Seeing these two bands for the second time, albeit a good 13 years apart from the first was something of an experience and one which I approached with an air of trepidation. Megadeth had been decent enough at Download, back when all this was (muddy) fields, but Disturbed in Amsterdam were frankly abysmal last time up, much to the chagrin of the (ex!) wife and I as we’d paid pretty pennies, or rather euros, for the “pleasure”. The only saving grace was the support, Shinedown, were spectacular that day, and it was the first time we’d encountered them, but it wouldn’t be the last because of it!
Accompanied this time by a friend and his daughter who was (and presumably still is given it’s only been a few days!) substantially younger than the album “The Sickness” which Disturbed are touring on to celebrate their 25th anniversary of the release, and also due to a venue mix up rendering me lightyears away from the stage, an evening in Brum was always going to be somewhat different to either my Netherlands exposure or day five of being in a rain filled tent surrounded by discarded cans of John Smiths and moist socks!
Actually, Birmingham did manage to emulate the sopping socks from all those years ago due to a rain storm and thus when this sodden Wiseman took his seat, it’s fair to say especially after the palaver (not pavlova.. I’m pretty sure that’s a type of wading bird!) of actually getting into the venue I was hoping for something special, or (because I’d espoused in somewhat agitated vocabulary how bad Disturbed were last time), something terrible, so as to be able to say “Told you!” in a smug “Why don’t you listen to me?” way! Misery loves company after all!
As it happened the latter was not to be. Disturbed turned up and kept the volume decent so as to be able to discern David Draiman’s vocal without distortion or over modulation, something sadly which could not be said for Megadeth. Their set, while musically excellent, suffered because of this and while songs such as “Wake Up Dead” threw out rich guitar work, and “Symphony of Destruction” is mostly spoken and thus didn’t have the issues others did, it’s fair to say from where we were at least, it did not bode well for “Sound of Silence”. “Angry Again” (I think!) had a decent guitar dual cooking, and “Tipping Point” carried a Slayer feel at one point, causing much chatter and consternation as to quite what the people who were here purely for the S&G cover made of it!
Surprisingly, it seemed there were roughly equal amounts of Megadeth shirts in the arena. Unlike the Alice Cooper concert I was last here for there was standing in the stalls rather than being all seated and this filled up nicely for Disturbed’s entry. Draiman being rolled out in a Hannibal Lecter chair/ vertical restraint bed was an entertaining touch, and the vocal as noted was much cleaner and clearer, and unlike in Amsterdam, nicely in tune to the point that I actually questioned it at one point because of its accuracy!
Unsurprisingly though, The Sickness album was played in full and in order, which seemed to cause something of a stir with the title track rolling out at song 4 on the setlist. Perhaps some in the venue are unfamiliar with the whole anniversary format that’s adopted in these types of events? I’m unsure. However, to the audience’s otherwise undiluted enjoyment, everything played was tightly done, nothing especially standing out, no elaborate solos etc, but instead a competent and reasonably faithful rendition of all of the tracks. “Stupify”, “Shout”, and “Droppin’ Plates” were personal highlights for me, performed with suitable gusto, with what felt like an extended version of “Conflict” also creating an impression, not least because of the verbal homage to the music magazine NME throughout!
In one of the few crowd interactions, I found myself chuckling at Draiman urging a singalong to “Shout”, stating he wanted and felt a “primal scream” energy, mostly because Primal Scream were the support for the aforementioned Alice Cooper gig here! In truth he saved his lengthiest monologue for after “The Sound of Silence”, which was performed complete with a piano accompaniment, adorned with candles, and again surprisingly prettily. I’d dreaded in my previous outing to Disturbed them playing “Darkness”, as this remains to this day my favourite song and I’d’ve hated it to be destroyed that night. Fortunately, as it turned out it was omitted, but there was never any chance of the Simon and Garfunkel classic not surfacing here, and beforehand I’d feared for the 15,000 or so fan, a substantial percentage of whom had possibly come here purely for this! Given Draiman had started the second half of the show strapped to an electric chair, there would’ve been the distinct possibility of a lynching had it all gone badly, but instead, while not quite as haunting as the version we’ve all heard possibly too many times now, it still hit the spot.
It would be remiss of me not to mention notable shoutouts to “10,000 fists”, “Land of Confusion” and “The Light” where upon instruction the crowd waved phone torches and lighters in a darkened auditorium, while Todd McFarlane’s ‘The Guy’ mascot (which had slowly surfaced during the second set behind the band) lurked menacingly in the background. These were all performed with aplomb, and crowd pleasers one and all, although there was a noticeable exodus after the piano was tucked back away. “Inside the Fire” thusly as the last track, never really got the reception it should’ve, as it’s always a track that touches a nerve with its themes.
Heading back into the Birmingham night my two companions seemed suitably energised by what they’d seen, and as for me..? Disturbed redeemed themselves in my eyes (and ears!) and replaced negative memories with positive ones, and that’s got to be worth a smile or two in a world where all too often it’s becoming the norm to be the other way around.
