So it all started with my mate from school Daniel sending me a text which read "If I can get tickets to a members only Metallica concert in Berlin, do you want to go?" I didn’t even finish reading the message before I replied.
All went well and we got tickets, flights and accommodation. Before we knew it the day had come, it was Thursday the 11th of September and we were on the plane. After the safety announcement the stewardess announced that the drinks trolley was fully stocked so we ordered 4 Jack Daniels to lube the vocal cords. Within minutes we were asking for more to which we were told there is only 1 left on the plane, do you want it. Oh yeah, we got it.
We landed and headed straight to the Hostel to drop the bags off and then headed to Hard Rock cafe where they were holding the Death Magnetic album launch. We walked in and were greeted by the album being played in its entirety over the cd system. It was unreal, we met some pretty awesome people and a dude whose real name is Gundeath, no that is not a typo, it is his real name. So the night came to a closure several hours and many Jacks later, we jumped into a cab with a few Scandinavian blokes and had one of the funniest rides home.
We showed the cabby the name of our hostel and we ended up at a disco, the bloke was so proud to take us to this disco and was convinced that this was the address we had shown him. So after a few more one liners from Daniel, we ended up back at our hostel where I ordered 2 German beers to relax us before bed.
Neither Daniel or I had ever stayed in a hostel before so we didn’t know what to expect, but I don’t think anything could had prepared us for the Irish bloke sleeping underneath Daniel that sounded like a herd of elephants on heat or dying we couldn’t work it out.
So we woke the next day with our heads feeling as heavy and our guts feeling empty and started with a tour of Berlin, taking photos until our guts started eating itself. We ended up at Maccas for the cure which gave us enough steam to continue.
After an hour later I was buggered and Daniel was suggesting we saw the Sony Centre which is meant to be this awesome architecturally designed building, we agreed to go and then head back to the hostel for a kip.
As we dragged our sorry asses towards the Sony Centre we stumbled upon the Ritz Hotel where people were waiting along the red carpet entry. We looked at each other and discussed the possibility of this being… no it couldn’t be, but we joined the group alongside the carpet and waited.
Minutes later the bell boy comes out with his trolley towards the cars with a guitar and a practice amp on it. This just made us feel a little bit more excited and within 10 minutes the four members that make up Metallica walked out. I screamed like a little girl and I think I even peed a little.
One by one they walked out, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and last but not least James Hetfield. I was stoked, told Lars that he was the reason I took up drums and then got a photo with him. Yes, I had my arm around Lars while screaming at Daniel "Take a photo, dude photo, Oi you fuck take a fucking photo!" He was in a world of his own.
So they jumped in their Audi 4wd’s and were driven off. At this stage we forgot why we had even ventured to this part of town, remembered the Sony Centre, walked through in about 3 minutes and spent the whole time thinking and talking about what just happened.
Back to the Hostel for a kip.
We awoke from our slumber and got down to the brand new O2 Arena for the concert, we met up with the Irish bloke that kept us up all night and the UK Torn fan club. Many beers were drunk and a Bratwurst was consumed, the doors opened and we entered the arena. We were in the standing area around the stage with a plan… Once the Ecstasy of Gold started we pushed and shoved our way to the barrier. I was right on the barrier and had these metal legends doing their thing right in front of me. I can’t describe the feeling I felt. Here I am watching my favorite band play their brand new songs and some classics within meters. The sound was unreal, the show was fantastic and I couldn’t think. All I did was scream along and bounce the head, also known as head banging.
So the concert drew to an end and I had already caught a beach ball that fell from the roof with Metallica printed on it and then they started throwing the picks. A pick was thrown, I jumped, it hit my hand and fell to the floor on the other side of the barrier. This pick was going to be mine, so I threw myself over the barrier and had about 5 blokes holding my feet so I didn’t tumble onto the floor. The pick was within inches, but I just couldn’t reach it. I started using my Jedi mind tricks, this failed. Lucky for me the security guard saw me, grabbed the pick and gave it to me before he and the 5 other blokes pulled me back.
We were so amped, everyone we spoke to said that this was the best concert ever and I agreed, this was the best concert I had ever been too. So Daniel, the Irishman and I jumped on the train and headed to the hostel. In content with the night ending we headed to the Mexican restaurant 2 doors down, had a feed, reminisced and drank all the booze we could. 3 euro cocktails was how we started and beer with tequila in it was how we finished. We got back to the hotel where I had another 1.5L of beer and decided to get an hour of sleep before we had to get wake up. Big mistake, I don’t remember what time it was… wait I don’t remember much of that mornings trip to London. But I do remember the border patrol at the airport in London look at me for several minutes before saying to me and I quote, "You look stoned," to which I replied, "Nah mate, just had a massive weekend in Berlin with lots of booze." He laughed and waved me on.
So to sum it all up, the best rock weekend I have ever had in my life… and we met Metallica.
Sia's Place 