Big Jeff and I flew into Buffalo the morning of the show. Jeff dropped me off at the venue and headed to the airport to pick up Dadley Brier. This was to be our first show without Ron since Atlanta '04. We felt that it just wouldn't be the same without Ron there, so Jeff took measures to ensure that Ron's presence would still be felt in Buffalo. While waiting in line, I ran into Allen, and I met some cool fans from Europe including Jarno (aka James Hetfield), and Susan (and a few others I know I'm forgetting). Lee was there sporting an eye injury, which somebody told me was the result of a flying Lars drumstick, although I never got confirmation on this. I also met Mark and Melinda from Australia for the first time, who were both very cool. And, of course, the Canadian entourage of MetClubbers was there in full-force, with Daryl leading the charge with another one of his meticulously crafted banners. I also ran into Kevin (whom I was in line with at Tampa for a while) who flew in from Florida to his hometown of Buffalo just for the show.

(picture courtesy of Bill Wippert/Buffalo News)

The event staff working the GA was pretty cool, and they actually tried to make sure everybody who had waited all-day got their fair-shot at getting down to the floor first. Of course, when the gates opened it became a free-for-all, but everything worked out alright. Once again, Big Jeff got admonished by a security guy on the floor for spitting. Jeff seemed to take great joy in watching the same security guard getting hit with sweat and spit from the lead singer of Lamb of God. This was my first show with VolBeat opening up. If I had to describe them, I'd say they're a cross between Elvis, Cash, Men at Work, with a little metal thrown in. They had a unique sound, but I'm not sure it belongs at a Metallica show. I think if they were playing at a club somewhere, I'd probably enjoy listening to them, but when you're waiting for Metallica to come on stage, everything else is just filler. I did like that opening act they had for the Black album tour, though.

The guys dropped "Damage Inc." into the set tonight, and it was as awesome as ever. I love that song. "Creeping Death" and "No Remorse" were also excellent additions to the setlist. I love the "crowd participaton" aspect of "Creeping Death" live. While I generally don't get too excited about cover songs in the set, I'll make an exception for "Blitzkrieg's" appearance. It's been a while since I've heard that one. And, as I've said before, I don't ever get tired of "Phantom Lord" findings its way onto the setlist. With "Blitzkrieg" and "Phantom Lord" leading into "Seek," the show ended on a strong note.

Will the REAL Ron Clark, please stand up!
(picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)

Did I mention that Ron mysteriously showed up at the show? I had my "Where is Ron?" shirt on, which prompted Lars to inquire on Ron's whereabouts. Then out of nowhere, Ron magically appeared. In fact, it seemed as if Ron was everywhere I looked. Strangely enough, his body seemed to morph into different sizes and shapes. At one point, he even appeared on stage with the body of a Danish drummer. Ron sure can be crafty at times.

On our day off in between the Buffalo and Albany shows, we headed to Niagara Falls (instead of watching Springer, Maury, and Steve Wilkos). I revisited the spot where Lois Lane tried to dupe me into revealing my true identity by throwing herself into the water. In addition to our Niagara Falls tourism, there was a place across the street from where we parked that offered snow tubing for $3. Jeff and I thought that there had to be a catch, like $3 for snow tubing, but that doesn't include the cost of renting the tube. But, no, it really was snow tubing for $3. I think I can safely say that was the fastest snow tube I've ever experienced in my life. I really felt like if you fell off the tube, you'd be in a world of hurt.

We did about an hour's worth of snow tubing, before hitting the observation platform at the falls again, in hope of getting some better photos of the falls (the sun was in direct line of sight when we first got there). Niagara Falls was cool, but it just didn't seem the same without Ron there. Fortunately, for us, Ron made a surprise appearance right before we left.

This sucjks! I wish Ron were here...

Hey, Ron! You made it!

The Good: Ron was not at the show
The Bad: Hey look, Ron showed up!
The Ugly: Hey look, THREE Rons showed up!