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George reviews the New York shows MSG #1 With no early entry for the MSG shows, we decided to get to venue early on Saturday morning. We took the first bus into the city from Clifton, New Jersey and I think I got the best 15 minutes of sleep I've had all week on the bus ride over. There was no line to be seen when we got to MSG, unless you count Daryl being there since 5am. Brad somehow knew where the GA line would be, so he, Daryl and I set up camp there and basically slept on the sidewalk for a while. I'm guessing we probably looked homeless, but as far as sleeping on the sidewalk goes, it wasn't too bad. At least, it wasn't terribly cold out. Joie and Dawn were next fans to show up for a long day of waiting. The event staff moved us away from the wall and from underneath any kind of shelter, very early on. Thankfully, K-mart was right down the street with some el-cheapo folding chairs for sale, which saved the day.
 "Whatcha gonna do brother, when these 4-inch pythons run wild on you!" Shows in the New York City area always seem to bring out the hard-core fans en masse, and this show was certainly no exception. In addition to a lot of the same faces from the Albany show, there were some more fans from Europe in for the show, like Kat and Ade, to name a few. More of the NJ/NY fanbase was in attendance, as well. By the time the doors opened, the GA line was huge. There was a major fiasco with some of the tickets, and multiple people were told they had to go to box office to get new tickets. This happened to at least two people (one of whom was Big Jeff) who had waited in line all-day only to get turned away at the gate. Fortunately, we were able to fend off some space for Jeff while he got his ticket situation straightened out. It seems like no matter how many wrenches get thrown into the plan, things always work out in then end. The guys from VolBeat seemed particularly excited about playing at Madison Square Garden, as did Lamb of God. I was still not really into the opening acts, but they seemed like they were enjoying themselves. When Metallica hit the stage, all the waiting paid off, this was my first time back in Madison Square Garden since the symphony show in '99, and there's definitely a certain energy and atmosphere that is unique to MSG. "Holier than Thou" was a welcomed change and sounded as good as ever. The rest of the setlist was pretty standard fare, which isn't a bad thing. The encore treated us to "Helpless" and "Whiplash," before the obligatory "Seek," for a strong finish to an excellent show. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that "Hulk Hogan" was next me on the rail during the show. I'm still not really sure what that was all about, but the "Hulkster" seemingly provided a great deal of entertainment value to many of those around him, including event security and the band. Just when you thought you'd seen everything there was to see at a Metallica show.
The Good: Awesome crowd on the floor. It seemed like no matter where I looked on the rail, there was somebody I knew.
MSG #2 The line for night two at MSG seemed to grow much quicker than the day before, and the weather was a lot less cooperative. Time to head back to K-mart to buy out their poncho stock. The wait for night two wasn't terribly enjoyable, and a power-tripping event staffer added to the lack of enjoyment about an hour or so before doors opened. For some reason this guy decided that anybody who stepped on the curb of the sidewalk had to go to the end of the line. It did not matter if they had been there all-day or not. Sean respectfully and politely (seriously) asked the guy why he was sending people to the back of the line who had been waiting all-day for their spot, at which point the guy threatened to send Sean to the back of the line. If I'm ever in NYC and there's a GA line outside of the Garden for a show that I'm not going to, I think I'll go look for that guy and stand on the curb in front of him. Power-tripping event staffers aside, getting down to the "usual spot" on the rail proved to be a bit more difficult when doors finally opened. For some reason, they weren't letting people on the rail on one side of the stage, which caused a mad dash to other side. In the midst of the chaos, I ended up about 5 people down from the rest of my "core-group" touring buddies. Thanks to some people shuffling, I was able to get together with everybody, for what would be my last show of the year. The only thing left to do, now, was wait...and the wait would be well worth it.
 Behold... Beach Ball Man!
 (picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com) While almost every Metallica show that I've been to has been awesome, some shows are just more special than others. Tonight was one of those special nights. I'd have to say that the setlist for night two at Madison Square Garden was easily the best I've seen in the past 5 years. The highlights for me were "Sandman," "Nothing Else Matters," and "Sad But True"....ok, maybe those weren't the highlights. How about these, then? "Creeping Death" with phenomenal crowd participation, immediately followed by "Shortest Straw" (which I hadn't seen live since '92), then right into "Fade to Black." Wait, that's not enough? How about "My Apocalypse" AND "Judas Kiss"? Still not impressed? Then how about some "Trapped Under Ice" and “DYER'S EVE!”
 Bizarro Beach Ball Man As I said, this was my last show of the year, and if you've got to go out, it's always good to go out on a high note. I can't think of a better show to end the year on. Absolutely phenomenal. After the show, I was still amped about such an incredible setlist, but at the same time, I had to bid farewell to a lot of awesome friends for the year. I think back to '99 when I was last at MSG to see Metallica. I drove to that show from Blacksburg by myself, stood in line by myself, and had an awesome time at the show by myself. However, I also missed out on meeting some good friends. To those of you who make touring all that much more fun, enjoyable, and special. Thank you. (Oh, and Mr. Crackhead, if you're reading this, I'm not talking about people like you.)
The Good: Absolutely Incredible Setlist!
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