Megadeth Breathes Fire And Life Into I Wireless Center
The monsters of the music industry have been entertaining the Quad-Cities in that building called the IWireless Center in Moline, since long before I moved here 22 years ago. Some of these bands are popular for a time and some of them have an epic feel. Some of these nights, one knows they are in the presence of greatness.
Last Friday night was one of those moments for me and a stadium packed completely full of metal heads. It was an AWESOME crowd, my friends. Rock and Metal band t-shirts, beautiful women with black lipstick on, mohawks and the occasional nerd (me, I wore pink.) made up an amazing crowd full of life and passion for the metal. They were cheering and raising their fists to the sky in honor of the metal gods who stood before them.
Metal Church did not miss a lick when they took the stage. Their lead singer, David Wayne, has a voice that just cuts right through the air itself. I continued to search my mind for a word that could describe the beauty of this amazing voice. The only one that came to mind was flawless. Over and over again in my head, FLAWLESS! They were quite enjoyable and an excellent choice as first opening act. They had incredible people skills and amazing stage presence.
In fact, all the acts of the evening blew my mind. The crowd grew incrementally pumped as the music filled the air and the the next band took the stage. It was Suicidal Tendencies. I loved this band when I was a teenager. I was in awe. I was impressed by the jams. But then their lead singer started giving the crowd some great advice about being strong and believing in yourself. He humanized himself to me as he told the swarm of rockers that life is hard. One must get up and fight for themselves. One must believe in themselves. Thank you, Mike Muir, for giving your fans hope and strength in an unexpected moment. You rock!
Just when I thought this experience could not get any cooler, Amon Amarth appears. They got their name from the very famous Sindarin name of Mount Doom, taken from the volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien′s Middle-earth. I was eager and curious as I watched them bring a giant prop onto the stage. To my great joy, I realised that this was indeed a viking ship. The backdrop was an incredible picture to math that stretched almost all the way across the stage. They are a growl metal. They brought it hardcore and the audience went crazy.
Positive vibes were high. Everyone had a perma-grin at this point. Megadeth was coming and everybody knew it. We took our seats and they began to vibrate. Megadeth (or megacorpse) is a term for one million human deaths, usually caused by a nuclear explosion, according to Wikipedia. That explained the protective suits worn by those setting up the stage. Monitors lined up behind the band showed radioactive symbols. With that and the constantly reforming designs on the backdrop screen, things stayed visually stimulating from the beginning. In that moment, the entire sea of fans, seemingly full of waves as the headbanging persisted, stood firmly and stayed that way while they rocked every corner of our very souls. I have not heard guitar like that in my life. It was so incredibly beautiful. I was floored. What a great experience!
Thank you, IWireless Center, for bringing us these unforgettable moments. It is part of what makes the Quad Cities such an amazing place to be. Make your moments epic and check out their website! http://www.iwirelesscenter.com.
