Robert Trujillo, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett rock out Saturday night at Portland's Rosegarden; a partial set list which all you diehard fans should be able to translate.
ERNEST A. JASMIN

Bizarre tour routing inspired me to go check out the new Metallica tour at Portland's Rosegarden last night, exactly one month before it drops in on KeyArena in Seattle. The band's new album "Death Magnetic," has been billed as a return to the veteran outfit's '80s thrash roots, and it was well-represented last night alongside classics like "One," "Master of Puppets," "Fight Fire With Fire" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Not so well represented? The hit or miss junk the band put out between the self-titled black album and the new disc. "St. Anger?" What's that? Front man James Hetfield even seemed to acknowledge fan's dissatisfaction with some of that stuff after his band launched into a quickly aborted but probably planned track from the mid '90s. (Forget which one.) "We did that on the 'Load' tour," Hetfield said. "Let's do something new."

The concert is in the round again ensuring great sight lines for just about everybody. Lots of stock arena rock spectacle was involved, including a big laser light show and towering blasts of tinted flames that nearly singed my eyebrows off up in row L. What, you were expecting something artsier? I may have a few more thoughts once I get back to Grit City.