Trivia:- This was Metallica's final hometown headlining show with Cliff Burton before his death.
- 'Master Of Puppets' was played live for the very first time at this show.
- Megadeth (featuring bitter ex-Metallica guitarist Dave Mustaine) replaced Anthrax on the bill.
- Creeping Death
- Ride The Lightning
- No Remorse
- Master Of Puppets
- For Whom The Bell Tolls
- The Four Horsemen
- Disposable Heroes
- Fight Fire With Fire
- Seek & Destroy
- Whiplash
- Am I Evil?
- Motorbreath
"At the end of the gig, we were pretty fucked up, with the countdown, and all the balloons dropping and everything. We were singing some fuckin' thing, and we basically wanted people in the crowd to sing along, but I couldn't get the mic off the mic stand. So, I took the whole mic stand and tossed it."
"The big metal base on the bottom kinda cracked some kid on the head. He went back to the first aid tent to get bandaged up, and then we took him backstage. We were really giving him the whole works: champagne, T-shirts, and that kinda stuff, hoping he wouldn't sue us (laughter)! A few weeks later, we got a call from some lawyer saying he was suing us anyway. We said, "Fuck you - give us back our shirts (laughter)!"
That was a fucking long time ago.... and rather surreal that 20 years after cracking some kid's head open from the stage, Metallica opened for the Rolling Stones on the other side of town from the Civic.
However, Umlaut's favorite New Year's Eve show is still the New Year's Eve 1991 Mr. Bungle / Melvins / Grotus extravaganza at The Kennel Club, S.F.. The show was way sold out and Big Wayne and I had to buy tickets from a scalper out front. Out of control... It featured complimentary champagne and Mike Patton sticking a rose up his ass.
This is Umlaut's 200th post to this site. Here's to 2006!
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ADDENDUM ADDED 1/1/06
Submitted by K.J.:
That New Year's Eve show brings back some strange, uncomfortable memories.
I had just finished working with Boutwell Enterprises, a Malibu-based merchandising company who, for a spell, sold t-shirts for Metallica and Yngwie Malmsteen (Boutwell was one of the original merchandising pioneers, having worked with KISS, Bobby Sherman, and other early shirt-vending acts).
Some "friends" of my brother - a mother/daughter family from Oregon - called me and said they wanted to finance a Heavy Metal magazine and had heard about my reputation as a Metal know-it-all. Like a moron, I met with them and generously provided them with contacts, including Ron Q., Metal "Aardschok" Mike, Brian Slagel, and other underground kingpins. A few weeks later, I went with them to this gig, and several others. They delighted in my access to these bands, and reveled in the opportunity to meet such luminaries.
Days following, they released Aardschok America (its name cribbed from the legendary Dutch magazine) issue number one. Despite promising me a full-time gig as co-editor of the project, they failed to include me on the masthead, or acknowledge me in any way. Meanwhile, they stole interviews that I had written, crediting themselves instead. It was the first real serious fucking-over I've ever received - and a sign that my honeymoon with Metal was over.
The magazine went on for several more issues, but then mysteriously folded. According to the magazine's editors, a "Right Wing plot" of some kind sabotaged Aardschok America resulting in its downfall.
A definite "sensitive spot" from my Metal Days.
