Tulsa World: REVIEW: Metallica rocked

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REVIEW: Metallica rocked

Frontman James Hetfield

By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Published: 11/19/2008 2:15 PM
Last Modified: 8/18/2009 1:53 PM

Related Story: Metallica leads to long lines at BOK Center

Slide Show: Watch a slide show from the concert.

Happy birthday, Kirk Hammett.

The Metallica guitarist celebrated his 46th with 18,000 of his biggest fans Tuesday night at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, making this stop a truly special one on the band’s “Death Magnetic” world tour.

Here’s what we left with: It’s never, ever, a good idea to leave a concert before the band tells you it’s over.

During an extended encore, roadies, bandmates and fans pummeled Hammett with cream pies and Silly String as he blazed through Metallica’s 1983 hit, “Seek and Destroy.” A rogue pink-and-black bra flew from the audience and dangled from Hammett’s guitar neck as a roadie ducked in to wipe away the dessert from his ax. Hammett played on.

Silver tins were mashed to Hammett’s head, shoulders, face, rear and legs as pie filling dripped down his shoulders and legs and onto the round stage as the standing-room-only floor crowd pushed in, screaming with glee.

“You make Metallica feel good. … It’s a great place to have a birthday!” yelled frontman James Hetfield after he lead

the audience in a sing-along of “Happy Birthday” for his longtime friend.

The capacity crowd wailed as the monster band of arena rock blazed through hits from its newest album, “Death Magnetic,” including “The End of the Line” and “Cyanide.”

“It’s been a little while since we’ve been to Tulsa,” Hetfield shouted to the crowd with a sneer. “Did you miss us?”

The audience responded in an eruption of screams. (In fact, it’s been 16 years since the band’s last Tulsa show.) And, when he asked how many in the audience had never been to a Metallica show before, more than half raised their hands.

Bassist Robert Trujillo, who joined the band in 2003 (after Jason Newsted departed in 2001), added a vitality that hasn’t been seen since the band’s touring of “… And Justice for All.” The bassist jammed out speedy compliments to Lars Ulrich’s rapid-fire, double-bass drumming and Hammett’s ripping riffs.

Metallica — together more than a quarter century already — just keeps growing in popularity.

Its most recent release debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 in September. And Metallica has sold more than 100 million albums since its debut, “Kill ’Em All,” in 1983.

The band ruthlessly plowed through “Harvester of Sorrow,” and balls of flame and the staccato sound of gunfire lead into the hit “One.” Fans sang entire verses with Hetfield on “Wherever I May Roam,” “Battery,” “Master of Puppets,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Enter Sandman” and more.

And there’s a rule: In every roiling, male-dominated thrash pit, there’s at least one bare-bellied Bubba who throws wayward punches and slams into nearby girls while in the throes of his frantic idiocy. He doesn’t last long before the group retaliates.

This show was no different. Wait. No, it was better. As a paunchy, shirtless blond guy shrieked and hunched up his pants like motivational speaker Matt Foley (remember Chris Farley?) before throwing himself onto a coffee table, Hetfield yelled from the stage, “Hey, man, you’re squishing her!” then pointed to a blond woman just feet from where he stood.

Moments earlier, she was pushed to the floor in a crush of testosterone-fueled body slamming. To her credit, though, in seconds she shook it off, headbanging her waist-length tresses and high-fiving the guys around her.

Besides, Hetfield had pointed to her.

By JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer

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	Report Comment TulsaTanMan, TULSA (11/19/2008 2:43:09 PM) Oh wow.............if this was a concert, I'm glad I stayed home.
	Report Comment nlyoung, Tulsa (11/19/2008 2:52:51 PM) And they are too.
	Report Comment imahick, tulsa (11/19/2008 4:18:36 PM) this was definitely a world class rock concert! i've seen metallica twice before and this was by far an experience worth the hassle. nice job too jennifer!
	Report Comment bballbob, (11/19/2008 4:20:38 PM) I have been to many, many rock concerts over the years and was by far one of the best. THANKS METALLICA
	Report Comment v2508, (11/19/2008 5:23:08 PM) I didn't have a line at all. I just walked right in. Of course I did get there at about 10 minutes before Metallica went on. Great concert although Metallica didn't play Until It Sleeps, No Leaf Clover, Unforgiven II, Fade To Blac, or I Disappear. What's up with that?
	Report Comment Jason L., Tulsa (11/19/2008 11:04:13 PM) Did they play Nothing Else Matters? I didn't go to this one but I did go to one on OKC and they didn't play it then either. I guess pulling out an acoustic guitar at a heavy metal concert is a little too hoity toity :)
	Report Comment Dr. Strangelove, Tulsa (11/20/2008 7:19:36 AM) It was a great show- not as loud as I expected, but still awesome.
	Report Comment OKCATMOM, Tahlequah (11/20/2008 11:05:43 AM) Metallica was great! And Jason L. they did play Nothing Else Matters. We all sang along! The birthday party at the end was something special. Kirk just kept on playing while dripping cream pie filling and trailing silly string. The people that had already left reminded me of football fans that leave a game early to beat traffic. I've never understood that. Why come? We missed The Sword (wish we'd missed the 2nd opening act, what a bunch of losers they were) but didn't miss a single second of Metallica! Thanks for coming to Oklahoma! BOK - we understand that security measures required by a band are part of the contract, but you could have done a much better job of getting it done. There were not enough metal detectors, personnel, and the lack of organization was pathetic. And for Pete's sake, how much would it cost you to have a couple of bull horns so when you're yelling instructions or announcing what line is for "will call" and what line is for entrance people could hear you?
	Report Comment cynical1, Tulsa (11/21/2008 4:11:03 PM) I'm glad I went...I haven't heard a phone ring, a baby cry, a car horn or anything else for that matter since the concert....been kinda peaceful....although I wish people would quit staring at my bloody ears....

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