After much umming and ahhing, I decided to bite the bullet and get my arse to this show. Typically, the later you leave these things, the more you are rewarded, as they had put up special “packages” including a Megadeth CD/ticket bundle.
My main concern was the lineup of this festival.

It was a decision I had to weigh up. In the metal arena, 3 Inches of Blood, Gwar, Katatonia, and metal heavyweights Megadeth. And the others? Outsider, Leeches, Antagonist AD, We Came as Romans, Suicide Silence, Frenzal Rhomb, Parkway Drive, Dropkick Murphys and NOFX and a band called Shitripper. Um who? Yes exactly.

It turned out as soon as I landed in Auckland it was all going to be worth it. Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson was spotted getting out of the lift at my hotel. Ahhhh I am instantly trembling in my knee-high boots. The legends are here.

Turning up to the ASB showgrounds, I was in no rush. Gates opened around 12pm, but nothing worthwhile in the way of decent bands was happening until 2pm. Much time was killed at the merch stand (surprisingly there were a few good tour shirts marked at the affordable $40 price). I was struck by the unfamiliar assembling crowd. Younger punk and emo fans clearly outnumbered the older metal brigade considerably. Hardly any older metal shirts were to be seen. I had donned a vintage Katatonia shirt for the event which became an item of envy during each trip to the little girl’s room.

Interestingly, the venue was like a giant hall. Two stages were set up side by side. I thought this wasn’t a bad idea, while one band played, the other completed soundcheck and were right on schedule, no mucking about.

Canadians, 3 Inches of Blood finally appeared. Ah, the first of many bourbons were consumed. I was in awe of the vocalist’s pitch, and was transported back to the days when metal was fun. Ahh memories. NWOBHM… come back!!!

All too soon it was over, and the long wait until 4pm began when something good was about to happen.

I made it to the front row to wait for Katatonia, while my ears were assaulted by Suicide Silence and their mediocre deathcore screechings from the other stage. Hurry up, real musicians!

And that they did. I witnessed Per Eriksson himself (ex-Bloodbath) struggling through sound check. I didn’t mind, he smiled at me half a dozen times. The technical issues continued during their set, but they handled it like pros. I also affirmed that Jonas Renske does indeed have a face, he’s very good at burying it with his hair, but I couldn’t fault his vocals. They stuck to their 40 minutes and disappeared into the long wait for another decent band to take the stage…

…Which for me, happened to be GWAR!! What can I say about these guys that isn’t totally obvious. They are larger than life. Literally. They make their guitars look small. I was mesmorised by how they could even see what they were doing inside those costumes. The fake blood was endless and there was so much going on onstage. I’m not too familiar with their new stuff, but I actually wasn’t too focused on the music, more on the latex and whether or not the blood would reach me, standing back at a safe distance. Hehe now that is entertainment!

Dum-de-doo by now fatigue is setting in. No wait, that was Parkway Drive. I couldn’t for the life of me work out the appeal of these guys, or Dropkick Murphys who sounded like a celtic folky band you’d hear down at the Black Harp on a Friday night. Same confusion for NOFX. Oh well, they could keep going while I found a good spot to wait for Megadeth. I even ignored their lame attempts at cajoling the Megadeth fans.

And finally, here they were. Wowie, hello Dave Ellefson! Welcome back! Straight into Rust in Peace. All of it, flawless. Yes, the whole album, even Dawn Patrol, and the first time I’ve ever seen, Vic Rattlehead himself made an appearance, pointing out at us with a bony finger. Chris Broderick was on fire. I spent most of the time thinking “Marty who?” incredible. Mustaine’s vocals were hanging in there, a surprisingly good job considering how hard these songs are to play live. Yup, we got a few extra songs tacked on the end too, and it was all over within an hour.

I barely had time to grab a taxi and head back to the hotel, but who should I meet there but Chris Broderick himself, friendly and in good spirits and no doubt heading for the nearest gym.

Well, despite the overloading punk/emo/deathcore/celtic trippyness, I got to see some decent metal acts and that to me was all worth it.

I can has sleep naow?