TOUR ARCHIVE

Date: 2009-06-24
Location: Rome - Italy [4 shows here]
Venue: Palalottomatica [2 shows here]
Fan reviews: 1 - Add yours!
Author: Phil
Setlist: Yes

Note that this concert was part of a larger trip whose details and pictures you can find here.

Despite the map in the metro station showing that the stop and the venue being practically on top of each other, when I emerge from the stop I see nothing resembling a venue in any direction. Because I'm working I'm very early, so there's not hoards of Metallica fans to follow. Luckily, however, I spotted a guy from the Milan M&G and he showed me where the venue was. He'd already been there once and had to go back to his to his hotel for some reason.

I found my way inside without any problem and ran into Jeff, and moments later Dennis and Filip showed up. We walked the M&G path and discussed the video for the night. Jeff pointed out that the stage was higher tonight (it was on a base that was holding up the lights since the lights could not be hung from the ceiling tonight). I agreed to film from the pit anyway - it didn't seem much higher.

Upstairs Jeff and Laura worked out some contest winner ticket details and I headed to wash my face, get some water, and relax. I'd been walking around Rome all day and was covered in dirt and sweat and was glad to have some time to relax. Catering was upstairs tonight on a closed-off part of the concourse. I went down to find the rest of the gang, and Dennis and Filip had just went outside to collect winners, so I ran to catch up with them.

One of the label winners didn't have a ticket but somehow managed to get one before it was time to go backstage. We were missing 1 metclub winner and 3 label winners tonight. Always amazing.

Dennis and Filip "stuck me" with filming the whole M&G. I put that in quotes because it's a cool job and I like it. However, I was going to be filming a 2 hour show in a stage as tall as me, which means holding the (rather heavy) camera straight up over my head. As such, I would rather have saved my strength for that, but I wasn't going to complain - how many people get to do any of this?

Barbara and had found a way to keep out of each other's way tonight, which made filming Lars' M&G tonight much easier. Dennis and Filip had giving me some heads up about filming in the pit while we waited for various band members. Dennis and Filip supposedly had a 50 euro bet on if I would make it through the show.

After the M&G we got dinner and while everyone else ate Big Mick and I waited for more carbonara sauce which ran out just as we got there.

After dinner Dennis and I took a walk around the pit and I observed that the stage was indeed quite high. But I stood next to it and figured out the best ways to lean on the stage, get a good angle, etc.; I was determined to do a good job.

I went to check on the contest winners who were supposed to be meeting us by a door, but were not in fact there yet. I found Jeff who asked me where Dennis was, and when I didn't know asked me to go put together the flashlights for the winners instead. I had never done this and Filip showed me the trick before running up to go setup his tripod. This was a colossal pain in the ass. Whoever designed these flashlights was on serious crack.

I ran down with the flashlights and found Dennis and the contest winners. We had two winners on crutches who were clearly not going to be able to "run with the band." So I took them out into the pit ahead of time. Dennis would come out with the band and the other two, and then I would go film.

Filming in the pit is easily one of the coolest things I've ever had the chance to do, and I hope I get to do it again. On the other hand, if I'd known what a challenge it is to do, I might have agreed to wait until Zurich (i.e. a normal stage) to do it. Holding a very heavy camera directly up over your head, looking up at the view finder, trying to follow band members around the stage, not trip, and keep a steady picture all at the same time is incredibly difficult. I wouldn't say I did well, but given the circumstances, I didn't totally suck either. OK, there were definite moments of suckage, but Jeff managed to get some decent footage out of it. Unfortunately Jeff hadn't set the light settings for concert footage so the picture was incredibly white-washed, and at some point I hit some setting which made it even worse and it took me a few songs to get it back. During the show I slammed my shin into the legs of the ground support (the frame under the stage) and nearly tripped. Twice. By the end my arms, shoulders and back were very sore. But I filmed the entire show; I made it!

I dropped off the camera, apologized for the bad filming. Kat was there, and Dennis, Filip, Kat and I all went out and found Adrian and some others. We hung out in the parking lot chatting and drinking for a while. Eventually I called my hotel to call me a cab, but when that cab never showed up, I walked with them back to the hotel that Dennis and Filip were staying at. Then we had the hotel call us a few cabs for the rest of us, and we said our goodbyes.