Gigantour
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Gigantour is the name of an annual six-week traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America, and the 2006 line-up will also travel to Australia. The bands appearing at the festival were chosen by Mustaine because he wanted to "put together a festival that consisted of positive bands that play heavy music in a high energy environment." The tour is set as an alternative to tours such as Ozzfest.
Among the stated goals of the tour are to cater to fans of many different styles of metal, as well as to introduce fans to less familiar acts. This is accomplished through the second stage, which hosts less-well-known metal bands.
The name Gigantour was inspired by the classic 1960s Anime "Gigantor". The Gigantour logo was inspired by The Terminator logo. The logo was conceived and designed by Dave Mustaine and Megadeth.com webmaster Dave McRobb.
[edit] The Festival
Since the formation of Megadeth in 1983, they have toured with some of the biggest names in music — from Iron Maiden to Anthrax — and are in fact one of the biggest names themselves. However, they have also performed with several highly respected bands that are not quite as popular. Each of the bands that were picked for Gigantour was chosen because Dave Mustaine believed it was among the best of the bands that he had played with or heard in his career with Megadeth, regardless of how many albums it had sold. Such bands as Dream Theater, Nevermore and Overkill are all highly respected by members of many other big-name bands and have strong followings in the metal world, but they are not nearly as successful as big-name metal bands. Gigantour is an event that brings bands together for no other reason than the fact that they put on a great show.
Furthermore, the tour was devised as a way to cater to fans of many different styles of metal in the one package. There is much cross-over appeal in each of the bands on the bill, but they normally would not appear on a bill together unless it was another mainstream festival. Gigantour is a chance for fans of all styles of metal to see the best of many different styles in one place, with the music solely focused on great heavy metal, and not on current trends and fashions.
[edit] The First Gigantour (2005)
[edit] Line-Up and Tour Dates
Main Stage: Megadeth, Dream Theater (Jul 21 - Sep 3), Anthrax (Sep 6 - Sep 11), Fear Factory, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nevermore
Second Stage: Life Of Agony, Symphony X, Dry Kill Logic, Bobaflex
July
21 Fresno, CA - Selland Arena
22 Las Vegas, NV - Thomas and Mack Center
23 Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Amphitheater
24 Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
26 Sacramento, CA - The Cove
28 San Diego, CA - Oat
29 Tucson, AZ - Casino Anselmo
30 Albuquerque, NM - Journal Amphitheater
August
01 San Antonio, TX - Lonestar Pavilion
02 Dallas, TX - Nokia Live
03 Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Amphitheater
05 Atlanta, GA - Gwinett
06 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
07 West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheater
08 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
10 Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Music Center
11 Ft. Wayne, IN - Coliseum Expo
12 Chicago, IL - Tweeter Center
13 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom Complex
14 Cleveland, OH - Tower City Amphitheater
16 Cincinnati, OH - Annie's
17 Pittsburgh, PA - Chevrolet Amphitheater
19 Portland, ME - Civic Center
20 Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
21 Poughkeepsie, NY - Mid-Hudson Civic Center
23 Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach Amphitheater
24 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
26 Boston, MA - Bank Of America Pavilion
27 Reading, PA - Sovereign Center
28 Atlantic City, NJ - House Of Blues
30 Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater
31 Huntington, WV - Big Sandy Superstore Arena
September
02 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
03 Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheater
06 Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Center
07 Calgary, AB - Stampede Corral
09 Vancouver, BC - PNE Coliseum
10 Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheater
11 Portland, OR - Clark County Amphitheater
[edit] Notes and Highlights
[edit] "Cemetery Gates" Tribute to Dimebag Darrell
August 2, 2005 - Dallas, TX
Special Tribute to Dimebag Darrell by Dream Theater, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, and Russell Allen of Symphony X performing "Cemetery Gates". This performance is included on the bonus disc of the DVD.
[edit] Mike Portnoy joined by Richard Christy on stage
August 23 and 24, 2005
During Dream Theater's set, Mike Portnoy brought Richard Christy of Iced Earth on stage for a long drum solo. The two got on the huge drum kit and exchanged parts of famous heavy metal favorites such as "Hot For Teacher" (Van Halen), "YYZ" (Rush), "Run To The Hills" and "Where Eagles Dare" (Iron Maiden), "Raining Blood" (Slayer) and many others — some of which featured accompaniment from John Petrucci on guitar.
[edit] The Dillinger Escape Plan were forced to cancel the tour
August 30, 2005
The Dillinger Escape Plan were forced to pull out of their remaining Gigantour live dates because of an injury to guitarist Ben Weinman. Weinman severely re-injured his arm at the House Of Blues in Atlantic City and was told by a specialist that he would be unable to perform until further notice. His arm had previously injured several months before.
[edit] Mike Portnoy jams with Megadeth
September 3, 2005 - Toronto
Dream Theater played their last Gigantour date in Toronto. As a surprise, Mike Portnoy joined Dave Mustaine, James MacDonough, Shawn Drover, and Glen Drover performing "Peace Sells". Portnoy played the drums while Shawn Drover picked up a guitar and was the third guitar player on the stage. Drover did one of the solos and surprised everyone in the crowd. Unfortunately, his guitar was unplugged for a fair bit of the song. According to Megadeth bassist James Macdonough, Portnoy pulled a prank on Drover by dumping baby powder on the snare drum when he was getting off the drum kit. As soon as Megadeth ripped into "Holy Wars", Shawn's snare drum turned into a "smoke" machine. Portnoy admitted to the prank on the DVD. This is one example of many pranks done towards the end of Gigantour shows.
[edit] "Peace Sells" featuring Gigantour bands and tour managers
September 10, 2005 - Seattle, WA
Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, and Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, along with Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, members from Bobaflex, tour managers from Fear Factory and Anthrax, and others, joined Megadeth on stage to sing "Peace Sells".
[edit] "Back In The Day" and happy birthday wish to Mustaine
September 11, 2005 - Portland, OR
The Portland show (which was actually played in Vancouver, Washington) marked the end of Gigantour's inaugural year. As a special farewell, members from all the bands and crew of Gigantour sang together the Megadeth song "Back In The Day." The show was wrapped up with a surprise happy birthday song to Dave Mustaine, whose birthday is September 13.
[edit] CD & DVD
The maiden voyage of Gigantour was documented starting at the pre-production stage. The Montreal concert on September 2 and the Vancouver concert on September 9 (exclusively to include Anthrax, since they joined later) were filmed and recorded for the Gigantour DVD and CD, both of which were released by Image Entertainment. The Gigantour CD was released on August 22, 2006 and the Gigantour DVD was released on September 5, 2006.
Disc One (50:10)
- Dream Theater - "Panic Attack" (7:07)
- Dream Theater - "The Glass Prison" (13:10)
- Anthrax - "Caught in a Mosh" (5:02) *
- Anthrax - "I Am The Law" (6:44) *
- Life Of Agony - "The Day He Died" (3:17)
- Life Of Agony - "Love to Let You Down" (3:33)
- Dry Kill Logic - "Lost" (2:31)
- Dry Kill Logic - "Paper Tiger" (3:48)
- Bobaflex - "Better Than Me" (2:29)
- Bobaflex - "Medicine" (2:29) *
Disc Two (42:32)
- Megadeth - "She Wolf" (3:35)
- Megadeth - "A Tout Le Monde" (4:31)
- Megadeth - "Kick The Chair" (4:08)
- Fear Factory - "Transgression" (4:55)
- Fear Factory - "Archetype" (4:40)
- Nevermore - "Born" (4:59)
- Nevermore - "Enemies of Reality" (4:51)
- Symphony X - "Inferno" (5:12)
- Symphony X - "Of Sins and Shadows" (5:41)
* CD only (not included on DVD)
[edit] Gigantour 2 North America (2006)
[edit] Line-Up and Tour Dates
Main Stage: Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy
Second Stage: Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity, The SmashUp
September
06 Boise, ID - Idaho Center
08 Oakland, CA - Oakland Coliseum
09 San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
10 San Bernardino, CA - Hyundai Pavilion
12 Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues
13 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
15 Salt Lake City, UT - E Center
16 Denver, CO - Coors Amphitheater
17 Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
19 Oklahoma City, OK - Zoo Amphitheater
21 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
22 Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
23 Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
24 Detroit, MI - DTE Energy Amphitheater
25 Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheater
27 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
28 Uniondale, NY - Nassau Coliseum
29 Boston, MA - Bank Of America Pavilion
30 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
October
01 Atlantic City, NJ - House Of Blues
03 Portsmouth, VA - Ntelos Pavilion Harbor Center
04 Charleston, SC - The Plex
06 Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
07 Sunrise, FL - Bank Atlantic Center
08 Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
[edit] Notes and Highlights
[edit] Mike Portnoy jams with Overkill
September 30, 2006 - Holmdel, NJ
Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater joined Overkill on stage for their song "E.Limination".
[edit] Gigantour 2 Australia (2006)
[edit] Line-Up and Tour Dates
Megadeth, Soulfly, Arch Enemy, Caliban
October
21 Brisbane - Riverstage
22 Sydney - Hordern Pavilion
24 Melbourne - Festival Hall
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Gigantour Official Website
- Gigantour 2006 MySpace
- Megadeth Official Website
- Interview with Dave Mustaine, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-10-13es:Gigantour
