We are Motorhead and We Play Fucking Rock N' Roll

I attended my first bona fide metal concert on Sunday. The Metal Masters tour had its last stop in the Bay Area so L, 3 other sexy rockin' grads (2 philosophy, 1 psych) and I piled into the car and headed north for the concert. Testament started the set, followed by Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio instead of Ozzy), and finally, Judas Priest. Some observations from my experience:

1. the people watching at metal shows is better than a D&D convention in Las Vegas. The tats, the t-shirts, the hair... I so wish I had my camera. As a bonus, one of the motorhead groupies totally looked like the girl clown groupies from the Dr. Rockso video.

2. This is the only place in the entire world where men have to wait in a 30 min line to use the loo and the women's is basically empty. Not a single line in site!

3. Lemmy. I get it. If he shows up at the door, L will be ushered off with kisses and wishes of good luck (and maybe some condoms and penicillin). So fucking badass.

4. Metal rocks, but metal is old. At least the masters, that is. I felt pretty young at this concert. Not as young as the 2 10 years olds in the row in front of us, but I bet the majority of the performers, and a good chunk of the audience, are on the verge of the Medicaid years.

5. Aside from looking like he raided Liza Minelli's sequin-studded closet, Dio was out of this world. That little man has some serious pipes on him. I had no idea who Heaven & Hell were until they started playing, and I was really impressed.


6. How anyone thought Rob Halford was anything but into other bald men in leather, is beyond me. That being said, awesome fucking guitar and drums. However, although my BIL will rake me across the coals for this one, Rob Halford's singing voice drove me nuts. That and he needs to stop singing into the floor. i know it's all about being dark, evil, hardcore, and on and on, but I got tired of looking at the top of his head, and it kills the energy of what would be an otherwise outstanding performance when the lead singer refuses to look at his audience.


7. The disconnect between these rocker's hardcore, onstage personas, and their chipper, proper English accents took some getting used to.

I had a great time, and as a ringing endorsement, I'd happily go see any of them again.

(In non-metal related news: My drive to LA went smoothly and I am comfortably settled into my friend's parent's house in lovely San Marino. Tomorrow I begin my dissertation research! Or something like it...)