Met in Arlington TX
It’s Thursday night after a grueling day at work, and all you want to do is unwind and relax but you’re famished, so you grab the frozen pizza that’s been sitting in the fridge and throw it into the oven, you turn on the TV, raise your feet, and wait for it to be done, several minutes later the timer goes off, you grab a plate, open the oven… and a blast of scorching hell slaps you in the face…
That’s what it felt like to step outside the Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and as the song goes, You must burn!
I was ecstatic to spend another weekend with my friends and Metallica, Sacha, and Chris, both from Colorado, were eagerly waiting for me. We were all overjoyed to see each other again, particularly after our recent reunion in Aspen a few days prior.
After a stop at Whataburger, we finally made it to Hector’s Mojo Dojo Casa House, Chris's long-time friend, proved to be a generous host as he not only allowed us to stay at his place but also treated us to whiskey and cigars from his upstairs bar. We concluded Thursday night by the pool, drinking, smoking, and catching up.
On Friday we stopped by Hurtado’s BBQ to get some well-needed local nourishments before the show, nothing like a good old brisket, ribs, and beer on a hot Texan day.
We eventually arrived at the venue. Remember the hot oven at the start? Well, picture opening a fridge after being stuck in the desert for days. That's exactly how it felt when we entered the stadium. A/C baby! What a welcomed relief!
Just like in New Jersey, I tried my hand at shooting film, pushing Black and White this time (both of those things for the first time) all manual, waiting for the right light and right composition. Making split-second decisions as the light changed, 24 frames of Ilford HP5 and I’m already down two.
Everything went dark, we fist bumped as we wished each other a good show, The Ecstasy of Gold came to a climax, and seconds later we were yelling in unison to Creeping Death’s obligatory “Die!” chant, but this time, we had extra back up! Our extended Metallica Family joined us remotely via movie theaters all over the world, which made this show extra special, some of us looked out for the video cameras hoping to make an appearance on the silver screens, wishing to connect with those who are close, no matter how far, (pun intended!) The crowd was also wild, there were several mosh pits all around and the energy was electric! As for song highlights of the night.. Leper and King, I’ll take those two any day! my number 2 favorite from 72 Seasons “Shadows Follow” and last but not least was “Hardwired” It was the first time I got to see it as one of the “encore” rotating slots among Fight, Blackened, and Battery.
After the show, we grabbed some mandatory Whataburger followed by more bourbon and cigars by the pool.
On Saturday our Friend Nev joined us for the rest of the weekend. The plan was to sleep in, hit a different BBQ place, and head down to “Three Links” to watch the first of the two sold-out OTTTO x Bastardane shows that night.
OTTTO opened this one, the boys were on fire! Ripping through some of my favorites like Sorius and Skyscraper and surprising us with a couple of unreleased songs, Bastardane came next, and even with a couple of injuries in the band they still delivered an octane-fueled show! The two new singles Slow Decay and Masquerade sounded brutal!
There were a couple of proud Metallidads witnessing their sons kill it on stage that night, RT later mentioned that the crowd for the second show was amazing and went all LOCO.
Would you guess what we did by the pool once we got back?
Whiskey and Cigars of course, a delight we used as vehicles to unwind and enjoy our leisure after a busy night, sitting down, chatting, and getting to know each other even further, making our bonds stronger.
Sunday morning came … afternoon? Yeah, our sleeping schedule was all over the place XD, once again there was only one plan, to eat and get to the show! We arrived earlier than Friday this time. The scorching heat made our walk from the parking lot to the venue feel eternal, it even made greeting friends difficult, everyone was trying to find a sliver of shade to protect themselves from the beating sun, and some people even fainted. Despite this, we managed to make it inside. A couple of openers and beers later, and the boys were back on stage to the rumbling intro of Whiplash! and there, once again, was the Metallica family joining us from all over the world. “Kindred alliance connected inside”
My song highlights of the night were Dirty Window, Clover, Burn, and Whiskey, because “Whiskey in the Jar” rules! I always get a rush of Dopamine as soon as I hear the first two cords, my friends and I started singing, hugging, and jumping together, is such a festive song!
Speaking of…lol.. we sadly did not end up that night with whiskey and cigars, we were so tired and our bodies craved sleep.
Anyway next up is LA, the hometown gig! Spoiler alert, it was a special one.
A huge thank you to Hector and his family for providing us with an incredible and cozy place to stay In Texas
