Show Review, Photos: Megadeth, Mudvayne 'Destroy All Enemies' at Concord's Toyota Pavilion
Megadeth
w/ Mudvayne, All That Remains
Toyota Pavilion at Concord
Concord, CA
August 11th, 2024
Review and Photos by Jared Stossel
Yesterday evening, on yet another hot Saturday night in the Bay Area summer, thrash metal titans Megadeth returned to the stage at Concord’s Toyota Pavilion on their “Destroy All Enemies” tour. The band was joined by theatrical nu-metal act Mudvayne - who brought a headlining performance to the same venue almost one year prior - and metalcore’s own All That Remains, making this show one of the year's biggest and best metal lineups.
Massachusetts’ All That Remains kicked off the show with an energetic metalcore set that featured a selection of hits from throughout their lengthy career, ranging from fan favorites like “Six” (The Fall Of Ideals) to new catalog entries like “Divine” and “Let You Go”. The band finished their opening set as the amphitheater continued to fill up for Mudvayne, who brought forth a crushing set as the sun began to set.
I was unable to see Mudvayne at this very same venue last year, so it felt great to make it out for this performance. The four-piece Illinois act has always had a unique brand of metalcore, performing aggressive live shows whilst adorned in stage makeup. Bassist Ryan Martinie - whose hair is spiked in two places to resemble devil horns - prances around the stage slapping a five-string bass, while guitarist Greg Tribbett chugs away at the guitar while looking like a steampunk nightmare with a red-painted face, goggles, and gelled hair piece jutting out in all directions. Drummer Matthew McDonough hides behind the drum kit driving the rhythm of the mosh pit in front of the stage, and vocalist Chad Gray screams like a madman and commands the show, face painted black, white, and red in congealed clown makeup, with a bullet hole smack dab in the middle. It’s impossible to look away.
Megadeth has been going strong since the 80s, delivering a handful of classic albums and outstanding performances, and last night’s Concord show was no exception. I’ve been covering them for the better part of a decade now, and last night may have been the best I’ve ever seen them. It was certainly the rowdiest Megadeth performance I’ve attended, as I watched a constant barrage of crowd surfers piling over the barricade, security working their ass off to grab people as the band careened through song after song. Vocalist/guitarist/founder Dave Mustaine delivered signature Megadeth hits with his signature gravely snarl, awakening the beast inside all attendees, particularly those on the general admission floor.
There wasn’t a bad song in the bunch throughout the band’s seventeen-track setlist, which was kicked off by “The Sick, The Dying…and the Dead!” from the band’s newest album of the same name. Mustaine and Co. led the crowd through fan favorites from Countdown To Extinction (“Countdown To Extinction”, “Skin’ O My Teeth”, “Sweating Bullets”, “Symphony of Destruction”), Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying? (“Peace Sells”, “The Conjuring”), and Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! (“Mechanix”). And whenever a song from Rust In Peace became even barely audible? Forget it. The crowd lost it.
I don’t know. Something about this Megadeth show felt particularly special above any other that I’ve seen in recent years. The band was truly firing on all cylinders, and by the time the opening notes rang out on “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due”, I was exhausted and completely satisfied. Decades later, Megadeth is still a band worth seeing live.
Megadeth Set List
The Sick, The Dying… and the Dead!
Dread and the Fugitive Mind
Hangar 18
Liar
The Conjuring
Sweating Bullets
Angry Again
Skin o’ My Teeth
Countdown to Extinction
She-Wolf
Trust
Tornado of Souls
We’ll Be Back
Symphony of Destruction
Mechanix
Peace Sells
Encore:
Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
