Metallica brought their “M72” world tour to their hometown San Francisco Bay Area, playing two shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Friday, June 20th, and Sunday, June 22nd. The band’s return home had a special feel to it. You can look behind the scenes videos down below.
Jon-Michael Marino, Metallica‘s tour coordinator, gave KPIX (CBS Bay Area) and NBC Bay Area a look behind the scenes. He noted the unique energy of hometown shows. “You have certainly an energy that’s a little bit different when you’re in your hometown, whether you wanna say there’s a little bit extra pressure, a little bit extra incentive,” Marino told KPIX. “To me, some of the best shows on a tour are absolutely the hometown shows.”
Putting on these shows is a huge job. 350 Metallica crew members took over Levi’s Stadium for eight days, including six days just for setup. They unloaded 87 semi-trucks, full of tons of equipment. The round stage has eight towers with 588 speakers, miles of fiber optic cables, 192 audio inputs, and 72 cameras around the stadium.
Marino also shared details about the gear. Four drum kits are on stage, with two more in the truck as backups. The band travels with 64 guitars and basses, and 36 of them need to be ready for each show (12 for each band member). About 6,000 guitar picks are used or given out per concert, and only 25 drumsticks are used or given away.
Asked why so many guitars are needed, Marino said: “Across, let’s call it 15-16 songs, there’s various tuning. There’s also things that happen naturally like strings breaking, guitars going out of tune that have to be swapped in the moment.”
Over 55,000 fans attended Friday’s show. Some fans even lined up as early as 3 a.m. to be the first to get special merchandise.
Metallica’s June 20th Setlist at Levi’s Stadium:
- “Creeping Death“
- “Harvester of Sorrow“
- “Hit the Lights“
- “King Nothing“
- “72 Seasons“
- “If Darkness Had a Son“
- Kirk and Rob Doodle (“Primo“)
- “The Day That Never Comes“
- “Cyanide“
- “Orion“
- “Nothing Else Matters“
- “Sad but True“
- “Battery“
- “Fuel“
- “Seek & Destroy“
- “Master of Puppets“
Metallica’s June 22nd Setlist at Levi’s Stadium:
- “Whiplash“
- “For Whom the Bell Tolls“
- “Ride the Lightning“
- “The Memory Remains“
- “Lux Æterna“
- “Screaming Suicide“
- “Kirk and Rob Doodle” (“Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “California Über Alles” by Dead Kennedys)
- “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)“
- “Wherever I May Roam“
- “The Call of Ktulu“
- “The Unforgiven“
- “Whiskey in the Jar” (preceded by Lars & Rob jam)
- “Blackened“
- “Moth Into Flame“
- “One“
- “Enter Sandman“
