Orion Music and More, Day 1

We started off the morning exploring Detroit and the Renaissance Center. Lori and I hopped on the People Mover and took 15 minute ride on this monorail thing which is only two cars long and had a total of 3 other passengers. All we could do was think of the legendary Simpsons monorail episode and laugh. But Detroit has some really cool, unique architecture and some quite beautiful spots downtown - it was surely worth the 75 cents the 15 minute tour took. Met one guy who is a local and said he was going to Orion later too.

Then we roamed the river walk and bizarrely futuristic hotel/GM HQ/mall thing. Took a lot of Larry pictures then hopped on first bus to get to Orion. 

Globe of Death!

After about half the attendees entrance was rejected by malfunctioning scanner systems, we got in, bought 3 new Metallica shirts and entered Kirk’s Crypt since we spotted a very short line. The crypt is a showcase for all of Kirk Hammett’s horror movie memorabilia. It was bigger than last year and more freaking people dressed up inside and turning it into a haunted house. We watched a demo with a makeup pro turning a girl into a zombie too.

Then we had killer food from Detroit’s world famous Slows Bar-B-Q; Triple Threat on a Stick and Mac & Cheese.

After that it was time for the first bands to start. Caught The Bronx and liked them a lot. Then we moved on to local band Battlecross who were the heaviest of heavy with tremendous in sync head banging and a great cover of Slayer’s “War Ensemble.” After that we roamed in the Met Club tent and got to pose with Metallica’s gear, check out the new Metallica pinball machine and cavort with a whole lot of other Metalli-crap, followed by the car show and Globe of Death - a cool motorcycle stunt show, which was also something done by The Simpsons.

Dropkick Murphys

The next band was Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys and I must admit I had no idea these guys were big anywhere outside of New England, but they got a big crowd and rocked hard. They also represented Boston in a major way, thanking everyone for support after the marathon bombing, playing their Red Sox, Bruins and Mickey Ward inspired songs, plus Shipping Up To Boston and a cover of AC/DC’s T.N.T. - just when I thought that was the highlight they told us Metallica was playing a surprise set of old shit - we bolted and I got there as The Four Horsemen was starting and I quickly realized they were playing Kill ‘Em All from start to finish. Heaven! This surprise was cool beyond words. I’d only recently accepted they’d play only once, then they pull this out. I love this band. Needless to say, they kicked ass and then it tool a little bit to find Lori again. With her full permission, I left her behind as I raced to see the mighty Metallica. She got there too, but by then there were thousands of bodies between us.

Secret Metallica Gig!

Kill 'em All, start to finish.

We eventually found eachother and headed to the EDM tent for Bassnectar. Lori didn’t last long, but I had a blast. He played some Hendrix, Nirvana, Beatles and even Motorhead all remixed, sampled and dancified with an insane amount of bass. The kids loved it. It was the next generation mosh pit, everyone going off in sync but without the violence.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers closed the night. Most of the hits are a bit slow, for my taste, to follow Kill ‘Em All and Bassnector, but once they cranked into Higher Ground I was rejuvenated. Man, I forgot how many radio hits RHCPs have had over the years. Much like last year, the bus ride home was a blast with the whole bus singing Creeping Death, and one out his mind fan trying to choreograph different verses for front and back of the bus, and then even calling for the elderly bus driver to take a verse. The driver responded by turning up the volume. Smart dude.

Great day. And tomorrow is the REAL Metallica show - can’t wait to see what tricks they pull out next.