And Justice for About 120: Metallica's Secret Nashville Gig
In case you're among the four Cream readers who haven't heard by now, last night Metallica put on an intimate surprise performance at The Basement in front of a crowd of fan club members, Grimey's staffers and a few lucky friends. The three decked-out tour buses parked on Alloway Street should have been a clue that this wasn't the latest indie buzz band, and the crowd of black-clad fans lined up outside was further evidence.
We waited outside while the band did their sound check, and even though it started to rain lightly, spirits couldn't have been higher. Around 7 p.m., after the band made their way back to the buses amid hearty cheers, the staff started checking people's passes and letting them in. One of the first things we noticed was a phalanx of Metro Nashville's finest, right outside the door. Seemed like a pretty natural thing...must be some cops here for crowd control, in case the word got out. (Surprisingly, the show's secret status must have been fairly well maintained, as no more than 50 or so uninvited guests waited outside for a glimpse of the band, and many of them were later allowed to listen from the smoking area behind the club. According to Basement co-owner Mike Grimes, a.k.a. Grimey, he was sweating all day fearing that word would get out and there would be a mob scene.)
(Many thanks to John Brassil for braving the front lines to get these photos.)
Anticipation (and the humidity!) was high as the band took the stage. And the Lord said, "Let there be metal." And it was loud. James Hetfield made some joke about the heat, at which a crowd member astutely shouted, "Wait till Bonnaroo!" Then Hetfield & Co. tore into "No Remorse" and the heads started banging.
Well wouldn't you know, we look to our left, and there are several Nashville cops, fully uniformed, banging their heads with the best of 'em. Of course, no hair was flying, but still, we're thinking, "Wow, you don't see that every day." We later found out that the cops weren't there for crowd control—they had gotten wind of the show, so they just showed up. When Grimey saw them outside a couple of hours before show time, he started to freak, thinking, "Oh shit, they're gonna shut me down, or the fire marshal's gonna show up." When he asked the cops if everything was OK, they said something along the lines of, "Yeah. We're just huge Metallica fans and wanted to check it out." Apparently they got their pictures taken with Hetfield and were happier than...ooh, bad analogy. You get the idea. There are some cool cops out there. Next time you get pulled over for speeding, blast some Metallica and you just might get off with a warning.
The boys continued to rock with authority—did we mention it was loud?—as their fan club members reveled in the glory, while several of Nashville's own rock luminaries shared in the love. We spotted Ghostfinger's Richie Kirkpatrick, American Bang, Willy Tyler and Ryan Norris, and...wait a second...who's that running the lights? Bobby Bare Jr.? Well, the young starving criminal managed to do alright with The Basement's minimal resources, and if he ever decides to quit music, he may have a future in lighting.
Highlights included "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," a blistering "Master of Puppets" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." (By the way, we Googled the following two words, "Metallica" and "Sanatarium"—we know, it's the wrong spelling—and we got exactly 666,000 hits...cue Twilight Zone music.) It's easy to mock the art of metal shredding, but Kirk Hammett made a believer out of us, both for his artful ideas and his ability to play monstrously fast, yet stay right in the groove...and this over more than a few crazy math-metal beats that had us reaching for our calculators. And speaking of odd meters, drummer Lars Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo handled all those twists and turns with aplomb. (When was the last time you saw the word "aplomb" in a metal review? We went to finishing school.)
At one point Ulrich stepped to the mic and pointed out that there were a couple of Warner record biz types in the crowd, and said that, while the band loves playing in basements, if we told the record guys how good we thought the band was, maybe they could get a record deal. His comment was typical of the whole evening, with the band joking around, doing a few fake starts to old classics they hadn't played in forever, and just acting like a really good bar band. Which for one night in Nashville, is exactly what they were.
Comments
as a person who looooooved metallica as a kid and has found nothing much redeeming that they've done since the late 80s and early 90s (most due to my love of those 80s records), i must stay that this was fucking awesome as shit.
i will also say i saw this fat dude wearing a metal shirt and a backwards hat along with this white-trash looking bitch walk through grimeys early on and when anna told them they had to go around to the back with everyone else, they flashed badges. UNDERCOVERS -- at the fucking basement--, along with AT LEAST a dozen cops. shit is serious.
not to mention how crazy it was seeing 3 tour busses on that little side street and then even more busses on the back street (iwas told there were 8 total).
FUCKIN TALLICA!
Posted 06/13/2008 at 12:38:49 PMthat shit was badass !
Posted 06/13/2008 at 12:44:47 PMSo THAT'S why they had been making displays and playing Metallica for the past month! Shucks.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 01:25:58 PMMust be nice to be one of the insiders.
No, I'm not bitter. Really, I'm fine, I didn't want to go anyways. You know sitting at home watching reruns of The First 48 is way more fun than seeing Metallica at the Basement.
Fuck you Nashville music elite. Fuck you.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 01:52:35 PMI was told about this a month ago. It turned out to be the hardest secret i've ever had to keep in my life.
In all seriousness, had word gotten out about this show it absolutely would not have happened. The metallica camp was very clear about that. Or the fire marshall would have shut it down if the whole thing got out of control. thankfully, nothing got out of control and in fact it could not have gone better. The band was FUCKING AMAZING and really having a good time. Not once did any of the guys bitch about monitor mixes or act like prissy above-it-all rock stars.
i still can't believe this happened.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 03:23:38 PMi knew about it! i'm elite AND disinterested! i guess i also keep secrets. maybe. i still have my 'and justice for all' cassette from grade 5. i dunno... just couldn't get into the thought of what i figured would have been crowd insanity. i have to admit that i get a kick out of hearing some of my jaded musician friend's tales of it being really awesome, though :)
Posted 06/13/2008 at 03:54:12 PMIt was beyond. It was everything and more than I hoped it would be. They were gracious and funny between songs but when the music started it was snarls, growls, sneers and just maximum rock and roll. This will be really, really hard to top.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 04:06:19 PMI'm so pissed. I couldn't agree with you more TobintheGnome. Fuck everyone who was there.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 04:08:41 PMMetallica still hates you:
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/06/metallica-kills.html
Posted 06/13/2008 at 04:23:02 PMi feel bad for those who didn't know but i didn't know until i was there, i just got a call at 5pm saying "you might want to come down to the basement around 6, i can't tell you why." i figured it'd be my morning jacket or fucking vampire weekend or something and not the biggest deal to me. ryan couldn't even tell me why i should come and i was doing yard work and covered in sweat but i decided to clean up and give it a shot.
i feel it was fair to me in the sense that i've paid stupid amounts before to see these guys who were childhood heroes put on half-assed shows that i was utterly disappointed by, not to mention how they've handled themselves professionally in the past decade or so... and even when i knew it was them, i was kinda "shit, i dunno..." i mean, i've given those fuckers every chance to win back my love... i think i even went to a midnight sale for "the stanger"... and each time they shit in my face. last night, after standing probably at least a quarter of the set outside on that back deck, i just happened to know the right people to get in to what was really not even the most crowded i've seen the place before and they restored a little bit of the kid in me that would drive down the backroads of indiana singing along with master of puppets.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 04:29:40 PM@Ron D, actually - that was their management and WIRED hasn't posted a followup.
Read more about it here: http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=600942
Posted 06/13/2008 at 05:44:10 PMAt least members of the metallica fan club got to see this. That's awesome!
Posted 06/13/2008 at 06:10:21 PMThat crowd would be a good game of "Find the Girl."
Posted 06/13/2008 at 08:56:00 PMMetallica is so aggro. I hope if Scarlett Johannson plays The Basement I can find out.
Posted 06/13/2008 at 10:53:59 PMThis seriously fucking happened?!
Posted 06/14/2008 at 12:12:10 AMI still haven't recovered. Where am I and what the shit happened last night? It was unbelievable - that is all I can say
Posted 06/14/2008 at 12:48:12 AMIf all the "rock" musicians in this town like the unironic metal of Metallica so much, why is Nashville full of twee indie and corny indie-flavored "Southern Rock"? Cause you motherfuckers like the social perks that go along with being fashionable too much to risk taking a passionate artistic stance. You only get one chance to get this shit right people.
Posted 06/14/2008 at 01:48:28 AMYep Matt, and it was pretty fuckin' awesome. So much so that I quit the Scene, went out and got six tattoos and a Triple Rectifier and started a new band, Lucifer's Ordeal.
Posted 06/14/2008 at 02:24:58 AMI'm really happy for the fan club members too. I always thought fan clubs were kind of stupid, but I'm going to have to start joining. I imagine it sucks when your favorite band is one of the biggest bands in the world and only only plays huge arenas. I'm sure some of those dudes can die happy now. Kudos to everybody who can keep a secret!
Posted 06/14/2008 at 07:26:01 AMSo how can I, an average Joe, become one of the insiders who gets to be on the 'in' on stuff like this?
email me: TobintheGnome@gmail.com
Posted 06/14/2008 at 12:02:06 PMi'd say your best bet is to try and do something for the community that people will take note of, form a really trendy band and kiss everyone's ass so they like having you around, fuck the right people...
on that note, if this gnome is a hot lady, let me know and i'll get you on the "inside". rooty-tooo!
Posted 06/14/2008 at 05:46:32 PMHere's the thing...indie twee or lame...nashville has good things going on. If everyone knew about this event and could have attended then it would not have been what it was. It was indeed a way for Metallica to show it's love for its fans/fan club. If you are upset that the people that work for Grimey's or the Basement or anyone else that works at that building got to go then oh well. It was a perk for all the people that helped set the show up and gave the opportunity for the fans to have an intimate experience with the band that they love.
How do you get into the in-crowd or the underground scene so you can be a part of the next show. I am not sure what to tell you. The few people that i heard were on the "list" were regular shoppers and helpers at Grimey's record store, and the Basement.
I hope all the haters out there aren't too sore. Or maybe I hope you do sit there and curse the name of everyone at the show. At least you will have something to keep yourselves busy for the next few months until you feel "shorted" by another cool event that you weren't involved in.
Posted 06/14/2008 at 05:57:01 PMi'd say your best bet is to try and do something for the community that people will take note of
I've been making an ass of myself on Cream for the past 18 months. Doesn't that count for something?
Ahhh, to be an insider. *fluttery-eyes*
Posted 06/16/2008 at 11:40:13 AMI thought grimey didn't like booking out of town bands?
Posted 06/16/2008 at 01:08:36 PMMetallica isn't hipster....or r they? wtf? why the basement?
Posted 06/19/2008 at 10:26:54 AMMy husband and I live outside of Cleveland and were able to see this awesome show...thanks metclubber staff.you rock..we've seen alot of Tallica shows and it doesnt get any better than this small place...cool as hell staff, record stuff...and THANKS to all..it was a perfect night before Bonnaroo the next day!!
Love the pic with the Nashville cops lol
\m/
Posted 06/26/2008 at 12:16:02 AMThanks to Grimey's/The Basement...Metclub staff...my husband and I saw this killer show visiting from outside of Cleveland,(Ohio). Great way to warm up for Bonnaroo...record store staff was cool, nice selection of vinyl and CD's...and oh yeah, the show! Great stuff, saw some friends, and loved the picture with the Nashville cops.
Great stuff! We've seen alot of Tallica since '86 and this was the smallest venue. Ever.
Posted 06/26/2008 at 12:19:52 AM\m/