Justin Nuoffer 
CONCERT REVIEW + PHOTOS:
Pantera
First Avenue – 8/15/24 – Minneapolis, MN
©Justin Nuoffer/Nuoffermedia.com
A quickly announced pop-up date while amid the Metallica M72 city takeover tour was not on the bingo card for 2024, but here we are. Pantera returned to the house that Prince made famous, First Avenue. This date was posted Monday evening and quickly sold out Tuesday morning after 2 minutes of being on sale. Sold as CFH or Cowboys From Hell, the tickets were under $40 each with a max of 6 per person. The kicker was each ticket was non-transferable. In every possible sense, this performance was meant for the dedicated fans.
The famed First Avenue is the same location Prince performed at while filming for Purple Rain. Outside the building, the most historic performers and local legends that have graced its stage have been immortalized with their names on stars painted on the building. Pantera’s show poster, which was available inside for purchase, was of the CFH logo in a star on a mock-up of the famed walls. This was a monumental occasion. Pantera is an arena act that is performing in a club room for the first time since the Abbott brothers were both alive. It was an incredible notion and one the brothers surely would have loved themselves. Clubs are where bands become arena acts. They earned their stripes in 1,500-person rooms.
The entry lines to the venue were on both sides and stretched down the street. The first people came and jumped into the line starting around 1 pm. Most came after visiting the Metallica pop-up shop located 2 blocks to the West. The area was swarming with metal heads enjoying the beautiful weather and downtown Minneapolis. Warm air and beautiful blue skies helped ease the wait to get through those front doors. Upon entry, you go to the right or the left and into the black and purple space. The merchandise and a small bar were off to the right and sold only 1 t-shirt and the show poster. Both went extremely fast. Across the room was an open area to stand, and in the middle was a lowered floor for GA. First Avenue is a tight space with plenty of spots to get a good view of the stage, with plenty of nooks and crannies to sit in.
The show itself provided an intense sense of their raw might as a unit. To get the faithful hyped up, a massive projection screen covered the entire front edge of the stage. A cartoon silhouette of the Abbott Brothers was front and center. This led to home videos from years past running for a few minutes. A set of guitar squeals rang out as the projection screen rose above the stage.
Just like that Pantera launched themselves into “A New Level”. The insanity went from zero to a million in a matter of seconds. The air filled with heat and energy. Phil Anselmo‘s vocals were filthy. He pushed and pushed with the intensity at a fevered pitch. The bodies flew over the security rails. Often he shared glances and smiles with Rex Brown who laid down a ground-shaking bass line on his signature Gibson Thunderbird. The pair are the only members remaining from the last rendition of Pantera.
As the band pushes through the setlist, “Strength Beyond Strength” gave Zakk Wylde on guitar his first chance to rip into that signature sound that Dimebag Darrell Abbott created for Pantera. The solo and epic breakdown gave an instant stink face to anyone within hearing range. “Becoming” was next up, but in between Anselmo polled the crowd about who are old heads and who are young. It was beyond any doubt they’ve reached a point in their legacy that they’ve transcended through generations. The screaming wah rang around the room during “Becoming” and it was unmistakable that we were seeing Pantera back at their peak, and we hadn’t even hit the show’s midpoint or the songs with their most famous riffs.
Making a rare appearance onto the night’s setlist was “Suicide Note Pt.2.” Anselmo stated it was a “deep cut” and his vocals were unleashed. A fury of screams that tore through boom Benante drum kicks showed just how astonishingly heavy and primed Pantera are even to this day. The next two songs were classic fan favorites off of the Vulgar Display of Power album. “This Love” was nothing more than a sing-a-long until the breakdown shook the walls and floor. The unadulterated brutality of “Fucking Hostile” freed from the stage punched you square in the face and chest. The audience was either captivated or held hostage by the authenticity of the performance. No tricks or flashy nonsense. Just a straight-up performance.
Perhaps the most fantastic part of the evening was during “Walk” when Robert Trujillo and Kirk Hammett of Metallica came out onto the stage, greeted the Pantera guys, and then proceeded to sing the chorus with nothing but delight. Riding on that high they went into a medley consisting of “Domination” and “Hollow” two tracks from completely different albums, but were mixed seamlessly. Rex’s deep bass chugs had heads banging hard. Testosterone jacked up instantly. “Cowboys From Hell” posed as the final song before the encore. The guitar tone, drum timing, bass lines rattling, and raspy vocals had the crowd in constant motion. The voices of the dedicated fan base overtook the venue. The timeless tune allowed one to pour out all of the leftover energy into the atmosphere.
Charlie threw out drum heads and sticks. Rex tossed out handfuls of guitar picks. Zakk and Phil clapped. They celebrated with the fans. No one left. The walls shook and the crowd continued to roar. None of them walked off the stage as chants of one more song filled the air. Phil grabbed the microphone and then pointed to Charlie and said while smirking, “You’ve got them revved up for one more. Hell, we’re going for one more. If you want to hear one more.” Naturally, there was an eruption of joy. The intro to “Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit” kicked in and it felt like a perfect metaphor for everything leading up to this performance. In a fitting way to end the evening, Zakk Wylde ripped an extended solo as the rest of the band cheered the crowd on. When the final note rang out, Phil encouraged the crowd to sing the ending of “Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zepplin with him. Then they promptly walked off stage and that was it.
The moment wasn’t lost on anyone. The look of disbelief on the faces of patrons was noticeable. They had experienced one of the greatest moments in the band’s history and that feels crazy to say considering their legacy. The absolute power of Pantera’s music was felt within every cell of your body. That feeling was the best drug one could ever take. That incredible high lasted for days. If you were in attendance consider yourself extremely lucky. It would be highly unlikely they would ever attempt this again. This was special, very special. So special it was announced that this performance would be recorded for a live album to be released at a later date.
Setlist:
1. A New Level
2. Mouth For War
3. Strength Beyond Strength
4. Becoming (With Throes of Rejection outro)
5. I’m Broken
6. Suicide Note Pt.2
7. This Love
8. Fucking Hostile
9. Walk
10. Domination/Hollow
11. Cowboys From Hell
Encore
12. Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit
Check out the concert photo gallery from the Pantera pop-up show below:
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