Verizon Center @ Washington, DC - 1/15/09

• It was freaking COLD the day of the show. However, a bunch of us still stood in line like the idiots we are. :) I met up in line with some Fuelers - Joie, George, Dawn, Jeannette, etc. I also met up with some Metallica touring buddies - Ron, Brad, Matt and Yuri. I also got to meet some really cool Metallica fans who were also in line - Lauren and the famous Louis "Blou" McLean (check out his touring story that he wrote for So What! 14.3).

• Machine "Fucking" Head replaced Down as one of the opening acts. I've listened to Machine Head before. I liked the energy they brought. The Sword was still on the bill. This was my second time seeing them, and by now I was over them. From my position on the rail, you still couldn't hear the lead singer of The Sword. Oh well...

  
  "Sandman Now!" (drawn by Steve Wiig)
  Picture from MetOnTour.com

• Starting off the show with "That Was Just Your Life" and "The End of the Line" is a GREAT way to begin the show. Both of those songs freaking ROCK!

• Due to the inauguration a few days later, Metallica wasn't allowed to have any pyro. A Metallica show with no pyro?!?! WTF!!!

• Nothing spectacular about the show. Pretty standard setlist. I got another beach ball, and I don't really know why. What the HELL am I going to do with all of these balls? Please, don't send me your dirty answers to this question.

• After the show, Ron, George and I head to George's parent's house to crash for the night. The next day, we had a day off before the next show in Philly, so we decided to check out Washinton, DC on what was one of the COLDEST days EVER! We checked out the new World War II memorial, the inauguration setup, the Vietnam memorial, the Korean War memorial, the Smithsonian Museum, etc.

  
  Picture by Brandon Wu