What do people who wear Dio shirts, the freakishly short, a guy on crutches, and men with prettier hair than I have in common? An unwavering devotion to Megadeth, that’s what, and I joined them at Friday’s show at the Murat Egyption Room. Now, let me admit that I am no Megadeth super-fan, but I do know that if given the chance to see them and Dave “Kicked-Outta-Metallica” Mustaine, you better damn well take it.

We arrived too late to see the opening bands, and instead watched as the stage was cleared to reveal a giant Megadeth banner, a wall of speaker cabinets, and a nearly-Neil Peart-worthy rack of drums. Megadeth came out in long-haired glory and exploded into song. The music was loud and fast. Transition after seamless transition, I was optimistic that they would soon play something that I recognized. Unfortunately the bad room acoustics coupled with my overestimated knowledge of Megadeth material left me hanging, wondering whether I should wait it out or bolt as our friends had done only 30 minutes into the show. We were literally turning on our heels to leave when the first grinding chords of “Symphony of Destruction” began. We spun around to see fists-a-pumping and flashing the Beast, including the 5-year-old kid on his dad’s shoulders. The vocals were finally audible, maybe because this song I knew, and I was glad we had waited.

Ultimately the show was what I expected – Megadeth rock it pretty hard, Dave Mustaine has a beautiful head of hair, and the fans still eat it up. I just wish I had known more than one song.