We started the fall tour off in Nashville. This was our first time back in Nashville since my famed "Fade to Black" incident at The Basement show in '08, so I was determined to remain conscious throughout the entire show. As usual, the day began with a long wait in the GA early entry line. Fortunately, we ran into Kevin Adam and his crew, whom we had hung out with in line at some shows in the past, so we had some good company while we waited in line, although I do still feel bad for subjecting them to "Brad stories." As the time for the doors to open drew near, one of the event staff let it slip that that they were waiting for Lemmy and the boys to finish rehearsing before they could open the doors. So, the cat was pretty much out of the bag as far as the big surprise for the night. (Way to go event security!)

This show marked the first time I would be subjected to Gojira and Lamb of God. While both bands have a somewhat similar sound, I found Gojira to be a bit more tolerable than Lamb of God, despite not being able to understand any of the vocals from Gojira. I would catch a few words in between songs, like "We are from FRRRRRRRRRANCE!" and "This next song is called, Ruuuueee blahhhh rahh grrrrrrrrrrr!" (or at least that's what I think he said). My favorite part about the Gojira set was that it was only about 30 minutes in the length. The Lamb of God set was closer to 45 minutes and the extra 15 minutes made the set seem like it lasted an eternity. Plus, the LOG lead singer has a habit of flinging sweat and spit all over the place, which didn't really make surviving their set any more easy. To Lamb of God's credit, we did see them outside of a later gig (MSG #2) and the way that they were interacting with fans, posing for pictures, etc. really impressed me (although I still don't dig their music).

(picture courtesy of MetOnTour.com)

Waiting through the opening acts always eventually pays off, though, when Metallica finally hits the stage. Highlights of the set in Nashville, for me, included “Holier Than Thou,” the new stuff (which I'm still really digging), and the Motorhead covers with Lemmy (for the novelty of it, if nothing else). Lemmy was sporting some hideous boots. Also of note, was that James went out to the crowd for Seek and Destroy "backup vocals." All-in-all it was a great show to start off the fall leg of the tour.

The Good: solid set list, decent crowd, cool people around us in line
The Bad: not digging the opening acts, the event staff spoiling the Lemmy surprise
The Ugly: Lemmy's boots. The pictures of them on MOT don't do them justice. He is Lemmy, though, so he can wear ugly boots if he wants to.