MEGADETH Mainman Checks In From Indonesia

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the "Forums" section of the band's official web site:

"Well, as if the making of the Gigantour 2006 DVD wasn't stressful enough, this morning in Indonesia, where I am en route to at the moment, had another 6.0 earthquake.

"I can only laugh at this point, because I know we are on to something here. There is no way all of these trials and tribulations are just coincidences.

"The thing is, nothing can stop us from delivering the goods once we are in your country, and in your towns. Of course there are things that come up, but once we are there — we are THERE!

"Last night was a testament to that. We used a rented drum set, rented bass and guitar amps, rented speaker cabinets, rented in-ear monitors, and rented lights and sound.

"When you have that much unfamiliarity with your gear, and that's not including the cultural differences and language barrier — either you are going down in flames or you are going to be on-fire!

"Last night . . . we were on fire!

"From the moment we set foot on the soil of this mystical country that was once known as Siam (Siamese cats?!?!),I knew we were in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat!!!

"First off let me say, I would love to play Thailand again, and I hope that going forward we can make Bangkok a staple of our routing through the Pacific Rim.

"I found our promoter to be very gracious and a fantastic host, and I look forward to playing for them again and again.

"And now, the audience; what can I say, but WOW!

"The place was packed and although it said capacity of ____, it looked way better than that and I pray that the promoter was as stoked as I was with the turn out.

"Of course I am sure we could have packed one or two more people (skinny ones) in there, but for our first time, it was spectacular.

"Leading up to the show was excruciatingly long. I worked out Monday and Tuesday in the gym, and had a stellar massage to get the knots out. I was in perfect health and feeling flexible and very fit, and I knew this was going to be one of those magical shows. You could just feel the anticipation from the promoters excellent staff. And even though things come up often that are wrong, it is the good ones that make it right and I didn't even sound check it was so smooth.

"We started with our usual opener of 'Sleepwalker' and when the intro tape started, I knew, I knew it was going to be a night that the respectable Thai Metal Contingency would not be disappointed in.

"Of course we wined and dined, and saw some sights, but I doubt if anything would top the 'I just clogged the toilet' look I had on my face when I tried to get the punters to say, 'F*#@ YEAH' in Thailand's native tongue.

"I have no idea if they said, 'F*#@ YEAH' or 'F*#@ YOU!' but I did see a lot of beautiful smiling faces and it seemed like there were many different nationalities in attendance.

"We had our MegaFanClub winner meet with us before the show while we were flexing our metal muscles and it seemed like a blink of an eye and it was over and I was on my way back to the hotel.

"I believe that we made a lot of friends, and that we convinced a lot of haters that MEGS is for real. And now as I type this on my cell, somewhere over the ocean on the way to Indonesia, I can only hope that God will spare any more devastation for my fellow Californians and especially my friends and neighbors.

"In less two hours I will be with our promoter from the first and only time we have played in Indo. I am excited to be going back to work for the promoter, and very excited about playing for the Indonesian metalheads, but I still am floating on air from the reception we got, the faces of the fans that were there, and the fantastic treatment by our promoter in Thailand.

"We are going to have another press conference here and since we played Medan last time and are playing Jakarta this time, I am set for many more exciting and exotic sights and experiences.

"I want everyone in Thailand to know how much we love you and loved playing for you, and I want to invite you to call us on our SayNow cell phone numbers (619) 717-2000 to keep the fire burning until we can grace your lovely nation once again.

"And lastly, my respect and best wishes for a healthy and full recovery to the king of Thailand, who is currently in hospital. As they say, 'long live the king!'

"This is it for now and pray for rain would ya?"