A retro review from contributor Dave of an all time classic gig.
Memories are lost, fade or get twisted into something that’s not quite right. I can’t say whether it was a warm balmy night or if it was pissing it down.
Probably the latter as this was Manchester, Wednesday 17th September 1986.
It doesn’t matter; we’re here to see Fucking Metallica!
Myself (Dave), Baz and I think Ian and Simon. Just left school and probably got a lift off someone’s mum. Cool eh?
It still doesn’t matter; we’re here . . .
After hearing Ride the Lightning . . . and Baz assures me that I wasn’t one of the mates that was “mortified” by Fight Fire With Fire (I pointed out to him that it was more like getting kicked in the aural bollocks!) we (I think all of us) spent what little money we had on the Master of Puppets LP (one each) and tickets for a live ball kicking.
As I said above about the false memory thing, thirty years on, I can’t say what they started or finished with or remember what they actually played in-between.
Me or Baz or anyone else, there or not, can have a guess that’s probably 90% on the ball.
Although, I definitely know one track that was played; that was Cliff Burton’s (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth. As I write this post the hairs on my arms are standing on end (not kidding) and the nostalgic memory of actually witnessing this force of nature chew everyone into a puddle of gore fills me with pride. And after already getting kicked in my little balls by . . . whatever was being played . . . Cliff’s Bass solo arrangement took hold of them and ground them into mince.
Funny what you sort of remember.
10 days later he’s gone. RIP Cliff Burton (1962-1986)
The photograph is taken on a Kodak disc camera that I smuggled in, down my pants. Just thought you’d like to know.
DJT
Article originally published in LLI 09/2016
