26 years ago tonight...

12/06/86...

Little 14 years old me was finally getting to see his heroes on stage, in a small town of under 50 000, east of Quebec. First show I've ever seen, actually. 


The show had been postponed twice - once because of Hetfield's skate accident, and then, following Cliff Burton's death. The small arena was half empty.

I don't remember much but I still remember the illicit substance smell on my Damage Inc tour t-shirt in the car on the way back home, and my first experience of tinnitus, which lasted well into the next afternoon.


Man, I feel old. 

Shows how old I am - I don't even know who's on stage!

METALLICA

I seen them I believe it was that year as well.  

I was stationed in England and we would rent a bus for the Monsters of Rock out at Donnington Motor Speedway each year.  

Funny I can remember each trip there WELL but not much past the trip itself  

I did get some awesome pics (I was big into photography back then)

I've found that pic on the web - I think it was actually taken in Quebec City, the night before. But it did bring me right back. We were closer to the stage. I do have visual memories of "The Thing That Should Not Be", w/ the nice lighting effects (red and green spots, which was pretty minimalist but impressed the heck out of me back then).


It's kind of cool to think that we got to see them in such a context, w/ such a tiny crowd.

Last summer, my "little sister" sent me pics from the show in Quebec - 110 000 folks in the crowd.

85 - so you got to see them w/ Cliff Burton, as I just realized seeing the pic. Cool!

Must have been one heck of a show. Thanks for sharing. :)

Rain


85 - so you got to see them w/ Cliff Burton, as I just realized seeing the pic. Cool!

Must have been one heck of a show. Thanks for sharing. :)

 From what I remember it was a great show


Notice their lettering hasnt changed a bit as was on the kick drum resonators.


The 86 Monster of Rock was just as good.  Ozzy, Scorpions, ...


Man I got alot of good pics. I scanned them not long ago after moving and finding them packed away. 


Atleast having them put online now I can go back and check out what I used to do.


These were all taken with a Minolta and a huge lens.  I used to cringe running around those concerts cause one of the things they did was hurl bottles full of liquids-the sky would just be packed with 1000s of them.


Oh Boy, what memories

Wow...  That brings back some memories - good and sad...  My friend Mike Grove (who was our drummer with Craig Goldy) went on to play drums with Mickey Ratt but didn't live long enough to stay with them when they shortened their name.  He barely made it past 21...  I was in an actual band for all of maybe six months total and had one drummer get put in jail, one commit suicide and two died young (one ala Bonham drowned in his own drunken puke and Mike, who had his own demons).  Spinal Tap made a lot of sense to me!

I still wish I could find that picture of me wearing black leather pants, a black shirt with yellow diamonds on it, black square-toed boots, with long hair and a *Gasp!* pierced ear (long since grown back in).  I was playing this nice black V that Mike made next to a wonderful Marshall JCM-800 stack "borrowed" from a music store (as in bought and returned a few days later after the gig - lol).  What were we thinking back then???

Right after Craig went on to Guiffria, Mike moved north and our keyboard player also went to jail (he had most of the gear because, as we found out when detectives started questioning the rest of the band, he and his mom were involved with multiple counts of insurance fraud).  After that, I pretty much let the corporate world suck me in and the Rock and Roll life was left behind.   *Sigh*

Cool pics!

I would have killed to have that look and hair...  lol!

RAF Mildenhall

Golfed almost everyday over at Lakenheath

LOVED IT!!!

 Yes Sir

The pubs were much better off of base.  Everytime was a good time back then.

Early 90s.
I guess 80's would have looked pretty much the same, only a bit younger and the hair a bit shorter. 

That and cheaper suckier guitars. And rented or borrowed amps. Which is part of the reason why I didn't really have a band in the 80s, I guess.