I almost missed one of the coolest experiences of my life because I’m numb to band promos. You know what I mean- you’re inundated so much by news on social media— from new releases (didn’t they release this months ago?) or appearances (eh- they’re not coming to my region) or “Hey buy our new merch for 5% off this weekend” (wow, what a deal!)—that you kind of ignore them. Well, I’m here to say: pay more attention!
I already had tickets for the 30th Anniversary screening of “Casino” at the Beacon, which featured a discussion about the movie with director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro, moderated by W. Kamau Bell. When I wanted to check the details about the event on the official Tribeca Film Festival website, I happened to notice they were also going to have a screening of Billy Idol’s documentary “Billy Idol Should Be Dead.” The night would be capped off by a performance by Billy and his guitar-playing partner in crime, Steve Stevens. I immediately purchased a ticket. After receiving my confirmation that I was in, I noticed one of those “You might also enjoy…” bits at the bottom of the screen and saw “Metallica Saved My Life” would be premiering the following day after Idol’s movie at the same theater. I clicked on it.
Now, the movie has been shown in all the cities the band is playing on their current M72 leg. But considering the trailer gave me the idea that there would be a lot of heavy emotional stories told, I opted out for fear of having feelings in public. But, I noticed that at this festival screening, “members of Metallica” would be there to have a panel discussion afterwards. I bought a ticket. I couldn’t believe I was so lucky. I thought “Did the band even mention this would be happening?” Yes, they did. But I blew past it apparently, because it blended in with the numerous other things the Metallica account posts that don’t apply to me. So thank goodness for my “Casino” questions!
I arrived about an hour and a half before the event. I couldn’t believe the line wasn’t longer that close to door time. The staff told me that I was among the first 70 people to be in line for a theater that holds about 1,000 people. I was excited at the prospect of having a good choice of seating.
While waiting for doors to open, I heard a bunch of commotion at the entrance to the theater, but couldn’t see anything from my vantage point. It turned out the band had arrived. I had assumed Lars would be the guest of honor, since in his post, he used the wording “Some of us will be on hand”, which suggested that the entire band may not be there. But then the girl in front of me in line said “I just heard James is here.” I froze. Her male companion froze. He said quietly “If James is here, my mind is going to f**king explode.” I said “Same. SAME.” He said “Why am I nervous that he’s here?” I said “I don’t know, but now I am too!” I know why. James hasn’t really been available to fans this directly in awhile. Other than a couple of random book signings last year, he hasn’t been participating in meet and greets and there’s rumors he doesn’t like to take photos with fans he meets on the street. So for him to make the time for this, it almost cements the fact that tonight is a big deal.
When we were finally let in, I already knew that along the wall to the left, there was a red carpet press line. So I went to check things out and caught a glimpse of James for myself. I had just won a Snake Pit pass a few weeks ago for Philadelphia (photos here) and that was mind-blowing as it was to be that close to Metallica. Because of how the pricing is these days, I’m too far from the stage, or even in the nosebleeds for their concerts, to see them up close. Now experiencing it for the second time in two weeks, I was definitely in fangirl “OMG THERE THEY ARE” mode. But, I also had to get myself a seat.
I was able to secure the best spot I could once inside—I chose an aisle seat in the first non-reserved row in the center of the upper bowl. After waiting awhile for the rest of the audience to take their seats, including the whole band, it was time for the movie.
