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Louis "Blou" McLean describes his adventures in America Intro: In this issue of EFI, we have a special guest reporter, like we've done in the past a couple of times with Super Ron and Laura. Please allow me to introduce to you... The Man... The Myth... The Legend... Mr. Louis "Blou" McLean. You may remember reading Louis' article that he wrote about following Metallica around on tour that appeared in So What! Volume 14, Issue 3. You might have seen his picture on MetOnTour. You may also have heard of "Blou on Tour", or perhaps you've already met this crazy Irish bas-turd at a show. And if you have a keen eye, then you've definitely seen him on the Nimes, France DVD. But to us, he's just a very good friend. So, without further ado...
 U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! Conjure up, if you will, an image of a bewildered non-American arriving on Yankee soil for the very first time. His cries for assistance drowned out by a sea of stereotypical American sayings: "Righteous!", "That is tight!" and "Gnarly to the max!" Befuddled and disoriented (not to mention downright flabbergasted by the fact that Irish cider is not readily available at his beck and call), he is taken under the wing by several scholars and gentleman (and Brad) to assure his first stay in the 'Land of the Red Cups' is not only a pleasurable one, but a most triumphant one. That was, of course, during The Sword’s east coast tour (featuring Metallica) in January/February 2009. The Sword decided to take the second half of the year off, leaving Metallica to romp freely throughout the world; however it would be several months before they returned to America. Lessons were learned from January; good friends were made; mullet-men were caught; and our buddies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So it was off to New York to reunite with the friends from my first American adventure, and to meet up with all the Euro fans too for what promised to be a handful of "Super Shows".
 By now, the indoor shows were more than well recognized; whether you had seen the set-up a few or several times, the format of "Life," "Line," old song, old song, "One," "BBS", etc… was predictable, but still enjoyable. Debuts for "Judas Kiss" and "My Apocalypse" had been made throughout Europe, not to mention the return of favorites such as "Dyers Eve", "Helpless" and "Trapped Under Ice". All of this typically gave American fans HOPE for some CHANGE in the setlists (I presume that's what that fella was campaigning for?) and that’s exactly what would happen every night, particularly on the second night in Madison Square Garden, leaving our ears ringing with one of the best setlists of the tour.
 November 12, 2009 - Albany I arrived in New York on the 11th of November and spent the day walking around my favorite city in the world before taking a late night flight to Albany. Wow. There’s nothing in Albany. I saw a pumpkin, a statue of some drunken firemen, and a public hootenanny. That’s it! Clearly the least impressive city I’ve seen Metallica play in, but there you go.
 Drunken Fireman Statue?
 Public Hootenanny It was early to the line to meet up with Brad, George, and Number 74, Big Jeff Holland! As the line grew bigger, so did its worldwide representation – Belgians, French, Fins, Russians, Swedes, Brits, Aussies… fans that had come from all over the world just to see a bunch of 40 year olds make noise for two and a half hours.
 What is Brad doing to George? God only knows... Volbeat was good, Lamb of God was atrocious, and Metallica was awesome. The whole rail was littered with road dogs, so much so that James called us all "crazy people". Lars loved seeing us all together, and as usual, the love we showed them was given right back to us in the form of a groin-grabbingly good show. The difference it makes being surrounded by friends during the shows is unquestionable; as much as you are there for yourself, and you are feeling these feelings yourself, when you see, and you know, that your buddies are people who love this just as much as you, you have even more fun. I always prefer when there’s "something to Dier for."
Setlist: After the show, I hopped into a car with Jeff, George and Brad to speed back to Ron’s place in New Jersey for a quick nap before heading back to New York with Lauren for the Madison Square Garden shows, knowing that we were in for something special...
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