So this past weekend was the first Metal festival in
This was also the first time I crowd surfed, and I have to say, it’s quite an experience. I did get hurt during this, but it was fun nonetheless. I also moshed in a lot of pits. I was told that I looked like Tom Araya. I met new people. I ran away from the front for the first time in my life. I almost got into a fight. Now the weekend is over and I have pains all over my body.
I think this was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had.
Day 2: I was completely Caught In A Mosh!!!
Bands playing:
- Death Boat
- Your Favorite Enemies
- Priestess
- Warrant
- Drowning Pool
- Shadows Fall
- Voivod
- Anthrax
- Three Days Grace
- Disturbed
- Motley Crue
After all the energy I had spent on the first day, my body didn’t want to get out of bed. My mind was willing, but the rest of me was not cooperating. I ended up getting out of bed at around 11:00, which meant that I was going to be late for the festival, which I was.
Truth be told, the only band I really wanted to see on Day 2 was Anthrax, so this made it easier for me to stay in bed longer. However, I did head out to be able to get there somewhat early.
When I got to Parc Jean-Drapeau, I had already missed three bands and the fourth one was already playing. I also didn’t care much about this, but I would have preferred seeing all the bands. As I was getting out of the metro and heading to the checkpoint, I saw Desmond, the guy from
After the guys went to complain, we headed out to the hill and we sat down while Warrant was playing. I didn’t know this was the band that plays Cherry Pie, and I have to say, they’re pretty good live. I didn’t see them from up close, but they seemed to put on a decent show.
After they finished playing we went to secure a spot for Shadows Fall and Anthrax. While we were in the Red Stage, Drowning Pool was playing in the Black stage. I don’t know that many songs from them, but I do know Let the Bodies Hit the Floor. So when they played that song I was head banging while staying at the Red Stage.
Drowning Pool finished their set and Shadows Fall was starting. I didn’t know about this band until I recognized a song from Guitar Hero. I have to say, these guys put on a really good show. The singer has long dreads, and he windmills his hair while head banging. Pretty cool. Another thing I really liked about these guys is that the singer jumped off the stage and put the mic in the crowd so that the fans could sing the song. And yet something else I loved, is that the singer thanked the fans for keeping Heavy Metal alive because it was true music unlike the little whiners that can’t get over their break ups. All in all, Shadows Fall put on a good show.
Next up, Voivod. Didn’t listen to them very much because I was at the Red Stage while they were playing. However, from what I heard they seemed pretty good.
And finally, the one band I was waiting for, Anthrax. Before they started playing, I started talking to some other guys in the crowd, one of them was Brian. The other guy, I can’t remember his name, but I remember what he said. He told us that Heavy MTL was his first concert. This guy chose a KICK ASS concert to be his first, but anyways, I digress. Anthrax started playing and they came in really heavy. I mean, their second song of the set was non other than Caught In A Mosh. That was the one song I was waiting for ever since I found out that I was going to see these guys. And as you might suspect, there was a pretty big mosh behind me. I didn’t want to miss anything from their set, which again, was an AMAZING act! The new singer in the band is quite good and the guitarist is A-FUCKING-MAZING! I really loved the lead guitarists… well, guitars. The finishes made them look like they were covered in blood. The music, was the best of the second day, probably because I’m a Thrash Metal fan and because they’re one of The Big Four.
Another reason why I wanted to see Anthrax was because I’ve made it a life goal to see all of The Big Four of Thrash Metal. And with this, I’m one step closer to achieving this goal. I now only have one band left to see: Metallica.
So with Anthrax finishing their set and playing great songs like Caught In A Mosh, Safe Home, and I Am The Law, I was satisfied for the day. It was really disappointing that I wasn’t able to catch a pick or a drumstick from Anthrax, but at least I was able to see them front row!
In all the commotion, I lost sight of the other guys I was with and ended up alone again. However, this didn’t last long because I saw Brian again. While Three Days Grace was preparing their stage, we walked around and also bought some overpriced food. After a little while of this, the music started again, and we went to see them. We didn’t stay long in the crowd as Three Days Grace sounded a little Emo for the festival. Oh well, they were ok, but not fit for a festival named Heavy MTL.
With the Black Stage finishing, the Red Stage was about to start again. Brian and I decided to stay at the back and just enjoy the music… at first. While we were waiting, we saw this guy wearing a weird trench coat, which made him look like a pimp. Brian and I were a little jealous of this guy because all the girls were taking pictures with this guy. After we saw this, we told ourselves that next time something like this happens, we’ll be wearing weird flashy clothes.
Disturbed started playing while we were walking around, so we quickly went to the back of the crowd. Brian suggested that we crowd surf, and at first I said maybe, but there weren’t enough people where we were, so we dismissed the idea… for the moment. We saw that a pit had started, so we pushed our way through the crowd to go there. In the pit, I saw the guy from the day before, Martin, and he was moshing in the same pit. We moshed for almost two songs, and then the other people stopped. One good thing that came out of this is that we saw a spot where we were able to start our surfing. Brian went in first and I followed shortly after that.
This was the first time I ever crowd surfed and I ripped my jeans while going up, but that didn’t really matter. The sad part is that I wasn’t able to go all the way to the front and go back for more surfing. While I was on the crowd, I got hit in the head and in the groin. While the pain was clearly there, I didn’t feel it much because of the adrenaline of the event. As I was saying before, I wasn’t able to go all the way to the end; I fell near the front of the stage. I fell on a guy that was wearing glasses and I almost got into a fight with him. I don’t understand why people think that they won’t get pushed or hit when they’re in the crowd and are trying to get near the stage. It’s a Metal show; they should expect those kinds of things. I, for one, don’t bring anything that can get broken, save for my cell phone. I won’t start a rant in this post; I’ll save that for a rant post later. What made me not get into a fight with this guy was another guy that was trying to get to the front and pushed him to be able to pass. They almost started a fight and while this was happening, I just moved closer to the front to enjoy the show.
It turns out that I fell right next to where Desmond and Nathan were. It was kind of a nice coincidence. So I continued to enjoy Disturbed while inside the crowd. I had not planned on being that close for that band, but it was worth it. The music was great, the crowd was energetic for this band, and I was close to the stage. I also saw Brian crowd surf a couple of more times when I was there, but I didn’t see him after that.
When the act ended, they through the picks and the sticks, and I was able to catch a guitar pick that I have in my wallet right now. I then hung out with Desmond and his friends before the last act started at the Black Stage. We went to the food stand and then to the merch stand. While we were walking around, Motley Crue started playing. Like many people that were there, we just continued walking around and went to Steve’s booth to play some Guitar Hero III. Yes, I played Guitar Hero while I was at a concert. And I won the match as well. We also saw some random guys playing Iron Maiden songs in that booth because they had instruments for people to jam on.
After our little match of GH, we decided that we should go see the band playing. We did pay for our tickets and Motley Crue isn’t a bad band. The guitar playing in that band is quite frankly amazing. The solos are good. However, I didn’t stay until the end of the set because I had to work the next day. So I ended up just watching a little over an hour of the last act.
With this, one of the greatest weekends I’ve ever had ended.
Some little notes:
- I spent a little over 230$ on this event. This includes food, tickets, and the taxi I took on the first day.
- Most of the bands playing had songs in a Guitar Hero game.
- I hate stupid people that think they won’t get hurt.
- The ages ranged from around 2 years old to like 70 years old.
- I’ll think of more things to add later.
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