Being present at a Megadeth concert is a political action. It is not about taking sides, as is usual in our turbulent national polarization: it means understanding that when Dave Mustaine sings ‘Peace sells but who’s buying’, there is a connecting thread between the American warlike politics that the artist sought to describe in the 1986 album of the same name (during the Reagan period) and the existence of every Colombian who listens to him today and who has lived in the midst of war and the promise of peace.
Hard to believe such a relationship: This is the sixth time that Megadeth performs in Bogotá in 24 years and first time in the comfort of this setting (which is not a minor issue).
Perhaps the thanks through tears that Dave Mustaine recognized the Bogotá audience almost at the end of the concert: “You guys are a fucking great audience.”he said, after putting his hands on his face, as if containing his emotions, and the audience illuminating the lights in a synchronized manner. thousands of cell phones, some yellow, others blue and others redforming the flag of Colombia (this gesture was not part of the show, but was coordinated by the fan club Megadeth Colombian Fan Club).
(Also read: interview with Dave Mustaine, ‘God has me alive for a reason.’)
You guys are a fucking great audience.
Also, perhaps from that deep relationship, details emerge with this audience, such as having performed a song that had never been played before in the country – he himself remembered it when giving way: “we have not played this one here before” – , referring to ‘Devil’s Island’, also original from the album ‘Peace Sells’, and which on the tour he only performed in the previous concert, in Sao Paulo.
There were a total of 16 songs in Bogotá in the hands of Mustaine (on guitar and lead vocals), James LoMenzo on bass, Dirk Verbeuren on drums and Teemu Mäntysaari on guitar. As always Mustaine with his ‘Flying V’ guitar collection.
Dave Mustaine, leader of Megadeth, at 62 years old.
Photo:Andrea Moreno. TIME
It’s 24 years and counting
Megadeth’s history with the Colombian capital began in 2000, when it performed at Simón Bolívar Park, being one of the first international bands to take advantage of that stage, still in precarious condition (Metallica had inaugurated it a year earlier); Then they came: November 23, 2011, at the Palacio de los Deportes; September 2, 2012, at the Royal Center theatre; October 19, 2013, in Simón Bolívar Park again; May 6, 2014, repeating at the Royal Center, and then a long break until 2024, 10 years later.
This Sunday, Megadeth met the public with high-quality lighting and sounds. On other occasions, this has been a noticeable problem. But this time it had everything, to the point that it hinted at the simplicity of the montage of the ‘Crush The World’ tour that brought them: a static background and two screens, no fireworks or computer animations. Barely, the presence in a song of Vic Rattlehead, the bony mascot who has accompanied them since 1985, when they released the album ‘Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!’. And that was enough for the public.
Teemu Mäntysaari, Megadeth lead guitarist
Photo:Andrea Moreno. TIME
Then followed in the first 40 minutes: ‘Dread and the Fugitive Mind’, ‘Skin o’ My Teeth’, ‘Wake Up Dead’,
and ‘In My Darkest Hour’.
In each solo, Teem Mäntysaari showed why he had been called to this band in 2023. His tuning and his combination with Mustaine are notorious, which dispelled any rumors, such as the one sparked by a gesture between the two artists at their tour concert. .
The audience also commented on Dirk Verbeuren’s solid drumming.
A magical moment was when they began to perform ‘Angry Again’, from 1993 (a different time compared to the initial albums of the 80s), which is well remembered for being part of the soundtrack of the film ‘Last Action Hero’, the cinematography of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
From there, the energy never dropped and the electricity among the audience was clear.
Also the political charge, with the apocalyptic ‘Countdown to Extinction’, from the 1992 album of the same name, which was a gem at a time when metal bands were trying to turn towards a less signature wave and with a greater outlet among an audience that was already beginning to follow the sounds of ‘grunge’. This album was a statement of principles: saying “we will continue making the same art.”
It was followed by: ‘Sweating Bullets’ (from the same album), ‘Hangar 18’, ‘Trust’ and another high point: ‘Tornado of Souls’.
But it was in the French game ‘A tout le monde’ that things got emotional. In the darkness, the flag of little lights, in a song that is a kind of epitaph:
To all the world
A whole month friends
Je vous aime
I’m leaving
These are the last words
I’ll ever speak
And they’ll set me free
The audience sang in French with Mustaine. The audience knew the lyrics and followed him phrase by phrase. Mustaine was genuinely excited.
For the last segment, came the gift of ‘Devil’s Island’ and then two bombs for any Megadeth fan: ‘Symphony of Destruction’ and ‘Peace Sells’. It was here that there was another gesture coordinated by the group of fanatics, who also distributed two versions of a white sheet, one with the “$” symbol and another with the peace symbol, that circle of the campaign for nuclear disarmament of 1958.
Megadeth in concert: the audience raises symbols of peace and money, to accompany the song ‘Peace Sells’ live.
Photo:Carlos Solano. TIME
After a brief break, the band returned to the stage and said goodbye with the latest political bomb: ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’, original from 1990, which sings about the religious conflicts in the world. Mustaine was inspired by this song while researching the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Then, as the applause began, the band greeted each other in a big hug and then Dave Mustaine – a musician who seems not to age, at 62 years old, and he demonstrates it by opening his shirt – remained alone on stage for a few minutes, receiving the love of the public.
A strange recipe for ‘thrash’ metal and waiters
Megadeth’s presentation, this April 21, took approximately an hour and a half from 9:15 pm. Before, as the opening band, the woman from Bogotá performed Perpetual Warfarewhich demonstrated a high level (it has been in existence for 18 years) and captured part of the public’s attention, to the point of successfully convening a ‘pogo’ blender (physical activity similar to dancing, but in metal), as in the best moments of the strong day of the Rock al Parque festival.
The public that went to enjoy Megadeth, at the Movistar Arena.
Photo:Andrea Moreno. TIME
“Hey, how good they sound!” commented a spectator who had come to Bogotá to see Megadeth about the Bogotá quartet.
All this caused contrasts with the very nature of the Movistar Arena stage: while these blenders began to grow and distribute synchronized pushes, the waiters – who numbered in dozens, very elegantly uniformed – walked around among the entire audience, selling food and drinks. It is not a common sight at a metal concert, which is why it caused laughter among some attendees. But why didn’t it happen before? Why didn’t the stages see that potential in the ‘metal’ audience? There are two days of Megadeth, one with a full house and the other with few tickets available, this Monday.
