Gigantour

{{Short description|Traveling heavy metal music festival}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox concert

|concert_tour_name = Gigantour

|image = Gigantour 1010011010.jpg

|image_size = 300

|image_caption = The Gigantour 2005 web banner, before Anthrax was announced to join the festival

|artist = Megadeth
{{nobold|(See: full listing)}}

|date = July 21 – September 11, 2005
September 6 – October 24, 2006
November 10, 2007 – May 22, 2008
January – March 2012

|number_of_legs = 7

|number_of_shows =

}}

Gigantour was a sporadically organized traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America (see also Gigantour 2005), and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also traveled to Australia. The bands appearing at the festival were chosen by Mustaine. The tour is set as an alternative to tours such as Ozzfest.{{cite news|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1503889/20050609/megadeth.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001105203/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1503889/20050609/megadeth.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 1, 2007|title=Metal File: Megadeth, Zakk Wylde, American Head Charge, Twisted Sister & More|last=Harris|first=Chris|date=June 9, 2005|work=MTV News|access-date=March 25, 2009}} The name "Gigantour" was inspired by the classic 1960s anime Gigantor, of which Mustaine is a fan.{{cite press release |title=Dave Mustaine's Gigantour |publisher=Megadeth.com |date=April 5, 2005 |url=http://www.megadeth.com/news/pr/gigantour.html |access-date=March 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402201051/http://www.megadeth.com/news/pr/gigantour.html |archive-date=April 2, 2009 |url-status=dead }} The last Gigantour took place in 2013.

The Festival

The lineup of the inaugural Gigantour was composed of bands that Dave Mustaine particularly enjoyed touring with in the past. Mustaine invited Dream Theater, Nevermore and Overkill. The subsequent editions of Gigantour also featured Mustaine's personal choices, such as Anthrax, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Fear Factory.

Festival album

A live album culled from Gigantour festival shows in Montreal (September 2, 2005) and Vancouver (September 9, 2005) was released on CD on August 22, 2006, and on DVD on September 5, 2006. The album has performances by Megadeth, Dream Theater, Anthrax, Fear Factory, Life of Agony, Nevermore, Dry Kill Logic, Symphony X and Bobaflex.

Gigantour 2: North America (2006)

=Line-up=

==Main stage==

==Second stage==

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:200px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

September 6, 2006

|Nampa, Idaho

|rowspan="14"|United States

|Idaho Center

September 8, 2006

|Oakland, California

|RingCentral Coliseum

September 9, 2006

|San Diego, California

|Cox Arena

September 10, 2006

|San Bernardino, California

|Hyundai Pavilion

September 12, 2006

|Las Vegas, Nevada

|House of Blues

September 13, 2006

|Phoenix, Arizona

|Dodge Theatre

September 15, 2006

|West Valley City, Utah

|E Center

September 16, 2006

|Greenwood Village, Colorado

|Coors Amphitheatre

September 17, 2006

|Albuquerque, New Mexico

|Journal Pavilion

September 19, 2006

|Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

|Zoo Amphitheatre

September 21, 2006

|Milwaukee, Wisconsin

|Eagles Ballroom

September 22, 2006

|Chicago, Illinois

|Congress Theater

September 23, 2006

|Columbus, Ohio

|Nationwide Arena

September 24, 2006

|Clarkston, Michigan

|DTE Energy Music Theatre

September 25, 2006

|Toronto, Ontario

|rowspan="2"|Canada

|Molson Amphitheatre

September 27, 2006

|Montreal, Quebec

|Bell Centre

September 28, 2006

|Uniondale, New York

|rowspan="9"|United States

|Nassau Coliseum

September 29, 2006

|Boston, Massachusetts

|Bank of America Pavilion

September 30, 2006

|Holmdel Township, New Jersey

|PNC Bank Arts Center

October 1, 2006

|Atlantic City, New Jersey

|House of Blues

October 3, 2006

|Portsmouth, Virginia

|NTelos Wireless Pavilion

October 4, 2006

|Charleston, South Carolina

|The Plex

October 6, 2006

|Tampa, Florida

|St. Pete Times Forum

October 7, 2006

|Sunrise, Florida

|BankAtlantic Center

October 8, 2006

|Orlando, Florida

|Hard Rock Live

=Notable events=

==Guest singers==

At the September 23 show in Columbus, Ohio, Angela Gossow joined Megadeth onstage during the second half of "Peace Sells". Earlier in the show, during Overkill's final song, two members of Lamb of God joined them onstage.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}.

At the September 25 show in Toronto, Angela Gossow, Randy Blythe, and Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth joined Megadeth on stage and sang the final part of "Peace Sells" with him.

==Lack of a second stage on some tour stops==

At the September 9 show in San Diego, September 13 show in Phoenix, Arizona, September 24 in Clarkston, Michigan, and September 29 show in Boston there was no second stage. The bands that performed were, in order of appearance, Overkill, Arch Enemy, Opeth, Lamb of God, and Megadeth.

==Mike Portnoy jams with Overkill==

===September 30, 2006 – Holmdel===

Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater joined Overkill on stage for their song "Elimination".

==Molson Amphitheater==

While playing in the September 25 show in Toronto, Canada towards the beginning of Megadeth's set, Dave Mustaine had some technical problems relating to his guitar, resulting in him throwing it across the stage and walking off. The band then finished the song without Mustaine, and then followed him offstage. After fifteen minutes of chanting from the crowd, Megadeth finally returned to the stage, and with a brief apology from Dave, continued playing through their set.

===Salt Lake City/Ecenter===

While Lamb of God was on stage performing, someone spilled beer all over the mixing desk, which did not interfere with the band's set. However, Megadeth received some technical problems during their second set. Dave Mustaine got angry and threatened to "beat the hell out of whoever did it" and asked the crowd to bring the culprit to him. Dave then walked off stage for roughly 20 minutes until the problem was fixed. This can be seen in the special features of the Gigantour 2 DVD.

Gigantour 2: Australia (2006)

=Line-up=

Megadeth, Soulfly, Arch Enemy, Caliban

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

October 21, 2006

|Brisbane

|rowspan="3"|Australia

|Riverstage

October 22, 2006

|Sydney

|Hordern Pavilion

October 24, 2006

|Melbourne

|Festival Hall

Gigantour 3: Australia (2007)

=Line-up=

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

November 10, 2007

|Perth

|rowspan="6"|Australia

|Metro City

November 12, 2007

|Adelaide

|Thebarton Theatre

November 13, 2007

|Melbourne

|Festival Hall

November 15, 2007

|rowspan="2"|Sydney

|rowspan="2"|Luna Park Big Top

November 16, 2007
November 18, 2007

|Brisbane

|Riverstage

Gigantour 3: UK (2008)

=Line-up=

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

February 17, 2008

|Norwich

|rowspan="2"|England

|UEA

November 18, 2008

|Nottingham

|Nottingham Rock City

November 19, 2008

|Glasgow

|Scotland

|Carling Academy Glasgow

November 20, 2008

|Newcastle

|rowspan="4"|England

|Carling Academy Newcastle

November 22, 2008

|Birmingham

|Carling Academy Birmingham

November 23, 2008

|Manchester

|Manchester Academy

November 24, 2008

|London

|Brixton Academy

Gigantour 3: North America (2008)

=Line-up=

Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, High on Fire.

Dave Mustaine wanted a shorter lineup so each band had a chance to put on a show.

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

April 12, 2008

|Denver

|rowspan="11"|United States

|The Fillmore

April 13, 2008

|Albuquerque

|Journal Pavilion

April 15, 2008

|Grand Prairie

|Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie

April 16, 2008

|Corpus Christi

|Concrete Street Pavilion

April 17, 2008

|Houston

|Verizon Wireless Theater

April 19, 2008

|Louisville

|Louisville Gardens

April 20, 2008

|Atlanta

|Masquerade Music Park

April 22, 2008

|rowspan="2"|New York City

|rowspan="2"|Hammerstein Ballroom

April 23, 2008
April 25, 2008

|Worcester

|Worcester Palladium

April 26, 2008

|Columbia

|Merriweather Post Pavilion

April 28, 2008

|Quebec City

|rowspan="4"|Canada

|Pavilion De La Jeunesse

April 29, 2008

|Montreal

|Bell Centre

April 30, 2008

|Toronto

|Arrow Hall

May 1, 2008

|London

|John Labatt Centre

May 3, 2008

|Clarkston

|rowspan="5"|United States

|DTE Energy Music Theatre

May 4, 2008

|Cleveland

|Time Warner Cable Amphitheater

May 6, 2008

|Chicago

|Aragon Ballroom

May 7, 2008

|Milwaukee

|Eagles Ballroom

May 9, 2008

|Minneapolis

|Myth

May 10, 2008

|Winnipeg

|rowspan="5"|Canada

|Winnipeg Convention Centre

May 11, 2008

|Saskatoon

|Prairieland Exhibition Hall

May 12, 2008

|Edmonton

|Shaw Conference Centre

May 14, 2008

|Calgary

|The Corral

May 16, 2008

|Vancouver

|Pacific Coliseum

May 17, 2008

|Salem

|rowspan="5"|United States

|Salem Armory

May 19, 2008

|San Jose

|Event Center @ San Jose State

May 20, 2008

|San Diego

|Cox Arena

May 21, 2008

|Long Beach

|Long Beach Arena

May 22, 2008

|Mesa

|Mesa Amphitheatre

Gigantour 4 (2012)

=Line-up=

Megadeth confirmed, on September 27, 2011, that Motörhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil would be included in the next Gigantour that was set for early 2012.{{cite web|author=Volledige naam |url=https://twitter.com/Megadeth/status/118742465938329601 |title=Twitter |publisher=Twitter |access-date=April 6, 2013}}{{cite web|title=MEGADETH TO RE-LAUNCH 'GIGANTOUR' FOR FIRST TIME IN NEARLY FOUR YEARS |url=http://www.megadeth.com/pr/Gigantour2012.html |work=Megadeth.com |access-date=October 8, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007092931/http://www.megadeth.com/pr/Gigantour2012.html |archive-date=October 7, 2011 }}

=Tour dates=

Megadeth announced, on November 2, 2011, Gigantour 2012 tour dates .

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

January 26, 2012

|Camden

|rowspan="5"|United States

|Susquehanna Bank Center

January 27, 2012

|Uncasville

|Mohegan Sun Arena

January 28, 2012

|New York City

|Theater at Madison Square Garden

January 29, 2012

|Lowell

|Tsongas Arena

February 1, 2012

|Glens Falls

|Glens Falls Civic Center

February 2, 2012

|Quebec City

|rowspan="5"|Canada

|Colisée Pepsi

February 3, 2012

|Montreal

|Bell Centre

February 5, 2012

|Kingston

|K-Rock Centre

February 7, 2012

|Oshawa

|General Motors Centre

February 8, 2012

|Hamilton

|Copps Coliseum

February 9, 2012

|Auburn Hills

|rowspan="4"|United States

|The Palace of Auburn Hills

February 10, 2012

|Chicago

|Aragon Ballroom

February 12, 2012

|Milwaukee

|Eagles Ballroom

February 14, 2012

|Saint Paul

|Myth

February 16, 2012

|Saskatoon

|rowspan="4"|Canada

|Prairieland Park

February 17, 2012

|Edmonton

|Shaw Conference Centre

February 18, 2012

|Calgary

|Big 4 Building

February 20, 2012

|Abbotsford

|Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre

February 21, 2012

|Kent

|rowspan="9"|United States

|ShoWare Center

February 23, 2012

|San Jose

|Event Center

February 24, 2012

|Los Angeles

|Gibson Amphitheatre

February 25, 2012

|Phoenix

|Comerica Theatre

February 26, 2012

|Albuquerque

|Tingley Coliseum

February 28, 2012

|Denver

|Fillmore Auditorium

March 1, 2012

|Dallas

|The Palladium

March 2, 2012

|Houston

|Verizon Wireless Theater

March 3, 2012

|Austin

|ACL Live at The Moody Theater

Gigantour 5 (2013)

=Line-up=

Megadeth, Black Label Society, Device, Hellyeah, Newsted, and Death Division

=Tour dates=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="width:150px;"| Date

! style="width:150px;"| City

! style="width:150px;"| Country

! style="width:250px;"| Venue

July 3, 2013

|Gilford

|rowspan="13"|United States

|Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion

July 5, 2013

|Uncasville

|Mohegan Sun Arena

July 6, 2013

|Canandaigua

|Marvin Sands PAC

July 8, 2013

|Clarkston

|DTE Energy Music Theatre

July 9, 2013

|Rosemont

|Allstate Arena

July 10, 2013

|Youngstown

|Covelli Center

July 12, 2013

|Dallas

|Gexa Energy Pavilion

July 13, 2013

|Lubbock

|Lonestar Amphitheatre

July 14, 2013

|Corpus Christi

|Concrete Street Amphitheatre

July 16, 2013

|Oklahoma City

|Zoo Amphitheatre

July 18, 2013

|Bloomington

|U.S. Cellular Coliseum

July 19, 2013

|Milwaukee

|Eagles Ballroom

July 20, 2013

|Cadott

|Chippewa Valley Music Festival

July 22, 2013

|Winnipeg

|rowspan="5"|Canada

|MTS Centre

July 23, 2013

|Calgary

|Stampede Corral

July 26, 2013

|Edmonton

|Rexall Place

July 27, 2013

|Dawson Creek

|EnCana Events Centre

July 29, 2013

|Abbotsford

|Abbotsford Entertainment Center

July 30, 2013

|Everett

|rowspan="6"|United States

|Comcast Arena

August 1, 2013

|West Valley City

|Maverik Center

August 2, 2013

|Denver

|1st Bank Center

August 4, 2013

|Fargo

|Scheels Arena (canceled)

August 7, 2013

|New York City

|Hammerstein Ballroom

August 9, 2013

|Camden

|Susquehanna Bank Center

August 10, 2013

|Montreal

|rowspan="2"|Canada

|Heavy MONTRÉAL

August 11, 2013

|Toronto

|Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

=Notable incidents=

Due to frontman Jason Newsted being diagnosed with walking pneumonia, Newsted dropped off the bill from July 22–29.

On the last show of the tour, Newsted joined Megadeth to sing vocals on Metallica's "Phantom Lord" (A song originally written by Mustaine).

Gigantour history summary

class="wikitable"

! width:14px;"| Dates

! width:15px;"| Concerts

! width:26px;"| Region toured

! width:720px;"| Bands

July–September 2005

|39

|United States, Canada

|Main stage: Megadeth, Dream Theater (34 dates), Anthrax (5 dates), Fear Factory, The Dillinger Escape Plan (31 dates), Nevermore

Second stage: Life of Agony, Symphony X, Dry Kill Logic, Bobaflex

September–October 2006

|25

|United States, Canada

|Main stage: Megadeth, Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy

Second stage: Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity, The SmashUp

October 2006

|3

|Australia

|Megadeth, Soulfly, Arch Enemy, Caliban

November 2007

|6

|Australia

|Megadeth, Static-X, Lacuna Coil, DevilDriver, Bring Me the Horizon (3 dates)

February 2008

|7

|United Kingdom

|Megadeth, Job for a Cowboy, Evile

April–May 2008

|30

|United States, Canada

|Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job for a Cowboy, High on Fire

January–March 2012

|27

|United States, Canada

|Megadeth, Motörhead, Volbeat, Lacuna Coil

July–August 2013

|26

|United States, Canada

|Megadeth, Black Label Society, Hellyeah, Device, Newsted, Death Division

Discography

=CD releases=

  • Gigantour (2006)
  • Gigantour, Vol. 2 (2008)

=DVD releases=

  • Gigantour (2006)
  • Gigantour 2 (2008)

References

{{reflist}}