1992.07.21 - Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, USA

Guns and Metallica stage metal assault

BY GARY GRAFF
Free Press Music Writer

The prospects are ripe for unbridled aural assault.

The pairing of Guns N' Roses with Metallica for a seven- week national tour ensures long evenings of screaming guitars, thundering drums and banshee vocals -- not to mention exhausting tribal headbanging rites such as crowd-diving and precision fist-pumping.

In other words, don't take mom or dad.

The way Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich remembers it, the two bands began plotting for this heavy metal mecca five years ago, "when we first started hanging out together."

At the time the two hard rock bands were up-and-comers. With three albums out, the San Francisco Bay Area-based Metallica had already garnered a strong cult following for its jackhammer brand of heavy metal. Guns N' Roses was a club sensation in Los Angeles that had just signed a major label deal.

Now they've both transcended their genres and leapt atop the pop music pantheon. Metallica has sold more than 5 million copies of its most recent album, "Metallica," which also won a Grammy. Besides selling more than 6 million copies of its two "Use Your Illusion" albums, Guns N' Roses has cultivated a sensationalized, bad-boy mystique that harkens comparisons to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

But in all the time they've known each other -- "a really cool friendship," according to Ulrich -- a common thread would run through the musicians' conversations. "We'd sit there and say, 'We should play together,' " remembers Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

Adds Ulrich, "It continued over numerous late-night gatherings all over the country. I had these conversations with Axl (Rose) and Slash, and it was always 'One day we've got to go out and do gigs together.'

"So now -- here we are."

Through Labor Day weekend, the Guns-Metallica bill -- with the Bay Area quintet Faith No More opening -- is slated to visit 24 cities in North America. Using more than 30 trucks to cart around a crew of 175 and a stage that's 300 feet wide and 60 feet tall, it's an ambitious outing that pairs the kings of hard rock in a seven-hour-plus blitz of metal mayhem.

It's a tour that's been regarded with great skepticism since rumors began circulating about it late last year. The organizations were too different, naysayers chimed: Metallica is known for its precise, businesslike manner, while Slash acknowledges that Guns N' Roses prides itself in "going against the system entirely." Metallica will adhere to a relatively tight schedule; Guns N' Roses could go onstage in the wee hours and play 'til dawn, depending on the whims of its members.

Until last week, the specter of legal problems hung over the endeavor. In April, St. Louis authorities issued arrest warrants for Guns' singer W. Axl Rose on misdemeanor charges stemming from a riot at the group's concert there last summer. When the warrants were issued, the group canceled concerts in Chicago and Detroit and fled the country, but it was clear that unless Rose dealt with the problem, the Guns-Metallica shows could be in jeopardy.

After three months on the lam, Rose surrendered last week in St. Louis, with a trial date slated for October -- thus allowing him to tour.

"He's dealing with it," Slash says. "He faced it, which for me would have been a hard thing to do. But we've got this tour happening, and we don't need any outside (interference) happening."

Rose's situation was just one factor that made the tour difficult to book, according to Alex Kochan, the Guns N' Roses booking agent. The group's reckless image, combined with industry skepticism about the tour and heavy metal's reputation for rowdy crowds and heavy damage to concert venues all factored into greater resistance than you might expect for a superstar pairing.

"Venue management and city politics have actually been the biggest obstacle to getting into the stadiums," Kochan says, describing curfew restrictions and other barriers to booking the tour in many cities. The 24 sites on the itinerary, he says, represent "just about every place that would have us," and a Sept. 5 show in Dallas is still up in the air.

But Ulrich says the problems, including Rose's, never caused the musicians to have second thoughts.

"One thing we've learned is that you can always sit around and speculate and bring up this whole thing of 'what if' until you're green in the face," Ulrich says. "You can watch your whole career go by just because of the 'what if' question.

"But when something has felt right, we've always jumped on it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, having the two biggest bands in the world go out on tour together. We said 'Let's just go for it and not second-guess our decision.' "

After years of "we should do its," the Guns-Metallica tour came down to a phone call just before Christmas last year. The Guns camp made the call. Metallica's management relayed the request. The musicians' response, Ulrich says, was a resounding "(expletive) yeah!"

While the groups went about their separate tours, no fewer than two dozen managers, agents, attorneys and production personnel worked out logistics. Compromise was the order of the day, Ulrich says: "Both of our bands have different ways of approaching things in terms of how we run our band on a day-to- day basis. It was 'Look, let's sit down and check our egos at the door.' We all had to make sacrifices to make this happen.

"But we have a lot of mutual respect for each other, so it wasn't a problem. The real reason this is happening is a genuine desire between the main guys of both bands to make this happen. That makes it stronger than what the lawyers or booking agents or managers would throw our way."

According to Slash, the musicians kept things on keel by "getting together as often as possible" to discuss matters. That included a dinner meeting before the tribute concert for the late Freddie Mercury last April in London, a show that marked the first time Guns and Metallica shared the same stage.

"You really have to feel each other out on it -- what's their trip, and what's ours?" Slash explains. "It's really simple when you actually sit down and talk about it amongst friends. When you let management deal with it, all of a sudden it becomes corporate."

By way of compromises, Guns N' Roses, which likes to play two or three shows a week, agreed to perform three or four times, while Metallica scaled down its five-shows-a-week schedule.

Metallica also agreed to let Guns close the show each night "because they don't want to take the risk of having us go on late and making them perform at some crazy past-midnight time," Slash says with a chuckle.

The guitarist does, however, acknowledge concerns about his band's tendency for unusually late shows. "We've come to a happy medium where we haven't been going on that late," he says. The late starts were forced out of their system because at "some of these gigs we did in Europe, there was a 10 p.m. curfew so we'd go on at 5 or 6 p.m."

Still, booking agent Kochan notes, this type of cooperation between acts -- particularly of this magnitude -- is rare.

"You hardly ever find two groups of this stature being able to put their shows together and go out like this," he says. "This was something that was definitely artist-oriented; they thought of it and gave us the direction to go put it together. They were the motivation for the whole thing."

Before it all starts sounding too warm and fuzzy, however, the musicians are quick to say that, come show time, they plan to yield no quarter.

"You know we're going to go out every night to play our best," says Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, "and they're gonna be determined to go out and play their best because they have to follow us. And you know who will win -- the fans, because they'll see two real kick-ass shows."

***

The Details On The Bands

You can’t tell the players without a program — or, at a stadium concert, a good pair of binoculars. Here are the particulars on the participants in Tuesday’s show at the Silverdome:

Guns Ν’ Roses

■ Members: Founders Duff McKagan (bass, vocals), W. Axl Rose (vocals, piano) and Slash (guitar); with Gilby Clarke (guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboards) and Matt Sorum (drums).

Also onstage are Tracy Amos (vocals), Ted Andreadis (keyboards, vocals), Roberta Freeman (vocals), Anne King (horns, vocals), Lisa Maxwell (horns, vocals) and CeCe Worrall (horns, vocals)

■ Sound: Varied hard-rock styles that range from full-throttle burners to majestically arranged anthems.

■ History: Formed during 1985 in Los Angeles and soon made its mark on the same scene that produced Motley Crue and Poison. Released an independent 1986 EP “Live ... Like a Suicide’’ before signing with Geffen records. Flagrant substance abuse, unpredictability, infighting, personnel changes, foul-mouthed lyrics and song content that’s sometimes misogynistic, homo-phobic and racist ensured that the group became one of rock’s most controversial and volatile.

■ Big break: "Sweet Child O’ Mine’’ hit No. 1 in July 1988, raising Guns N’ Roses from cult to mass audience stature.

■ Latest releases: “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II,” September 1991. Sales of more than three million copies each so far.

Songs you should know: “Welcome to the Jungle,” "Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Patience,” covers of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and Wings’ “Live and Let Die.”

■ What to expect: Anything. On a good night, the group can rage for up to three hours, covering its four albums plus songs by the Rolling Stones (“Wild Horses”), Aerosmith (“Mama Kin”) and U.K. Subs (“Down on the Farm”).

Metallica

■ Members: Kirk Hammett (guitar), James Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Jason Newsted (bass, vocals) and Lars Ulrich (drums).

■ Sound: Grungy, fast and thick metal gleaned from British fare such as Black Sabbath and early Iron Maiden.

■ History: Formed in 1981 in Los Angeles. Relocated to San Francisco in 1983 and debuted with “Kill ’Em All” on the indie Megaforce label. Original bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a 1986 bus crash and was replaced by Jason Newsted. Group won Grammys in 1990 and 1992.

■ Big break: Booking on Van Halen’s 1988 Monsters of Rock tour, piquing interest in the "... And Justice for All” album that followed.

■ Latest release: “Metallica,” August 1991. Sales of more than five million copies so far.

■ Songs you should know: “Enter Sandman,” “One,” “Nothing Else Matters.”

■ What to expect: A 2 1/2-hour assault of solid, throbbing and intense rock that seldom lets up.

Faith No More

■ Members: Mike Bordin (drums), Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Billy Gould (bass), Jim Martin (guitar) and Mike Patton (vocals).

■ Sound: A sonic joyride that’s definitely in the metal milieu but prone to funky twists and turns along the way.

■ History: Formed in 1982 in San Francisco. Recorded first album, “We Care a Lot,” in 1985. Martin joined in 1983, Patton in 1989.

■ Big break: Thanks to constant touring and MTV play, "Epic” hit the Billboard Top 5 in October 1990.

■ Latest Release: “Angel Dust,” June. Debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard chart.

■ Songs you should know: “Epic,” “Midlife Crisis.”

■ What to expect: Keep your eye on hyperkinetic frontman Patton as he propels the band through an opening set of songs from "Angel Dust” and its predecessor, “The Real Thing.”

By Gary Graff

***

ON STAGE: Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and Faith No More will perform at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Pontiac Silverdome, Opdyke Road and M-59, Pontiac. Parking lot opens at 2 p.m. Gates open at 4:30p. m. Call 858-7358 anytime.

Guns N’ Roses fires up its fans

Silverdome crowd catches metal bands on a good, long night

by Gary Graff
Free Press Music Writer

Last June at the Guns N' Roses concert in Toledo, Dan Komisarek, 17, broke two ribs in the crush of the crowd. His friend, John Weis, 17, broke a wrist.

But that didn't deter the two Toledoans from driving to the Pontiac Silverdome Tuesday to do it all again, joining an estimated 47,000-plus headbangers for a triple bill of Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Faith No More -- a heavy metal mecca that began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted into Wednesday's wee hours.

The prospect of seven-plus hours pinned against the barricade in front of the stage didn't phase Weis or Komisarek as they hunkered down front and center amidst thousands of other T-shirted rock dogs.

"Sure, it's worth it," Weis said. "I love Metallica and I love Guns N' Roses."

Even, he said, at the risk of more injuries: "There's so much adrenalin, you can't even feel it."

To the crowd's credit, that adrenalin started pumping early -- as soon as Faith No More hit the stage -- and lasted well into Guns N' Roses two-hour and 20-minute performance. Credit proper crowd management tactics for that, including: a general admission, no-seats main floor that was controlled by multiple barriers positioned to alleviate the crush of bodies; and the Silverdome's decision to ban alcohol sales -- though plenty was consumed during tailgate parties.

More crude, but equally effective, was the crowd participation T&A show on the video screens between the Metallica and Guns N' Roses show, during which dozens of women in the crowd bared various body parts to the raucous approval of their brethren. It's safe to say that the length of the break -- an hour and 45 minutes, went unnoticed by much of the crowd.

The ultimate payoff, however, was the music, uniformly strong throughout the marathon show and varied enough to hold the crowd's attention. The three groups complemented rather than battled each other, with Faith No More's thrashing blend of metal and funk segueing into Metallica's pure teutonic adrenalin, which in turn yielded to Guns N' Roses' intense but more party-oriented approach.

It was a good night for the Gunners -- a notoriously erratic live band which had previously canceled two scheduled appearances at the Palace. Singer Axl Rose apologized for those early, thanking his Detroit fans "for being patient and for being here to see us tonight." The mercurial frontman was in good spirits on Tuesday, buoyed by a backstage beach-style party that featured a champagne fountain, pinball machines and a pool table.

With Rose running as many yards around the stage as the Lions' Barry Sanders runs during an entire season at the Silverdome, Guns N' Roses roared through a selection of its favorites -- "Welcome to the Jungle," "Civil War," "November Rain" -- as well as covers of Wings' "Live and Let Die" and the Misfits' "Attitude."

Guns' set only suffered for lateness; by the end of the show, the crowd seemed anesthetized rather than energized.

That was hardly the case during Metallica's molten, two-hour and 15-minute performance. The evening was, in many ways, Metallica's to dominate. Positioned in the enviable second slot -- when the crowd is warmed-up but not burnt out -- the quartet charged into its set with every intention of winning the evening. As drummer Lars Ulrich said, "If we didn't go out and try to blow the other band off the stage, none of us would be human."

So Metallica cut its good buddies in Guns N' Roses little quarter as it played full-throttle through a set of slash 'n' burn metal that had the crowd pumping its fist for big hits ("Enter Sandman," "One," "Nothing Else Matters") and older favorites such as "Harvester of Sorrow" and an epic-length "Seek and Destroy," which had everyone in the place joining in a call-and-response singalong.

Free Press Staff Writer Doug Church contributed to this report.

MIGHTY METAL MARATHON

Guns N' Roses N' Fans N' Noises make Silverdome show a survival test

BY GARY GRAFF AND DOUG CHURCH
Free Press Staff Writers

An hour and 45 minutes is a long time between groups at a rock concert.

Unless there are distractions -- such as a topless woman wiggling on the three video screens in front of you. And a somewhat inebriated man pounding on your back and yelling, "Yes! Yes! Look at that! Yesssss!"

Welcome to the jungle, indeed.

And welcome to Tuesday's concert at the Pontiac Silverdome by Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Faith No More -- a 7 1/2-hour heavy-metal marathon of pulverizing rhythms, screaming guitars and banshee vocals that pummeled the body as well as the ears.

And the topless woman? Call it a crude sort of crowd control. During the time between Guns N' Roses and Metallica -- a break that was longer than some bands' entire shows -- the concert camera crew panned the audience, orchestrating a prurient video show and proving that a surprising number of young women are willing to take it off when almost 50,000 voices request it.

Distasteful? Of course. But it killed time and helped concertgoers survive an evening that was part concert, part spectacle and part endurance contest.

True, the show was shorter than the average workday -- except for those who partied all afternoon in the Silverdome parking lot. But consider this: As Guns N' Roses whipped into its closing number, baseball fans in Seattle were on their way home from a long Tigers-Mariners game. And Arsenio Hall was woofing his way into his second late-night guest.

Most of the 'Dome's headbangers, however, had enough energy left to ooh and ah at a five-minute fireworks display that finished the night -- at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Of course, most T-shirted metal fans (median age: late teens) expect a late night at such events. At many of its concerts, Guns N' Roses arrives just before Godot.

On this night, that was hardly a heartening thought, given the crisp state the crowd was in after a thrashing performance by Faith No More and the jarring, pure adrenalin delivery of Metallica. Factor in the crowded parking lot that awaited, and it was downright unnerving.

Guns ended up making it easy, however. The bad boys came on at a respectable 11:41 p.m. and took their last bows around 2 a.m.

On the main floor of the Silverdome, Mickey Powell, 42, of Saline fingered his foam ear plugs and acknowledged that he might need to drag his son David, 17, and his friends away "around 1:30 or 2 if it's not over." But as the teens shook their heads, Powell, a veteran of Who and Deep Purple concerts, smiled. "I grew up listening to hard rock, and I like these bands," he said. "It's a lot of fun."

It wasn't much fun for the 35 or so parents in the Silverdome's quiet room, a section of the Main Event restaurant reserved for those who brought kids to the show and waited around rather than fighting traffic to pick them up again.

"I had no idea how long the concert would go on," said Jennie Needleman of Ann Arbor, who dropped off her son Andrew and a friend at 6 p.m. By 1 a.m., she was well into her mystery novel, while other parents chatted and watched the end of "Matlock" on the restaurant's televisions. For them, the show was a dull roar -- except for the pyrotechnics. "They had this stage effect that exploded, and everything in here shook," Needleman said.

Meanwhile, back down on the floor, tuxedo-clad limousine drivers Michael Medicus and Virginia Slotman of Flint figured the best way to spend the evening was to thrash their heads along with the crowd. Medicus, by far the best-dressed headbanger on the floor, said, "I always come into the shows, or else I'd get bored waiting."

At the invitation of the bands, representatives of Amnesty International, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws set up tables outside the Silverdome.

Without free samples, NORML couldn't spur much interest. But thanks to T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Torture Sucks," the Amnesty table became the crowd favorite.

"It's kind of a theme for this tour," explained Amnesty area coordinator Abe Bonowitz.

But as they filtered to their cars after the show, "torture" was not the word people were using.

"When you've got two of the hardest-working bands in the world, you have to keep going with them," said Mike Story, 18, of Farmington Hills. "We're doing great."

Crowd control kept concert crush-free

By Gary Graff
Free Press Music Writer

Despite complaints by Pontiac Fire Department inspectors, officials connected with the Guns N’ Roses concert Tuesday night at the Silverdome were pleased with the result of a new seating plan.

Inspectors claimed Wednesday that the plan, which had been approved by Pontiac fire chief Robert Lamson, was not safe. But tour organizers, local promoters and Silverdome officials credited it with holding injuries and unruliness among the 48,530 fans to a minimum. No further action against the plan was expected.

The general-admission seating plan featured a two-barricade system designed to ease the crush of fans at the front of the stage. About 3,500 fans were allowed between the first and second barriers. Their movements were monitored by security guards and pedal wristbands. The remaining 6,500 fans with main-floor tickets were behind the second barricade. Total attendance at the show was 48,530.

The floor plan was “very well re-searched,” Silverdome director Mi-hael Abington said Wednesday. “We evaluated it throughout the day and evening. We were very happy with the way everything worked."

Guns booking agent Alex Kochan said the plan was adapted from a system the group used on its recent European tour. “What kids prefer is a situation where there are no chairs on the field or on the floor,” he said.

Abington said about 350 security guards were used for Tuesday’s show, about 100 more than for a Detroit Lions football game. Pontiac police Sgt. Gordon Bovee said 30 people were arrested, including 10 on felony drug charges. The rest were misdemeanors for ticket scalping and disorderly conduct. Also, 43 people were treated, mostly for inebriation.

“I don’t see how it could be safer,” said concertgoer Jeff Fuerstnau of Ann Arbor. “Most of the time at these concerts, you feel like cattle during a stampede. This is a lot better; there’s a lot more room.”

Free Press staff writer Doug Church and Free Press wire services contributed to this report.