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I was one of the select few would had the chance to attend the private unplugged show by Megadeth on May 16, 2001 at the Liquor Store in Quebec City. The 500 tickets were part of a draw by radio station CHOI-FM and also the first 50 people to buy the new album at HMV Place Laurier. I got my ticked by showing up at 7:00am on the first day of sale of the album. The HMV store was opening only at 9:30am! This gave me the occasion to discuss with some very cool Megadeth fans, including a young couple who had hitchhiked from Chicoutimi (about 2hr30min from Quebec City - ed) to get their tickets! They had been waiting since 4:00am and were the first there!

The Liquor Store opened at 7pm. After one hour of boring and insignificant music (including I Disappear, excluding Enter Sandman) :), we were treated to a listening session of the new album in its entirety. The sound in the bar was not really good enough to hear all the subtleties of the album, but that's understandable, the DJ seemed to be used to play alternative/mallcore sound with no melody and guitars and bass three tones lower than the standard tuning.

Around 9pm, we could feel the anticipation as Denis Gravel from CHOI-FM announced Megadeth's arrival. Wow! It was very special, even unique to see one of my favorite bands from so close! Sitting on bar stools, acoustic guitars in hand, the band played songs such as Moto Psycho, Symphony Of Destruction, Trust, Almost Honest, Sweating Bullets, Punishment Due, Paranoid, Anarchy In The U.K., À Tout Le Monde etc. It was great to hear people sing along, especially the chorus in À Tout Le Monde! The sound was great, especially the drums! A minor complaint though, sometimes the band would only play part of a song... The show also allowed me to witness the great talent of new guitarist Al Pitrelli and also new drummer Jimmy DeGrasso. I was very eager to see Al play his excellent solo in Dread And The Fugitive Mind and I was not disappointed! Very comfortable with his guitar, I really think he is the ideal successor to Marty Friedman. He also played Marty's solos very well. The drummer seemed to be very comfortable and it was weird to see him with his minimal drum set for the occasion! Dave Mustaine did not talk much with the crowd, but that's pretty much how he is. :) Between two songs, he got up to go shake the hand of a girl in a wheelchair, which was very nice of him, and the crowd, especially the girl, really appreciated the gesture. Dave also warmly thanked CHOI-FM, to their great pleasure. Denis Gravel of CHOI even said at the microphone that this was the best crowd he had seen ever since he has worked at the station. The unplugged show lasted about 50 minutes.

The evening ended with an autograph session with the four band members who were very friendly. Overall, an evening I'm not about to forget, almost perfect. Thanks a thousand times to Megadeth! :)

Set List :

Dread And The Fugitive Mind
Trust
Time
Use The Man
Punishment Due
Almost Honest
Promises
She Wolf
Sweating Bullets
Moto Psycho
Symphony Of Destruction

Encore :

Anarchy In The U.K. / Paranoid
À Tout Le Monde