Another sold out Newcastle Academy show meant yet another opening act missed I'm afraid. This meant that hotly tipped thrashers Evile were just closing out their set with the title track from their debut "Under The Grave" as I got into the hall just before 8pm. This continuing situation with the logistics of getting a capacity crowd into the venue needs to be addressed as there is simply no way that anyone with other commitments, i.e. a job, can hope to catch all of the acts on a three band bill, especially if the openers take to the  stage at 7:30 when more than half of the crowd is still outside. It can't be that much fun for the band's either when they are trying to build a career knowing that many perspective fans are still waiting around outside.... At least I was well placed to catch Job For A Cowboy and their death metal stylings. I had high hopes for the Arizona five piece, especially as I'd been under whelmed by their 2007 album ”Genesis”  but encouraged by reports of the intensity of their live show. 

For the next 25 minutes I was, quite frankly, bored rigid. I've rarely been in a situation where I was hoping that a band would cut short their set, well not since an equally uninspiring performance from Avenged Sevenfold in 2006 supporting Metallica at the RDS in 2006 in fact, but this is how I felt witnessing JFAC. Given the fact Evile's sound is more in keeping with the origins of the scene that spawned the night's headliners, surely it would have made them a natural choice for the main support slot over JFAC on this bill?  Whatever the reason for JFAC being placed as main support on the tour it does appear, at least from the crowd reaction tonight, that their more extreme approach is at odds with the expectations of the majority of Megadeth's crowd and that may lead to more frustrating evenings for both band and audience as the tour continues. 

And so to the main event of the evening, the Dave Mustaine show. A little bit of a harsh description possibly, but, given the amount of band members he's gotten through over the years you can hardly call this anything else. There's no doubting the technical ability of the current line-up and Mustaine himself looks better than ever,  however there doesn't seem to be any band member chemistry and very little onstage cameraderie. This all added up to the fact that, intentional or not, all attention was focused  firmly on Mr. Mustaine. 

Luckily on the evidence of this show that doesn't appear to be a problem, the band were tight and polished and over the course of 90 minutes mixed up the best of last year's acclaimed return to form album “United Abominations” with choice nuggets from the rich legacy that Megadeth, in their many guises, have delivered down the years. The likes of “Sleepwalker” and “”Never Walk Alone” brushed shoulders with classics such as “Tout Le Monde” and “Symphony Of Destruction” and made for an almost perfectly balanced set. It just seemed a shame that there was a relatively muted response for the newer material, the biggest cheer of the evening coming, inevitably, for a rousing rendition of “Peace Sells” but with tracks like “Amerikhastan” Mustaine/Megadeth show they still have a lot to offer moving forwards and, in this current form, are a very accomplished live proposition.

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