Megadeth/Motley Crue Live in Puerto Rico

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MEGADETH / MOTLEY CRUE
San Juan, Puerto Rico; 07/29/00

Reviewed by TBJ

It’s good to note that we rarely get any good bands here in Puerto Rico. Journey comes here a lot but who gives a fuck about them anyway. And that’s pretty messed up considering the fact that we've got plenty of metal fans here. In fact, this marks the first time I’ve seen one of my top favorite bands of all time live, and - to tell you the truth - I wasn’t prepared for what was to come.

The evening started with fireworks provided by ... well, the fans themselves. Hell, when we Puertorricans say party, we mean it, man. The hunger for quality metal didn’t do much to squelch that excitement either. The air was tense with anticipation, chants of “Megadeth! Megadeth!” were heard throughout. This was the first time Dave Mustaine and company came to these shores and the excitement was tangible. There were plenty of Megadeth shirts, Iced Earth shirts and Motley Crue shirts to be seen - but the ones that stood out the most were the vast majority of Iron Maiden t-shirt-wearing freaks everywhere. PUERTO RICO FUCKING WANTS MAIDEN!

Once inside, it took about 45 minutes to get everything prepared. Promoter Larry Stein started talking his crap about the sponsors but the fans were to have none of it. People started throwing trash at him and telling him to shut the hell up.

It’s very difficult to describe what was felt when the lights went off. A classical music piece started playing and smoke filled the air. When the first notes of "Holy Wars" began, I immediately knew we were in for something awesome.

Megadeth took the stage and Dave and company were in fine form, marking the first time I’ve ever seen them with Al Pitrelli, either live, on video or in photos. He does look more like a Guns'N'Roses reject than a full-on Megadeth metal guy, but his playing did the talking not his looks. "Holy Wars" ended to thunderous applause and was followed by "In My Darkest Hour," a song which - as with many others - were mostly sung by the crowd; you almost couldn’t hear Dave singing.

Next came (in no specific order) various songs from basically all Megadeth albums except "Killing is My Business…" and "Risk" (thank god for that). "Symphony of Destruction," "A Tout Le Monde" (the chorus just sounded so cool with the crowd sing-a-long), "Reckoning Day," "Use the Man," "Almost Honest," "She Wolf," "Sweating Bullets," and many others including two new ones for their forthcoming album. One had something to do with King, and the other was a sort of remake of "Hangar 18." Both new songs sounded like something from "Rust in Peace" mixed with "Cryptic Writings" (their two best albums in my opinion) leaving us all anxiously awaiting what’s to come in their new CD.

A highlight was Dave singing the chorus to "Trust" in almost perfect Spanish (the crowd went nuts!). Last, but not least, was the encore (after a brief break which had the crowd chanting Megadeth at the top of their lungs). The oldie, "Peace Sells," was the top highlight of the night considering both old and new fans knew all the lyrics and breaks. Just awesome, simply awesome, and another reason for everyone to know that although these guys have matured in both sound and spirit, metal will always prove to be their roots and their are not afraid to show it.

As if Megadeth wasn’t enough, the co-headliners hit the stage next: Motley Crue. I’m not the biggest Crue fan, but it really didn’t matter that night. Hole’s drummer filled in for the ailing Randy Castillo and she delivered with style.

Motley brought all the stops: the dancing chorus girls (one of them which was very nice to look at by the way), pyro, effects, you name it. We were treated to all their hits, including two songs from their new CD "New Tattoo."

Cure had visited PR before so the audience reaction was great, although not as fiery as with Megadeth. Crue started with "Kickstart My Heart" to a thunderous ovation, followed by hits such as "Livewire," the always awesome "Dr. Feelgood," "Girls, Girls, Girls," "Too Fast For Love," "Helter Skelter," "Don’t Go Away Mad," plus others.

The highlight of the night in my opinion was "Home Sweet Home," started by Mick on acoustic guitar. But what really impressed me, as well as the band apparently, was the part where Vince is supposed to sing. Well, the audience was so loud Vince decided to let us sing the whole first verse solo with just us and the guitar (that was hella cool!). Then, as expected, the band played a perfect rendition of the song.

The whole band was in fine form, and - as a friend later told me - Tommy Lee wasn't really missed (the girl drummer was that good!).

A great show with two fine bands and an overall good night for metal, chicks and booze. Megadeth and Motley Crue brought it all to us! (well maybe not the chicks though!!).

I really hope the sponsors, promoters, and the bands open their eyes and see that Puerto Rico is hungry for quality metal. We support it, as much as any other place they go to, or perhaps even more, because we rarely get treated to this.

And did I mention the heavy quantity of Iron Maiden shirts? You listening, Bruce et al?

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