It's ironic that despite their rebel reputation, willingness to take unpopular stands and uncompromising attitude toward making music, Metallica is a startlingly predictable live band. On its latest tour, they've made a big stink about digging into their vaults for obscure songs, and actually rotating tunes each night. On March 13 at the Thomas & Mack, though, there was only one real surprise, a cover of the Ramones' "Commando," and one relative rarity, "I Disappear," from Mission: Impossible 2. Even the new release, St. Anger, was represented only by radio singles, and the rest of the set was full of songs the band's been playing for years.
Not that the audience minded hearing "One" or "Enter Sandman" for the thousandth time. The band played with energy and precision, enlivened by newish bassist Robert Trujillo. Trujillo sidled across the stage, played off the audience, and at one point during "St. Anger," even put down his bass and shadowboxed. He added a fuzz-drenched bass intro to "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and kept pace with the rest of the band the entire night, proving a worthy addition to the group.
Almost everything else was by the book, although "I Disappear" had a nice, soft intro, and singer-guitarist James Hetfield managed to flub the words to "Fade to Black." But they took the hiccups in stride. "We're not afraid to practice up here," Hetfield joked. Metallica has developed such a camaraderie with its fans that the little blips were almost welcome, cracks in the polished veneer of the band's stage show.
The show featured the requisite explosions, and an in-the-round stage with a slowly revolving center, allowing drummer Lars Ulrich to play to all of the arena. Though the setup kept the band apart much of the time, they still interacted a lot and were clearly having a blast.
Metallica knows how to please an audience, and whatever the show lacked in spontaneity it made up for with intensity. "How about we come back to Las Vegas every three months?" Ulrich asked, referencing their New Year's Eve gig at The Joint. If the response was any indication, they'd be more than welcome.