Metallica 11/03/08 Salt Lake City,Utah!

I cannot believe I forgot about this post!

In October of 2008, one of my coworkers at Blockbuster told me she had won two tickets to see Metallica in November at the Energy Solutions Center in Salt Lake City. I thought that was cool. She also told me that she was taking her mother to the concert since her mother is an avid fan of Metallica as well.

The first Metallica song I ever heard was on a campout back in 1993 or '94 we were at Benson National Park in South Texas and one of the guys had brought a discman and the self entitled Metallica album also known as the "Black" album. When "Enter Sandman" began I was instantly hooked to the song and had a feeling that the rest of the album was going to be amazing and it was! All the rumors and things I had been told about heavy metal music growing up was a lie. There was and still is nothing satanic about Metallica's music. I remember in 1st grade there was a rumor going around that Metallica was coming to town to kidnap all the kids in school and the school even thought about canceling classes for a day. I laugh about that incident now and even at that age I thought what would a rock band do with a bunch of kids?

In high school my music taste went from pure country and oldies which I still love, to classic rock and heavy metal. I bought every Metallica album that was released during my high school years. In the early Summer of 1998 I had just graduated from high school and the local rock station was giving away tickets to see Metallica perform in Dallas. I did not win the contest but am pretty sure I came pretty close. After my two year LDS mission in Las Vegas, I returned home and much to my parents dismay, the first music cd I wanted to listen to was my Metallica albums. My mom said, "Oh darn I was hoping you would throw away those cds when you got back." It was funny, but how could I toss away the albums of one of the greatest rock bands ever.

In late October of 2008 Alex, the coworker who won the tickets called me up randomly. At first I thought she was calling to see if i could cover one of her shifts but to my surprise, the conversation went something like this,

Alex: Hey Xavier, what's up?

Me: Not much just here at home chillin'. What's up with you?

Alex: I have a favor to ask that will benefit both of us.

Me: Ok, what is it?

Alex: So remember how I won two tickets to see Metallica in November?

Me: Yes?

Alex: Well my mother can't go because she has work the next morning, my husband does not want to go and I don't want to invite Micah (another coworker) because he is always mean to me so, would you---

Xavier: Yes, I would love to go to see Metallica!

Alex: Awesome!

The concert was on November 3rd and man what a concert. I have always been told that Metallica puts on a great show but actually seeing it was amazing! Camera's were not allowed in the venue but I found some videos from the concert from people who managed to sneak their cameras in. Needless to say, my ears were ringing for the next 2 and a half days! It was well worth it!

Then to top it all off, Activision announced that same Fall that Guitar Hero: Metallica would be hitting video game stores nationwide in March so I pre-ordered my copy and in March came the game and it was a amazing! Shortly after it's release, I left for a new Summer job in Texas. If the count down timer and my recent Facebook status post don't give it away I am excited to return to Utah. I need to find a job in when I get back, I have a couple places in mind, Best Buy, PetSmart and Gunnies are all places I plan on applying at.

Here are a couple of videos from the Metallica concert in Salt Lake City.

Enjoy!

Creeping Death


One

Summers End

I cannot believe how fast time has flown. These past three months have flown by for the most part. The season is over, and I have spent the past week deep cleaning the house here in Austin so the realty company can lease it. There were many days when the seconds, minutes and hours seemed to drag on and on and on and the many days where Annoying Guy was there only made the days longer. However, each passing day was also one day closer to returning back to Utah to my family and friends there. The highlight of my Summer was last week when my brother in law, sister, nephew, and mother came to visit. The best news however, was when I found out that Clean Flix, a documentary film I have been working on the past 3 years, will be premiering at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival this September. I will be in Toronto to support the film and its directors, my best friend Andrew James and another good friend of mine Josh Ligairi and photograph the events there.

This last week in Austin I will spend with one of my other best friends who I have known since I was 5 or 6. I touch down in Salt Lake City in a week and half and I look forward to catching up with my family and friends there.