Paul Hanson – Page 3 – The Daily Vault

20 Sep

Metallica Hits The Mark

Paul HansonFeature

Hundreds of five and six-year olds clutch stiff clean Barbie, Justice League, Spider-Man, and Princess backpacks with sharpened pencils, glue sticks, and tissues this week. Kindergartners across the country are excited, boisterous when walking to their new classroom. Their teachers calm the fear in parents' eyes, assuring them "everything will be fine." The class of 2017 is ready.Metallica was ready Sunday night, August 22, 2004, at the Mark in Moline, IL. As the band took the stage with "Blackened," it was obvious on stage is where Metallica belongs. James Hetfield looked refreshed and smiled. Kirk Hammett concentrated on his intricate…

12 May

A Report From Memphis In May

Paul HansonFeature

I couldn't do it. Walking around with a small notebook and taking notes while bands entertained thousands of people throughout the weekend, playing their songs with energetic style, just didn't seem like the right thing to do. Instead, I spent my five days in Memphis drawn to the accommodating people that I met and talked to, both inside and outside of the festival. Everywhere we went, very quick service, always with a smile, or an obnoxious waitress, like the one that served us our delicious cheeseburgers at the Hard Rock Café for our Saturday lunch downtown. While the weather often…

17 Oct

Masters of Thrash Still Reign

Paul HansonFeature

The Jagermeister music festival rolled through Davenport, Iowa, on Friday, October 10, 2003. Advertised as 25 bands on three stages, the event at Banana Joe's lived up to its name. Luckily, the night was a beautiful one. The moon was full, a gentle breeze flowed through the main stage area, and the beer and Jagermeister flowed. There were three stages -- two inside, one outside -- so if one band sucked, you could go find another. This turned out to be important, as there were some truly awful bands that played -- and one band that ruled supreme.On the main…

03 Jun

The Return of Metallica: Looking Forward, Looking Back

Paul HansonEssaymetallica

I can remember:. . .hating Metallica because they were too fast.. . .driving west on I-80 from North Liberty, Iowa, towards Vermillion, SD, a few years ago, rocking to "For Whom the Bells Toll" on one radio station and to "Master of Puppets" on another station a few more miles down the road.. . . trying to play "Phantom Lord" on drums with a guitarist in 1989. Over the years, we worked on "Seek and Destroy," "Am I Evil," "No Remorse," and "Harvester of Sorrow." He played bass when my band played "Enter Sandman.". . . bassist Jason Newsted telling…

21 Jan

Death Of The Deth

Paul HansonEssaymegadeth

It was the summer of 1990. I was a soon-to-be junior in college and working in a restaurant, bussing tables, doing dishes, waiting on tables, cashiering - - I did anything but cook. A co-worker, a punk reject who quit school between 8th and 9th grade, came in to work with a casette version of Rust In Peace. "Listen to this."Remember, this is 1990. Thrash metal was on the verge of going mainstream. Slayer's South of Heaven was out and The Clash of the Titans tour was in full-swing: an unknown band called Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Megadeth and…

20 Jan

Rush In No Hurry This Time Around

Paul HansonFeature

It might have been tempting for Rush to short-change their fans on this tour. After all, a band of their status could figure that most in the audience have seen the band before so, hey, they've had their night, let's not play all the songs people want to hear - - that way they'll come back. Rush resisted that temptation Friday, November 1, 2002, when it landed its current Vapor Trails tour at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Rush fans gathered for what could be called a business meeting. The agenda? Three hours of progressive rock and roll with…