I never listened to Slayer before, but I do now. To prepare for the show, I queued up their setlist in a Spotify playlist and it didn't take long for me to head bang listening to those killer riffs.
I don't normally drive to these things, even to such out-of-the-way / poor-transit-options places such as the Bud Stage, but leaving work at 5 made it the only practical option. Besides, once I got there, and much to my dismay, everyone else was doing it. Lakeshore was crowded and so were the closest parking lots. I managed to find a parking lot on the Exhibition grounds for $12, which is far too reasonable, and made the "far" 10 minute walk over to the venue.
Anthrax was playing when I arrived, and of course I'm not familiar with their work, but I did know that one song that was playing as I was reaching my seat. In my section, 14 kilometres from the stage, people were sitting for most of their act, except for the last song. Then, with all of us standing, the band led us to sing "Oh Canada." The crowd even diverged during the French and English parts. I stood there, silent and impressed, and also respectful, I hope, since I was tempted to sit. From what I saw, Anthrax was excellent, with enough energy to get me excited to see the rest of the show. They're another band to add to my list.
Next up was Lamb of God, and my section stood up for them. On my left was a guy built like a fridge, and he was standing comfortably next to my buddy who got there just in time to my right. That left me to stand behind them, this wall of men, and there was no where else to go for any of us. I tried not to let that ruin the show for me, but I was quite uncomfortable, and my legs were starting to ache - I wanted to dance, to mosh, but we were all standing, and I was standing in the worst possible position. Besides that though, Lamb of God performed well, enjoyable to watch and listen even though I only knew their song "Laid to Rest."
Slayer (f*ckin' Slayerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr), was last, of course. I wasn't going to let discomfort get to me, so when they started, I stood quickly in front of the man-wall. I thought I screwed over the fridge next to me, but in actuality the arrangement was more comfortable for everyone involved. Thank goodness I got that out of the way.
But how was their performance? Superb. They nailed the large-stadium format nicely, with pyrotechnics and a great stage presence that I could only tell from the screens (see above). My neck hurts from headbanging.
The night ended with tears in Tom Araya's eyes as he said goodbye to Toronto from the stage for the last time. I held it together. The woman in our row next to my buddy said he has the nicest smile in the industry. I have to agree, and seeing him well up and say thank you to us was touching.
I'm glad and feeling blessed I had the chance to see them at all. I'm not a major fan of the venue, but it's the best performance I've seen from the crappy seats. The three bands I saw played really well and I'd consider seeing them again. Wish I could say the same for Slayer, but that was quite the final send off. No complaints. Cheers.
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