Just hours before their headlining gig at Hammerstein Ballroom on Wednesday, a few dozen lucky New York fans got up close and personal with the members of Megadeth for a three song acoustic performance at VEVO headquarters in the heart of Times Square.
Mega-mastermind Dave Mustaine and his bandmates put a fresh twist on their thrash metal sound, strumming their way through mellowed-out versions of Symphony of Destruction, new song Kingmaker, and fan favorite She Wolf. (Watch slideshow to the left and watch video clips by clicking here.)
The audience, comprised of Twitter contest winners, VEVO employees, and a handful of media including this Examiner, were privileged to stand just a few feet away from the legendary musicians, who smiled as they jammed their way through the intimate performance. Dave, David, Chris and Shawn all handled their acoustic instruments like the virtuosos they are and seemed to enjoy the challenge of adjusting the mood and tone of their music.
As a longtime fan, it was fascinating to hear specific notes and chords ring out cleaner and brighter in the acoustic versions of Symphony of Destruction and She Wolf, especially during the solos. While the performance seemed to go by in a blink, VEVO recorded the entire event for online release, and fans can expect to see all three songs online for viewing within weeks.
VEVO, which also offers On Demand services through many cable providers, powers a number of music web pages including YouTube and MTV.com, and Megadeth’s private recording session hopefully set a precedent for future metal bands visiting New York City to do the same.
While the three song jam was a special treat for fans, the acoustic set was just a warm-up for the face-melting thrash that Megadeth unleashed just hours later at Hammerstein, where we got to hear all three songs in all their amplified heavy metal, headbanging, crowdsurfing glory at the 2013 Gigantour - see photos and read about it here.
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