Sahara Late Night Providence Inhaler Two Steps, Twice
At this point I started to head across the way to the Orion stage when I ran into Chuck and India, who had just gotten there in time to see Foals. We walked across the field towards the stage together and chilled behind the crowd as Dropkick Murphys took the main stage. I didn't stay to watch very long, but it was long enough to hear songs that I was familiar with like The Boys Are Back and Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya. They were enjoyable to watch and their Celtic tunes were infectious. However, after about 20 minutes, I took off to another side stage to check out a mystery band....
On the way to see Dropkick Murphys I had noticed that Dehaan was setting up on the Damage Inc stage off to the side of the Frantic tent. The banner had the band's name crossed off and the words 'Metal Up Your Ass' were painted over it in red. Having read the hints that James Hetfield dropped earlier that morning, I was pretty certain something special was going to happen, so I ran over and got a good spot a few rows back from the rail. Even Cliff Burton's parents were sitting off to the side watching. Sure enough, James came out and joked around for a minute, then the rest of Metallica came out and started Hit The Lights. I didn't notice it then, but at that point everyone started rushing the side stage, turning a crowd of a few hundred into thousands. The band ripped through all of Kill Em All, including the instrumental. Other than a little sound problem during the last part of Jump In The Fire, the performance was stellar. Rob got a nice ovation from Cliff's parents for his rendition of Anesthesia and the album as a whole still translates great live. Seeing Metallica from no more than 20 feet away, screaming out the lyrics as they performed one of their best albums in full was just an absolute treat. Definitely the highlight of Saturday for me.
Setlist:
Hit The Lights The Four Horsemen Motorbreath Jump In The Fire Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) Whiplash Phantom Lord No Remorse Seek and Destroy Metal Militia
Metallica's surprise came at a price, as I was unable to really watch much of Tomahawk or Death Grips. I walked over to the pit area at the Orion stage and found Elliot. We waited around talking until Rise Against came on. These guys always put on a good show and leave everything they have on stage, and today was no different. The crowd was really into them by the end of their hour-long set, which featured a ton of hits and one older song. No songs from Siren Songs was a bit of a disappointment, but I love their later albums all the same. I'm really glad they ended up on this tour and I look forward to seeing them again.
Setlist:
Chamber The Cartridge Re-education (Through Labor) The Good Left Undone Heaven Knows Long Forgotten Sons Help is on the Way Survive Prayer of the Refugee Satellite Ready to Fall Savior
Last up for the day were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band I had never seen before. They were impressive throughout their two-hour set. Flea is a hell of a bass player and I loved watching Chad Smith work behind the kit as well. The entire band jammed and danced through about 18 songs, which mostly consisted of hits, songs I had been looking forward to hearing for a long time. The band teased Especially In Michigan a couple times throughout the night but did not go through with playing it. Even so, the set they put together was more than enough for me to leave the island satisfied and ready for Sunday. I'd see them again for sure.
Setlist:
Monarchy of Roses Dani California Scar Tissue Can't Stop Look Around Snow ((Hey Oh)) The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder cover) Hard to Concentrate Me & My Friends Under the Bridge Suck My Kiss Ethiopia Californication By the Way ------------------------ Around the World Soul to Squeeze Give It Away
Comments
The longer sets were nice but they also made the day go by either quicker or made you feel like you did less. They fucked up the set times at least once. The program had Death Grips at 4:30, they got pushed back to 5 and didn't come on till 5:30. All the while the Metallica set was going on by the stage next to us. Now that I've seen Metallica, I can now confidently say I'd still rather see Megadeth. Deftones were great.
I'd rank:
RHCP
Deftones
Metallica
Being so close to the water, seagulls were a major problem. By day two they weren't chicken shitting, they were flying head level. We saw several people get shit on which made eating by the food area a dangerous game. Globe of death was cool. Didn't check out really much of the entertainment at all like Kirks Crypt, the car show and such. Went to the dubstep tent and actually had fun. Saw several black people but no Ed. Official merch kind of sucked but we scored two tie die shirts for $20 together after day 2.
We got to Detroit at about 11:30 am, a half hour after the shuttles were supposed to start running over to Belle Isle. The original plan was to park at the garages adjacent to the Cobo Center, where the shuttles picked everyone up, but a cancer walk ran right in front of the center and down Woodward, so we ended up parking a few blocks away near the casino parking garage. By the time we got to the shuttle line, it was wrapping all the way around the block and down the sidewalk. Thankfully the line moved at a pretty decent pace, and we were in the shuttle (just regular school buses) after about a half hour of waiting.
Once we arrived at Belle Isle and entered the festival gates I picked up a cool event shirt with all the bands listed on them. Checking out the layout of the festival, we could see that it would take no more than 3 minutes to go between any of the stages. With some more time to kill until the music started playing at 2, we hopped in the line for Kirk's Crypt. There were a few people dressed up in monster costumes but it was basically a museum for all of Kirk's horror movie merch, which mostly consisted of masks, guitars, posters, costumes, and props. The collection as a whole was very impressive and cool to look at. At the end of the museum there was a little stage area for special events during the weekend and a few merch booths where you could buy some vintage horror stuff and an exclusive poster.
At about 2:30 we made our way to the Frantic stage, a small stage situated underneath a tent, to watch the first band of the day, Battlecross. James and Rob came up and personally introduced them, and we watched the locals play through the first half of their set. They're a very high-energy band, and the crowd responded in kind as the area under the tent where they were playing filled up pretty quickly and a large pit formed during their opening song. They premiered a couple of new songs which look to continue in the thrashy style of their debut and even pumped out a nice version of Slayer's War Ensemble. They were set to play from 2:30 to 3:30, but knowing that they would be coming back on Mayhem in July, we left the area early to go check out a new band.
Setlist (incomplete):
Breaking You
Man of Stone
Ghost Alive (new)
Never Coming Back (new)
War Ensemble (Slayer cover)
Kaleb
Next we headed over to the Fuel stage, probably the second biggest stage size-wise, to check out Foals, arriving in enough time to get near the rail before the crowd started to fill in. This was my first time seeing the English indie rock band, and they didn't disappoint. With their mix of atmospheric rock and poppy melodies and hooks, they kept me interested throughout the entire set. The sound of their guitars were very light and airy, interplaying well with the keyboard on many of their songs. However, songs like Inhaler, with its Muse-like guitar riff, prove that they can provide more than just atmosphere. They are a lot of fun and I'd definitely see them again.
Setlist (may be incomplete):
Prelude
Total Life Forever
My Number
Bad Habit
Spanish Sahara
Late Night
Providence
Inhaler
Two Steps, Twice
At this point I started to head across the way to the Orion stage when I ran into Chuck and India, who had just gotten there in time to see Foals. We walked across the field towards the stage together and chilled behind the crowd as Dropkick Murphys took the main stage. I didn't stay to watch very long, but it was long enough to hear songs that I was familiar with like The Boys Are Back and Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya. They were enjoyable to watch and their Celtic tunes were infectious. However, after about 20 minutes, I took off to another side stage to check out a mystery band....
On the way to see Dropkick Murphys I had noticed that Dehaan was setting up on the Damage Inc stage off to the side of the Frantic tent. The banner had the band's name crossed off and the words 'Metal Up Your Ass' were painted over it in red. Having read the hints that James Hetfield dropped earlier that morning, I was pretty certain something special was going to happen, so I ran over and got a good spot a few rows back from the rail. Even Cliff Burton's parents were sitting off to the side watching. Sure enough, James came out and joked around for a minute, then the rest of Metallica came out and started Hit The Lights. I didn't notice it then, but at that point everyone started rushing the side stage, turning a crowd of a few hundred into thousands. The band ripped through all of Kill Em All, including the instrumental. Other than a little sound problem during the last part of Jump In The Fire, the performance was stellar. Rob got a nice ovation from Cliff's parents for his rendition of Anesthesia and the album as a whole still translates great live. Seeing Metallica from no more than 20 feet away, screaming out the lyrics as they performed one of their best albums in full was just an absolute treat. Definitely the highlight of Saturday for me.
Setlist:
Hit The Lights
The Four Horsemen
Motorbreath
Jump In The Fire
Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)
Whiplash
Phantom Lord
No Remorse
Seek and Destroy
Metal Militia
Metallica's surprise came at a price, as I was unable to really watch much of Tomahawk or Death Grips. I walked over to the pit area at the Orion stage and found Elliot. We waited around talking until Rise Against came on. These guys always put on a good show and leave everything they have on stage, and today was no different. The crowd was really into them by the end of their hour-long set, which featured a ton of hits and one older song. No songs from Siren Songs was a bit of a disappointment, but I love their later albums all the same. I'm really glad they ended up on this tour and I look forward to seeing them again.
Setlist:
Chamber The Cartridge
Re-education (Through Labor)
The Good Left Undone
Heaven Knows
Long Forgotten Sons
Help is on the Way
Survive
Prayer of the Refugee
Satellite
Ready to Fall
Savior
Last up for the day were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band I had never seen before. They were impressive throughout their two-hour set. Flea is a hell of a bass player and I loved watching Chad Smith work behind the kit as well. The entire band jammed and danced through about 18 songs, which mostly consisted of hits, songs I had been looking forward to hearing for a long time. The band teased Especially In Michigan a couple times throughout the night but did not go through with playing it. Even so, the set they put together was more than enough for me to leave the island satisfied and ready for Sunday. I'd see them again for sure.
Setlist:
Monarchy of Roses
Dani California
Scar Tissue
Can't Stop
Look Around
Snow ((Hey Oh))
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder cover)
Hard to Concentrate
Me & My Friends
Under the Bridge
Suck My Kiss
Ethiopia
Californication
By the Way
------------------------
Around the World
Soul to Squeeze
Give It Away