METALLICA tour coordinator Jon-Michael Marino took KPIX (CBS Bay Area) and NBC Bay Area behind the scenes of the band’s June 20 concert at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California as part of the “M72” world tour. Check out the two separate video reports below.
The “M72” world tour finally landed in METALLICA‘s hometown San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, with a second concert having taken place on Sunday (June 22).
“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,” Jon-Michael Marino told KPIX. “To me, some of the best shows on a tour are absolutely the hometown shows.”
350 METALLICA crew members reportedly took over Levi’s Stadium for eight days, including six days of setup, unloading 87 semi-trucks full of hundreds of tons of equipment. The circular stage consists of eight towers with 588 total speakers, miles’ worth of fiber optic cable, 192 audio inputs and 72 cameras around the stadium.
Jon-Michael Marino said that there are four drum kits on the stage with two backups in the truck. There are 64 guitars and bass that go on the road, and 36 of them need to be show-ready (12 per band member). There are 6,000 guitar picks used or given out per concert and only 25 drumsticks are used or given away per performance.
Asked why so many guitars need to be ready for each show, Marino previously 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.”
More than 55,000 METALLICA fans attended Friday’s show, with ticket prices ranging from $70 to $1,800.
Fans reportedly lined up as early as 3 a.m. to be the first to get their hands on some limited-edition merchandise.
In support of METALLICA‘s latest album, “72 Seasons”, the band has been playing two-night, no-repeat shows in each city — first in Europe, then in North America, back in Europe, and now once again in North America — as part of the “M72” tour. Each concert sees METALLICA performing on a massive ring-shaped stage, with the Snake Pit in the center, and four drum sets which are equally spaced out around the circular stage so drummer Lars Ulrich can get closer to the audience at various points in the show.
METALLICA‘s manager Cliff Burnstein told Billboard that between 80% and 90% of fans at each concert attend both shows.
Since opening April 2023 in Amsterdam, “M72” has seen METALLICA play to some three million fans. Variously hailed as “an altogether life-affirming experience” (Billboard),”impossible to leave unsatisfied” (Austin Chronicle),”a stone-cold stunner of a show” (Detroit News),”the mother of all summer concerts” (Worcester Telegram Gazette) and “as tight and furious as METALLICA has sounded in ages” (Los Angeles Times),“M72” continues to amaze fans and critics alike. The tour concluded its triumphant 2024 run with four nights at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros, where METALLICA played to more than 250,000 fans over the course of two No Repeat Weekends.
The “M72” world tour’s 2025 itinerary continues the hallowed No Repeat Weekend tradition, with each night of the two-show stands featuring entirely different setlists and support lineups.
Support on “M72”‘s 2025 North American run comes from PANTERA, LIMP BIZKIT, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and ICE NINE KILLS.
“M72”‘s 2025 North American leg is produced by Live Nation and presented by new sponsor inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at 2,000-plus top-rated restaurants nationwide. The company provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. METALLICA fans can learn more at inkind.com.
As always, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band’s All Within My Hands foundation. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities that have supported METALLICA over the years, All Within My Hands has raised over $15 million — providing $8.2 million in grants to career and technical education programs including the ground-breaking Metallica Scholars Initiative, now in its sixth year, over $3.6 million to combat food insecurity, more than $3.5 million to disaster relief efforts.
Content shared from blabbermouth.net.