We arrived at the venue just in time for Machine Head.  The show was supposed to start at 7 but they began about 10 minutes early.  No big deal.  We were too cheap to buy pavillion seats so we found a good spot on the lawn.  We had a clear view to the stage and the sound was great.  Not so loud that my ears bled but still clear enough that we could hear more than noise.

Machine Head was heavy as hell, to say the least.  Great performers, great songs.  I am not familiar enough with Machine Head's music so I can't comment on what songs they played aside from Now I Lay Thee Down and Asthetics of Hate.  Prior to that song singer Robb Flynn spoke breifly about the origin of the song (a very negative article obout Dimebag soon after his murder).  The crowd was there for the other 2 bands much more that for Machine Head, and it showed.  Not that the crowd sucked, but they just were not as into the band as I thought they would be. 

Megadeth was next and man did they sound good.  Dave's voice was in great shape.  The band was tight and they all played well, although I still miss the glory days with Ellefson, Menza and Freidman.  I don't remember the exact order but the songs played were:

Sleepwalker, Take No Prisoners, Kick the Chair, Washington is Next, Hangar 18, Tornado of Souls, Symphony of Destruction, Wake Up Dead, Peace Sells, Holy Wars.  Right before Holy Wars Dave finally spoke and said if he ever ran for president this song would be his campaing slogan (or something like that).  They sounded great, although Glenn Drover's guitar tone was a little off for my taste.  Still sounded good and the songs really did not suffer. 

Heaven and Hell, of course, was up next and the stage was awesome.  Looked like an eerie graveyard near an abandoned castle.  Great light show.  Dio is showing his age but he still has the pipes.  Iommi, I think, looked uo from his guitar 3 times, but that never really mattered to me.  He played great, like he was 25 years old again.  Geexer Bulter and Vinny Appice were on the top of their game as well.  Appice had an interesting kit.  On either side he had a drum on a stand that he could pull towards him to hit, then when he let go it looked as though the stand was going to fall down, but it always popped right back up.  Kinda like a weeble wobble (if you have ever heard of those).  Songs player (but not in order):

After All, Computer God, I - from Dehumanizer

E5150, Mob Rules, Voodoo, Falling off the the Edge of the World, Sign of the Southern Cross - from Mob Rules

Neon Knights, Heaven and Hell, Children of the Sea, Lady Evil, Die Young - from Heaven and Hell

The Devil Cried and Shadows of the Wind - new songs

What a show they put on.  It seems to me that the music of this incarnation of Black Sabbath sounds a lot better live than on CD.  The bottom end was much more powerful.  The over all experience of hearing their music is much more orgasmic.  Great show.  Well worth getting rained on for a little while.  I would do that again in a heartbeat.

I'm am a ginormous Machine Head fan, and I was stoked to see them live.  The crowd definitely wasn't into them at first, as was mentioned in a prior post -Machine Head really hasn't been that well known of a band until The Blackening, so what can you can expect- but by the end of the their set, Robb Flynn and crew had the crowd roaring.  Their set may have only been a short 25 minutes or so, they put on a hell of a show, and I can't wait to see them again at the beginning of September when they come back to sunny San Diego with Arch Enemy.

Megadeth... what can you say?  When have they not put on a good show?  Megadeth was the very first metal show I ever went to some 15 years ago, and I haven't left the metal scene since.  Mustaine is a phenomenal guitarist.  Arguably one of, if not the best thrasher out there.  I love that man, and I'm tinkled pink Metallica gave him the boot back in the day.  When Megadeth came back out for their encore and played Holy Wars I was... well, speechless. 

The crowning moment of the Heaven and Hell show was when I touched devil horns with the founding father of the metal hand gesture himself Ronnie James Dio... well, it really wasn't a crowning moment, but it was pretty damn cool.  I'm not a big Dio fan, he does have some classics, but I'm more of a Ozzy's Black Sabbath person.  Iommi is a guitar God, and it was mesmerizing watching him play.

Awesome show.  All involved were at the top of their game, and although my chest was severly bruised from being pressed up against the railing all night, I would gladly pay to do it all over again.