Sometimes that the position that you hold will grant you some cool percs that extend from your normal 9 to 5. In this case, my position with Louisville.com has landed me with much more than I ever anticipated.
Earlier this week I was put on the "Will Call" list for the Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer show at Freedom Hall. Yeah, that's right. Management for Slayer oked the deal, gave me the proper credentials to gain access to the show, and even floated my entry fees, which in some cases were close to a hundred bucks. Needless to say, I was stoked.
As I Walked up on the venue's front doors I could hear the guitars playing loudly over the semi-muted crowd, and though their often explicit screams were quite audible, I seemingly tuned them out to focus on what was being played out just beyond the doors in front of me. Anthrax opened the show, and though they had a large turnout, hundreds of fans continued to pour into the entrance having arrived somewhat late. I must admit to being one of them because of work constraints, but luckily I caught the ass-end of their performance, which I must say was pretty dope.
In between acts, the guys that I came with and myself included got double-fisted with skunky domestic beer that tasted like pure trash water, but sometimes one must jump on a grenade in order to catch a buzz. So we drank up and did so extremely fast so that we could tolerate the rowdy and often redneck crowd. We bought some of the band's over-priced merchandise, bought more beer, and headed back into the show. Megadeth absolutely blew Anthrax off the stage, and put on an overall kick-ass show. They played all of their most known hits, a ton of their hardcore fan's favorites, as well as some new material that I was unfamiliar with. Dave Mustane, the lead singer of Megadeth, engaged the crowd like a true rock god and spoke of the speculation of a possible cancelled show, but then said that he wouldn't have second thought the notion, that Kentucky was one of the most beautiful places in the world, and that he actually boarded horses in one of the surrounding counties. As he finished up the band kicked back into high gear and did not only one encore performance, but a second to round out the last few songs that the die hards would have went home feeling slighted without having heard.
In between Megadeth's performance and Slayer's we switched from crappy domestic keg beer to mixed drinks, and thank god because I wasn't sure how much more I could take. I had access to take photos during the first three songs of Slayer down in the area referred to as "The Pit." That's the area between the stage and the crowd, which turned out to be no better vantage point than standing in the crowd. And I really don't know why I was granted such a privilege, because after having taken my photos and exiting the pit I was then detained by security and had to show them each and every one of my pictures before they then forcefully made me erase all of them.
That pretty much ruined whatever respect that I once had for event security, but I just put it behind me as so, and hung out in the crowd for the duration of the show, which I must say was as unbelievable as most any of the best shows that I've ever seen in my life. Some bands get big and lose it, others disconnect with their fans, but these guys, never, not once disappointed, and anytime Megadeth or Slayer come to a town within a couple hundred mile radius of Louisville I'll be hitting it up.
The percs of the position are always those good pluses that keep you enthused about what you do, and in so many of the cases I've encountered, the moments that will create the memories of a lifetime. I hope that my brother has children one of these days so that I can tell them of my drunken journeys while out on the road because I never plan on having my own, but until then, I hope that I continue to entertain you, my audience.
Photo courtesy of Damian Gerlach
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