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Anthrax at starland ballroom in sayreville, nj 06.03.2005

By Becky

    I got laid on Friday night at the Starland Ballroom.  Yes, folks, I was a virgin to Anthrax.  Not their music or their name. I mean, come on, how can you not know who the band Anthrax is?  They survived the music industry for 20 years.  Everyone has heard or knows just who Anthrax is. 

    Starland Ballroom is like my second home. I love this place. The staff is great and I feel truly safe, secure and comfortable at this venue. Everyone was telling me that I truly needed to feel that way on this night or I was not going to be having a good time.  They also told me to watch out for the mosh pits.  So with all this being said and hearing and reading about the infamous Anthrax audience, we'll just say, I had my escape route planned way in advance. In the photo pit, take your pix, do your thing and move right because you are escaping to the bar area. That's all I kept telling myself. You'll be fine, it's a short distance and mosh pits usually don't happen there. Then of course, there was the factor of the security guys always taking such great care of me.

    The four play all started at sound check. I got to see each and every personality of the guys. You had crazy Frank Bello getting the fans going for the taping of their DVD; Scott Ian being the perfectionist and complaining about a ringing as soon as they start playing that just annoys him and he needs to stop and have it taken care of; Joey Belladonna singing his heart out along with smiling and laughing because Scott would stop playing because of some problem he was having; Dan Spitz just chilling with his sunglasses playing his guitar; and Charlie Benante banging those drums as loud as he can and I tell you, you felt the hair on your body elevate. They were all having such a great time.  You can see the chemistry that was once there and is still there.  I knew this was going to be more than just an incredible show and the anticipation of it was definitely heating up.

    Lights dimmed and "VH1's Behind The Music: Anthrax" played on the big screen center stage and the sold out crowd roared.  The audience was of various age groups from young to old. Around 10:40 p.m. Anthrax took the stage and from that moment on it was pure metal at its best.  They opened with "Among The Living" which had the crowd surfing started.  Anthrax definitely knows how to get a crowd going. The mosh pits were immediately in order and to say it was loud is an understatement. This had to be one of the loudest and wildest concerts I've been to. An experience that will last a life time. "Got The Time", "Caught In A Mosh", "AIR", "Madhouse", "Antisocial", "Lone Justice", "NFL", "Deathrider", "Medusa", "In My World", "Indians", "Time", "Metal Thrashing Mad", "I'm The Man", "Be All", and "I'm The Law" was the set list. Every song was a favorite. The one thing that I truly appreciated seeing was the "fiftyish" looking guy crowd surfing. That was just classic!  The guys seemed to be having such a good time on stage together. Scott always with a smile, Joey smiling and slapping hands with every fan that got near him, Frank completely rocking out with the facial expressions, Charlie going absolutely nuts on the kit, and Dan playing his little heart out and looking rather buff, I may add.

    You may say I definitely got my cherry popped by Anthrax tonight, but once you pop, you just can't stop.  This is one band that you definitely want to catch on the road, whether you are a fan or not a fan, they are talented, incredible, amazing, brilliant musicians that definitely know the true meaning of a METAL show!

*Click Here for Photos of tonight's show

*Click Here for Joey Belladonna Interview

*Click Here for the official Anthrax Site