The long-running and well-known metal band Slayer just visited the city back in October during the 2014 Voodoo Music and Arts Experience when they closed out Halloween night on the main stage with a gigantic led screen behind them flashing their infamous logo and other scary imagery. Being a fan, I was more excited to see them in this intimate setting where only the most loyal of fans would be rather than a gathering of incoherent teens pretending they like the music. Also, this was simply an evening with Slayer, one-on-one, no opening bands, no distractions. However, there was an unexpected opening act that the entire theater enjoyed.
While awaiting the lights to dim and the music to start, young enthusiastic young woman was having a little too much fun. This fun was obviously chemically induced. For an hour or so, she tried to make friends by rubbing on strangers, would get mad at them and push them away, then she would frantically spasm for minutes at a time, running wildly and shaking violently; things that usually occur only after the show begins. She attracted the attention of the entire theater who wondered how she hadn't been kicked out yet, when finally she started swinging at someone filming her antics. The staff held her while she kicked and tried to bite them until she was snuck up upon from behind and forcibly carried out. The crowd cheered in unison, "F--k that bitch!," and the guard who did the deed was cheered. Now, time for the real show.
Slayer was in excellent form as they played a long set that took nearly two hours to complete; they performed 21 songs including the opener "World Painted Blood," and classics like "Mandatory Suicide," "At Dawn They Sleep," and "Raining Blood." The throng was thrilled by each new note of Kerry King's guitar and each raspy growl Tom Araya belted out. A huge inverted cross hung above their heads and the fog was so thick that the whole Civic Theatre filled to a spook house degree, adding to the dark ambience. Along for the show were some sailors in for Fleet Week still in their crisp white uniforms that would soon be stained with sweat and beer. Slayer ended their set on a strong note with "Angel of Death," the rollicking, screaming song that is probably their most beloved.