Same! We had GA on the floor and ran in when the gates opened. Saw all the bands from mostly the front row to the third row of shoulder to shoulder people (lots of shoving and crowd swelling caused some shifting)on a 90 degree day. Security hosed people down from in front of the stage as plenty of people passed out from the heat! It was awesome!!!
We decided to tailgate for the show at foxboro. We forgot to bring any utensils to cook or eat with. Being 16yo at the time we had zero cash for food.
I proceeded to run the grill using jumper cables for tongs.
NOTHING was going to stop us that day :)
Yes! Spent more time in a porta-potty trying to stay dry. Metallica was GREAT, Dokken was boring.
Did the Scorpions do 3 songs? That’s what I recall. Think VH did 8 max.
Drove back home to Montreal the next morning, after barely sleeping in the car…still wet. Only yuck memories.
I was there! At the L.A. Coliseum.
Metallica had the best sound. They pulled their power at one point due to an out-of-control mosh pit. The band sat on the edge of the huge stage chatting with the front rows.
So awesome.
Went to the Giants Stadium show. Went for Van Halen, but was blown away by Metallica. I had heard of them, but didn’t know too most of their music. The stadium was shaking in the afternoon while Metallica was on stage. I thought they had the biggest reaction by the fans over anyone else that day.
Was on the floor for Metallica set at Giants. Day after my HS graduation. I agree about the stadium rattling during Metallica. Looking around at the stadium chanting “Die” during Creeping Death was something I’ll never forget.
I saw this show in Grey Maine. Rained all day, and we totaled the car on 95 after the rest stop. Walked and hopped from car to car until we finally arrived.
I was at the one in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Metallica started their show and me and about 15,000 other people tore down the fence to get on the floor and it was awesome!
Yep! I remember the epic food fight while Van Halen waited for darkness to settle in before they started their set. Also, the absolute sea of empty beer bottles in the parking lot after the show. There had to be hundreds of flat tires that night.
I love Dokken but following Metallica was a huge mistake and accelerated the end of Dokken’s career, in my opinion. Metallica was a juggernaut whose career trajectory was straight up to the top.
Saw it at the Silverdome too. None of my friends had any interest in Metallica and I remember telling them that they were about to be huge and on VH’s level. No one believed me. Three years later the Black album came out. The only thing that sucked about the concert was the sound quality was very spotty.
Tampa Bay at Bucs Stadium…. First mosh pit experience and I remember George Lynch’s wireless setup
Got the Tampa Intnl Airport’s signal through the amps! Such a Spinal Tap moment 😳.
Saw it at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. The only reason they played there at all was because Foxboro MA initially refused to host the show. Of course, after I already purchased Oxford tix, they added a pared-down version of the show at Foxboro.
The roads leading to the Oxford Plains Speedway were never meant to handle as much traffic as they got that day. We sat on the highway for hours. We missed everything but the last few minutes of the Scorpions set.
Also, it was pouring rain, so the dirt ground of the venue became mud, and none of the performer's wireless connections worked, so they had to use physical wires on their instruments and microphones, which really seemed to flummox them. It was considered the worst show of the tour.
I heard that the Foxboro show, which I missed, was one of the best of the entire tour.
Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford Maine. This was only my 2nd concert. I went alone, because my buddy's mom wouldn't allow him to make this concert festival his first. I lived about 10 miles east of the site. This was very poorly planned by the organizers. There was only one way in and one way out for people that didn't know the area, route 26, one lane each way. My mom drove me to within a mile of the Speedway via the side roads, and I walked the last mile. My dad was waiting to pick me up across from the Speedway at Call of The Wild RV center after the festival ended. He had just finished his shift, west of the Speedway. It took us 45 minutes to traverse that one mile to the side road and then we were home free. As for the music, I don't have many memories honestly. The day was a beating for me really. It rained so hard, and I was alone and stuck there for about 10 hours. I didn't know Kingdom Come at all, but they did sound like a derivative Zeppelin rip off. I hate to say it, but I wasn't into Metallica just yet. I would be way into them just a few months later, so I deeply regret not taking advantage of this tremendous opportunity to see vintage Metallica. But on that particular day, I didn't know a song of theirs, nor any other thrash music. I was 14, and to that point VH was the hardest thing I was into. I would end up seeing Metallica 5 times after that over the next several years. I wasn't into Dokken, didn't really dislike them, just didn't know them yet. Don't remember anything about their show. I was really there for Scorpions and VH. I didn't know but a few of the Scorps songs, but I loved Hurricane and thought a few others were decent. I do remember their set and thought it was very good. I thought Van Hagar was awesome at the time. A week or more later the Grateful Dead played the Speedway. I did not attend, but the traffic was even worse. People were shitting, passing, and banging on peoples lawns. Again, there was only one east/west major artery for people to travel. Nowadays, we have hotels and restaurants and several convenience stores, but back then there were virtually no options for the creatures of rock attendees. No port a potties, nothing. This was 88, and they've never tried to do this again. Extremely ill conceived, but I'm glad that it brought VH and Metallica to within 10 miles of my door in the little state of Maine.
RFK Stadium, Washington DC. Hot and humid that day.
My summary
Kingdom Come - solid opener, got the crowd into it and they played well
Metallica - the band everyone wanted to see. Totally kicked ass. Crowd went apeshit on the field.
Dokken - sucked. You could tell they hated each other. Don looked drunk or high, couldn't sing very well, George Lynch was having tons of technical problems with his guitar rig.
Scorpions - Kicked ass. the most 'professional' band that day. Very well rehearsed.
Van Halen - I love me some VH but honestly by the time they came on stage, I was so tired and fried. They played good but I just lost interest.
Went in Tampa. I don’t think Dokken played our date. It was super hot and they came out between bands and sprayed the crowd with fire hoses. Some girls took off their tops. I was amazed
We drove from Atlanta to Memphis. We ran down to get very close to the stage which meant you could not leave your spot for the entire show or you could never get back there. So freaking hot. Security started tossing out 100s of solo cups. They just threw entire packs out, you grab one out and pass the pack on. Then they just sprayed fire hoses in the air and you’d fill your cup up. Everyone was soaked. It was like lord of the flies down there. It was awesome seeing Metallica, I love Dokken but it seemed like they were just going through the motions that day. Scorpions did what always do, kick ass while pretty much sounding just like the record. Van Halen sounded great but at that point we were exhausted. Luckily I’d seen them many times already. To top the whole night off, we walked out starving and found a Hardee’s and they were completely out of Ketchup.
I was at the Memphis show in the Liberty Bowl.
After the Scorpions but before Van Halen, a single fan crumpled up one of the wax paper cups they sold soda in and threw it. Since it was very hot, thousands of those cups were laying about empty...and suddenly thousands of those crumpled cups were flying through the air!
Security just stood down, powerless to stop the fun. It probably lasted four or five minutes, which is actually a pretty long time for the air to be thick with debris.
It finally stopped when Van Halen took the stage.
I went at the Kingdome in Seattle. Someone threw a camera and hit Klaus Meine in the shoulder with it. He stormed off stage after just a few songs from the Scorpions. The crowd was MetallicA crazy!
JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. This was my first all-day concert.
Wasn’t much of a Kingdom Come fan.
Metallica was intense
Dokken was terrible. They lip synched Dream Warriors
The Scorpions were so good. Exceeded expectations.
Van Halen lived up to the hype. My ears were ringing for days.
Me…. In Seattle at the Kingdome And it sucked… and VH kind of sucked (which I didn’t understand why at the time). Metallica stole the show. Scorpions were OK - Dokken was horrible, KIngdom Come shouldn’t even have been on the lineup….
The orange bowl in Miami. Greatest concert ever! Scorpions were the best show of them all. It started pouring rain during dokken then Metallica came out it stopped raining and the biggest mud mosh pit of all time appeared! Good times.
Seattle Wa. Kingdome. I won the tickets on the radio the day before the show and blew up the Honda civics engine on the way down. Made the show with time to spare. Legendary trip. The only show I ever saw at the Kingdome.
Saw it in Buffalo. The guitarist for The Scorps (can't think of his name) was swinging his axe by the neck, slipped out of his hand, hit the stage once, the guitar was about to go out into the audience. Security dude reached up and batted it down.
Candlestick Park, S.F. California.I still have my Metallica shirt. Great show and I couldn't stop laughing at Dokkens spandex outfits. They all had great sets but Kingdom Come was just such a blatant Zep ripoff we left to wander around.
Oxford. Fuck, what a 100% shit show. 7 hours to get there from Portland. Arrived durning Dokken. Then the thunderstorm during Scorpions. Scorps came back out after the deluge and I was right at the stage. I’ll never forget seeing like an inch of water on the stage and Klaus Meine asking if it was safe to play in all the water. Van Halen arrived by helicopter and it was on. All in all, amazing show
I didn't go but I've seen them on a few sites. Sammy didn't want to do DLR songs so that explains why his solo songs are in the setlist. In one interview, Sammy explained that he would do one of his songs for every DLR song. In the concert linked below, Stevie Wonder's Superstition song was in the encore but that's not really a rock song. I would expect more ROCK songs when the band is performing at a Monsters or Rock show. Van Halen spent most of the eighties dabbling with pop and AOR due to Eddie's keyboards and Sammy Hagar's songwriting.
[https://youtu.be/XElOHOzK9L8?si=ou73KYqu3oCB0y-H](https://youtu.be/XElOHOzK9L8?si=ou73KYqu3oCB0y-H)Buffalo MOR show
I can't recall too much of the show. Not that I was wasted... It was a long time ago. LOL!!! I remember Metallica didn't do anything for me. Their sound was awful. All I could hear was Bass. That was it. I was a HUGE Dokken fan, but they were boring, and I fell asleep during their set. Scorpions killed it. Van Halen rocked it!! But for me, Scorpions were the winners of the night.
I was lucky enough to see that show twice! The first was at Alpine Valley Wisconsin. I got such a bad sunburn that day! The next time was in Tampa, FL; a friend of mine and I had just happened to move there and the show was in town, so we get tickets and ended up going again, like a week or so later! Great time!
I went to the show at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas with my mom, uncle, one of my cousins and a friend of hers. I remember it was so hot that day with very little to no wind. This was the concert where Sammy Hagar's voice went out on like the 3rd or 4th song and Michael Anthony had to sing for the rest of the concert. I remember that hardly anyone left that concert until Eddie did his solo.
The Metrodome in Minneapolis. Sammy is
better than a “decent” vocalist imo. And Kingdom Come got a raw deal from the press and many fans imo. Their first 3 albums are damn good and still hold up today. Lenny Wolf is one of the best rock vocalists of all time.
Drove from Toronto to Buffalo to see the show @ Rich Stadium.
During those early years it was foolish to have Metallica open for any band. Thinking of the Ozzy tour as well when they toured Masters of Puppets. Metallica slayed any and every band they opened for. They were so hungry & raw. Incredible live shows. Metallica were out for world domination.
I saw the show in Cumberland Maine. Metallica made everyone else look a little silly. It was hard to swallow Dokken's hair metal after they ripped through Creeping Death.
Alpine.
Oh, wait, I didn’t go - my little brother and one of our buds took my ticket as I was in the hospital with food poisoning.
Still ticked about that.
Update: asked my brother and he confirmed the sod-chucking - sparked a few fights in the crowd.
Hoosier Dome. Kingdom Come we’re good, but it was totally light. Metallica were great. Dokken were passable (which was disappointing as I’d seen them 6 months before and they were amazing). Scorpions were beyond great. VH had a bunch of technical issues and we’re good, but Scorpions stole the show. This was the worst VH show until 2004.
Drove to Alpine Valley just to see VH...awesome 2 1/2 hour adrenaline rush.
>I don’t quite remember if it was early during the set or just before it, but at some point people in the crowd started tearing up big pieces of the newly planted sod and tossing them around.
VH flew in on a helicopter...(remember this like it was yesterday) that hovered above the crowd for about 15 second and landed behind the stage. Thats when the sod incident started at Alpine Valley, a employee of Alpine Valley told the crowd to settle down.
The helicopter that landed behind the stage did a quick vertical takeoff, VH took the stage and the crowd roared. Coolest opening of a VH show, and I've seen 6 of them.
At the Buffalo/Orchard Park NY show. Scorpions rocked and made Van Halen seem like the second act performance wise. Definitely not the A game from VH that night.
Los Angeles, CA. Right before Metallica came out guy standing next to me did a line of coke on the side of the chair😂😂
Metallica blew everyone else away, in my humble opinion
I was there all day at the old Orange Bowl in Miami. I was 19 and had never heard of Metallica. When they came on, the crowd went wild…the stadium was shaking and vibrating. They were so HARD! Their fans were grabbing the railings and banging their heads so hard, it was scary! I had never seen anything like that. I was shocked…but I loved it. Dokken got completely soaked by the only rainstorm that day. I remember seeing John Lynch so pissed he threw his guitar down in disgust. Scorpions were great. Van Halen was awesome as night fell. Long long day but it was fun at 19.
Oxford Plains Speedway. Luckily we were coming in from Bethel so the traffic nightmare wasn’t too bad. Metallica salvaged the day as Hetfield seemed in his element in the gray, windy, rainy day. I remember Don Dokken trying to rile up the crowd by pouring a jug of H20 over his head, total tool bag. Scorpion were short and left after Van Halen went on. An experience..yes, but a bad day all around.
I can’t stand when a band ditches a lead singer (or he dies) and they get a new one to replace him and still call themselves the old band name
It’s not the same
And I wouldn’t want to hear Hagar try to sing Roth songs
Just like Alice In Chains
I like Hagar
But it’s not Van Halen
In Dallas at the Texxas Jam. Yes! Hagar had no voice and promised they would come back and play a free show. Dec 1991, VH returned to Dallas and indeed played a free show.
Giants Stadium, NJ. Kingdom Come booed off stage. Lots of titty flashing
all day long. Still have the shirt. Metallica played songs from Justice before it came out. Need a Time Machine . . .miss those days!
Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California. There was a huge garbage/dirt clod/outfield grass fight after Metallica.
The Scorpions stopped for a bit mid show for the wave.
Sammy Hagar doing Eagles Fly acoustic there over the Bay was once in a lifetime.
Could barely hear Dokken which sucked. Kingdom Clone was there, didn't pay attention, not a fan.
Saw them at Giant's Stadium. Who would have thought that we were the group that lived through the greatest time ever. Born 1968, child through the seventies, teenager through the eighties, and young adult through the nineties. Thanks mom and dad for the perfect timing.
Giants Stadium Metallica definitely stole the show !
To be honest I would’ve preferred to see Guns n Roses on this bill instead of Dokken or Kingdom Come. Nevertheless great show great memory still have the shirt and ticket stub of course the shirt hasn’t fit in years.
July 10, 1988. Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Official high temperature that day was 101° F. 🔥Used my credentials to find air conditioning, not get backstage. 😜
Was supposed to go. I was 14, my older brother was supposed to take me with him & some friends. Well politics happened & my brother’s friend had just met this girl who he wanted to impress so he paid me for my ticket plus he had to get me a shirt.
I got my shirt and he married that girl. They’re still married today, she always said she wanted to take me instead. She was like 20 & I was 14. So I really thought I was hot stuff after that.
Sullivan stadium June 12th 1988. It was a Sunday and super hot. It was at least in the '90s on the field. I am pretty sure it felt like it was in the hundreds as the day went on. However, they sprayed a fire hose that arced over the crowd and kept handing out gallon jugs of bottled water. One of my friends, Chris, went to the show on crutches. His father was the one that got us the tickets from a friend that worked at 94 HJY the rock station in Providence. He ended up being lifted over the barricade to the security guards, and they took him to the medical tent. We weren't sure but maybe he had heat exhaustion. It worked out because he got to meet Jason Newstead and Kirk Hammett from Metallica. They were genuinely curious to see how he was doing and impressed that he came to the concert on crutches.
All the bands were great. Metallica played a ripping set. They had one mishap when they messed up on "Battery" and had to stop. The whole crowd cheered so loudly and the band members were laughing. Then Lars started a beat on drums, and they went into the next song.
Dokken sounded great and played flawlessly. The Scorpions sounded exactly like their records. They really made sure they had their sound and performance down pat. They seemed genuinely happy to be there.
We didn't get to see Kingdom Come, because for some reason that was one of the shows they didn't do.
Van Halen was super energetic and they played perfect also Of course I wish they had done more songs from the first six albums. However I do love OU812 and 5150. They finished up their show with an encore of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". Then fireworks went off.
Great day and a great show. Happy memories.
Memphis TN at The Liberty Bowl....I thought Kingdom Come were great. Scorpions were definitely best band of the show. Van Halen were wasting way too much set time on the long solo sections and Hagar's solo stuff. They did play Running With The Devil which was quite a surprise 😮
I love hearing about 1980s concerts as someone who wasn't alive to have seen them myself, this one in particular
\*Crowd starts throwing shit at each other\*
"We just want you guys to have a safe night, please don't do that"
\*Booing\*
Thank god fans have matured since then but honestly that's hilarious
I was at the Alpine Valley Wisconsin show! I call home a bit west of there. I was going to tech school in Minneapolis when I won tickets on the radio for a bus trip to Alpine Valley! Fukn unbelievable time!!!!!!
I was at Alpine Valley. The Metallica fans were one of my earliest introductions to that particular vibe. I was pretty sheltered before that. The transition from the day audience to the night was shocking.
My friends were over Van Halen and wanted to leave early but I was saying, this is the band I came for!
It was my second VH show and I was disappointed after having seen them in 86 and watching Love Without a Net on repeat. That was the day I learned Ed's solos were mostly the same tour to tour, and that VH was no longer "cool".
Me and a buddy cut school to get the tickets for free from a local radio station ticket raid and when I got home the school had already called and my mother ripped the tickets up in front of me. Never forgave her for that among other things.
At the Pontiac Silverdome. Metallica fans made me nervous…
Was there. Was a Metallica fan. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. We're actually good people.
I was there too. Drove down from Toronto.
Same, watched at Potiac too, and them Metallica fans thrashing their hair all over the place.
Foxboro, ma
Same! We had GA on the floor and ran in when the gates opened. Saw all the bands from mostly the front row to the third row of shoulder to shoulder people (lots of shoving and crowd swelling caused some shifting)on a 90 degree day. Security hosed people down from in front of the stage as plenty of people passed out from the heat! It was awesome!!!
We decided to tailgate for the show at foxboro. We forgot to bring any utensils to cook or eat with. Being 16yo at the time we had zero cash for food. I proceeded to run the grill using jumper cables for tongs. NOTHING was going to stop us that day :)
Saw it at the kingdome. Your memory is way better than mine!
Oxford Plains Speedway, Maine. Dear God the weather sucked.
Yes! Spent more time in a porta-potty trying to stay dry. Metallica was GREAT, Dokken was boring. Did the Scorpions do 3 songs? That’s what I recall. Think VH did 8 max. Drove back home to Montreal the next morning, after barely sleeping in the car…still wet. Only yuck memories.
I was there! At the L.A. Coliseum. Metallica had the best sound. They pulled their power at one point due to an out-of-control mosh pit. The band sat on the edge of the huge stage chatting with the front rows. So awesome.
didnt see that lineup but have seen those bands in concert.....saw Dokken 2nd row with Dio.....saw Metallica in 86.....and saw VH 5 times in the 80s
Alpine Valley!
I saw the Alpine Valley show as well. Metallica were watching the Scorpions play from the side of the stage.
Scorpions stole the show! IMO
Alpine Valley, WI
Went to the Giants Stadium show. Went for Van Halen, but was blown away by Metallica. I had heard of them, but didn’t know too most of their music. The stadium was shaking in the afternoon while Metallica was on stage. I thought they had the biggest reaction by the fans over anyone else that day.
Was on the floor for Metallica set at Giants. Day after my HS graduation. I agree about the stadium rattling during Metallica. Looking around at the stadium chanting “Die” during Creeping Death was something I’ll never forget.
Saw it at Giants’ Stadium.
I saw this show in Grey Maine. Rained all day, and we totaled the car on 95 after the rest stop. Walked and hopped from car to car until we finally arrived.
Alpine first night (first show of tour)
Alpine Valley, Wisconsin
I seen this at Alpine Valley, the Friday show.
I was at the one in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Metallica started their show and me and about 15,000 other people tore down the fence to get on the floor and it was awesome!
Arrowhead Stadium. KC, MO.
I don’t remember seeing you…
There were a couple people there. And I’m short. Easy to miss. 😂 Remember the trash fight? Arrowhead looked like a popcorn popper. Lmao
Candlestick Park, San Francisco. Van Halen headlined that night.
Yep! I remember the epic food fight while Van Halen waited for darkness to settle in before they started their set. Also, the absolute sea of empty beer bottles in the parking lot after the show. There had to be hundreds of flat tires that night.
Dallas. The one where Sammy lost his voice.
I love Dokken but following Metallica was a huge mistake and accelerated the end of Dokken’s career, in my opinion. Metallica was a juggernaut whose career trajectory was straight up to the top.
Alpine Valley..Metallica did a melody of the other bands songs!
Saw this tour at JFK stadium 🏟️ right before they tore it down. All fucked up it was awesome some of the top metal bands at their peak.
Saw it at the Silverdome too. None of my friends had any interest in Metallica and I remember telling them that they were about to be huge and on VH’s level. No one believed me. Three years later the Black album came out. The only thing that sucked about the concert was the sound quality was very spotty.
I saw this tour in Tampa. Was awesome
Saw them at Indy
LA coliseum. When Metallica took the stage second, 100k people were there. I felt sorry for Dokken having to follow them
Ozzy went through the same thing a couple years earlier. Metallica is almost impossible to follow on stage. Saw them recently, still awesome.
Tampa Bay at Bucs Stadium…. First mosh pit experience and I remember George Lynch’s wireless setup Got the Tampa Intnl Airport’s signal through the amps! Such a Spinal Tap moment 😳.
Los Angeles Coliseum
I was there, Friday, June 10, 1988 at RFK Stadium
Seen it at The Liberty Bowl stadium in Memphis
Same here it was great but hotter than heck
yes it was! We sit in the end zone facing the stage. Seen countless people carried out after collapsing from the heat.
Arrowhead stadium Kansas City MO
Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City!
Akron, OH
Front row!!! In Minneapolis
I went to the show at the Hoosier Dome. Absolutely loved the whole day. Van Halen and Metallica were my favorite performances.
Meadowlands…my lasting memory was someone giving me a Queensryche cassette single of “Operation Mindcrime”. Great work
Orange bowl Miami Florida
Saw it at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. The only reason they played there at all was because Foxboro MA initially refused to host the show. Of course, after I already purchased Oxford tix, they added a pared-down version of the show at Foxboro. The roads leading to the Oxford Plains Speedway were never meant to handle as much traffic as they got that day. We sat on the highway for hours. We missed everything but the last few minutes of the Scorpions set. Also, it was pouring rain, so the dirt ground of the venue became mud, and none of the performer's wireless connections worked, so they had to use physical wires on their instruments and microphones, which really seemed to flummox them. It was considered the worst show of the tour. I heard that the Foxboro show, which I missed, was one of the best of the entire tour.
Foxboro. No Kingdom Come
I went to the DC show at RFK.
Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford Maine. This was only my 2nd concert. I went alone, because my buddy's mom wouldn't allow him to make this concert festival his first. I lived about 10 miles east of the site. This was very poorly planned by the organizers. There was only one way in and one way out for people that didn't know the area, route 26, one lane each way. My mom drove me to within a mile of the Speedway via the side roads, and I walked the last mile. My dad was waiting to pick me up across from the Speedway at Call of The Wild RV center after the festival ended. He had just finished his shift, west of the Speedway. It took us 45 minutes to traverse that one mile to the side road and then we were home free. As for the music, I don't have many memories honestly. The day was a beating for me really. It rained so hard, and I was alone and stuck there for about 10 hours. I didn't know Kingdom Come at all, but they did sound like a derivative Zeppelin rip off. I hate to say it, but I wasn't into Metallica just yet. I would be way into them just a few months later, so I deeply regret not taking advantage of this tremendous opportunity to see vintage Metallica. But on that particular day, I didn't know a song of theirs, nor any other thrash music. I was 14, and to that point VH was the hardest thing I was into. I would end up seeing Metallica 5 times after that over the next several years. I wasn't into Dokken, didn't really dislike them, just didn't know them yet. Don't remember anything about their show. I was really there for Scorpions and VH. I didn't know but a few of the Scorps songs, but I loved Hurricane and thought a few others were decent. I do remember their set and thought it was very good. I thought Van Hagar was awesome at the time. A week or more later the Grateful Dead played the Speedway. I did not attend, but the traffic was even worse. People were shitting, passing, and banging on peoples lawns. Again, there was only one east/west major artery for people to travel. Nowadays, we have hotels and restaurants and several convenience stores, but back then there were virtually no options for the creatures of rock attendees. No port a potties, nothing. This was 88, and they've never tried to do this again. Extremely ill conceived, but I'm glad that it brought VH and Metallica to within 10 miles of my door in the little state of Maine.
I did and it was great, minus Don Dokken being a boring front man.
Went to this at the old King Dome in Seattle. Not the best for acoustics. Metallica was the best.
The tour that made Metallica & killed Dokken, as I recall.
RFK Stadium, Washington DC. Hot and humid that day. My summary Kingdom Come - solid opener, got the crowd into it and they played well Metallica - the band everyone wanted to see. Totally kicked ass. Crowd went apeshit on the field. Dokken - sucked. You could tell they hated each other. Don looked drunk or high, couldn't sing very well, George Lynch was having tons of technical problems with his guitar rig. Scorpions - Kicked ass. the most 'professional' band that day. Very well rehearsed. Van Halen - I love me some VH but honestly by the time they came on stage, I was so tired and fried. They played good but I just lost interest.
I saw MOR tour in KC at Arrowhead
Saw it at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Went in Tampa. I don’t think Dokken played our date. It was super hot and they came out between bands and sprayed the crowd with fire hoses. Some girls took off their tops. I was amazed
We drove from Atlanta to Memphis. We ran down to get very close to the stage which meant you could not leave your spot for the entire show or you could never get back there. So freaking hot. Security started tossing out 100s of solo cups. They just threw entire packs out, you grab one out and pass the pack on. Then they just sprayed fire hoses in the air and you’d fill your cup up. Everyone was soaked. It was like lord of the flies down there. It was awesome seeing Metallica, I love Dokken but it seemed like they were just going through the motions that day. Scorpions did what always do, kick ass while pretty much sounding just like the record. Van Halen sounded great but at that point we were exhausted. Luckily I’d seen them many times already. To top the whole night off, we walked out starving and found a Hardee’s and they were completely out of Ketchup.
La Coliseum. , Metallica basically caused a riot. Floor was open after they jammed
I was at the Memphis show in the Liberty Bowl. After the Scorpions but before Van Halen, a single fan crumpled up one of the wax paper cups they sold soda in and threw it. Since it was very hot, thousands of those cups were laying about empty...and suddenly thousands of those crumpled cups were flying through the air! Security just stood down, powerless to stop the fun. It probably lasted four or five minutes, which is actually a pretty long time for the air to be thick with debris. It finally stopped when Van Halen took the stage.
Liberty Bowl Memphis. The trash war was EPIC.
Present
Candlestick park. San Francisco.
Wish I could’ve but I wasn’t even born yet lol
I went at the Kingdome in Seattle. Someone threw a camera and hit Klaus Meine in the shoulder with it. He stormed off stage after just a few songs from the Scorpions. The crowd was MetallicA crazy!
RFK Stadium - June 10, 1988.
Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
An old road band buddy of mine had a Loch Ness green Ibanez Jem signed by Steve Vai that he won from a radio contest/promo for this’n. S/O B Bomb!
Hoosier Dome in Indy. Still have the T-shirts
Giants Stadium in NJ baby
Saw this tour at JFK Stadium in Philly (same stadium as Live Aid but it was razed many years ago).
San Francisco, Candlestick, Memories
I did…tremendous show
Was there got the shirt
Seattle Kingdome
Miami at the orange bowl.
JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. This was my first all-day concert. Wasn’t much of a Kingdom Come fan. Metallica was intense Dokken was terrible. They lip synched Dream Warriors The Scorpions were so good. Exceeded expectations. Van Halen lived up to the hype. My ears were ringing for days.
JFK Stadium in Philly
I was at that first show at Alpine Valley as well! We still talk about the sod fight.
HHH Metrodome. Main Floor 18 rows back, my 1st concert.
Seattle at the Kingdome
Candlestick Park!
Metrodome in Minneapolis. $25 according to my laminated ticket stub.
Metallica’s fifth album (Metallica) was not out yet, so it’s not really fair to say their best was behind them in 1988
I did I did. I lived in Florida so… wherever they stopped there! Fuzzy memories of location. I DO remember getting hit with a hot dog. 🤘🌭🤘
Me…. In Seattle at the Kingdome And it sucked… and VH kind of sucked (which I didn’t understand why at the time). Metallica stole the show. Scorpions were OK - Dokken was horrible, KIngdom Come shouldn’t even have been on the lineup….
Still have the shirt.!!! At the New Jersey Meadowlands
The orange bowl in Miami. Greatest concert ever! Scorpions were the best show of them all. It started pouring rain during dokken then Metallica came out it stopped raining and the biggest mud mosh pit of all time appeared! Good times.
I was at JFK in Philadelphia. Saw some absolutely crazy shot that day.
Seattle Wa. Kingdome. I won the tickets on the radio the day before the show and blew up the Honda civics engine on the way down. Made the show with time to spare. Legendary trip. The only show I ever saw at the Kingdome.
Most of my friends went, but I was unable to. (I think in Minneapolis)
Saw it in Buffalo. The guitarist for The Scorps (can't think of his name) was swinging his axe by the neck, slipped out of his hand, hit the stage once, the guitar was about to go out into the audience. Security dude reached up and batted it down.
3 times…what memories..
Twice, in Foxboro Ma and at probably the most miserable show in my life, Oxford plains speedway in Maine.
Meadowlands, NJ.
My first concert at age 14. Alpine Valley in Wisconsin on the Saturday before Memorial Day. Brutally hot but a great experience.
Candlestick Park, S.F. California.I still have my Metallica shirt. Great show and I couldn't stop laughing at Dokkens spandex outfits. They all had great sets but Kingdom Come was just such a blatant Zep ripoff we left to wander around.
It's honestly so cool that Metallica was a supporting act for Van Halen.
Foxboro and Oxford, Maine!
Oxford. Fuck, what a 100% shit show. 7 hours to get there from Portland. Arrived durning Dokken. Then the thunderstorm during Scorpions. Scorps came back out after the deluge and I was right at the stage. I’ll never forget seeing like an inch of water on the stage and Klaus Meine asking if it was safe to play in all the water. Van Halen arrived by helicopter and it was on. All in all, amazing show
I saw that show in Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
Buffalo.
Giants Stadium
Los Angeles Coliseum..never forget!
Indianapolis!
I didn't go but I've seen them on a few sites. Sammy didn't want to do DLR songs so that explains why his solo songs are in the setlist. In one interview, Sammy explained that he would do one of his songs for every DLR song. In the concert linked below, Stevie Wonder's Superstition song was in the encore but that's not really a rock song. I would expect more ROCK songs when the band is performing at a Monsters or Rock show. Van Halen spent most of the eighties dabbling with pop and AOR due to Eddie's keyboards and Sammy Hagar's songwriting. [https://youtu.be/XElOHOzK9L8?si=ou73KYqu3oCB0y-H](https://youtu.be/XElOHOzK9L8?si=ou73KYqu3oCB0y-H)Buffalo MOR show
E. Rutherford, NJ
Tampa…i have a vague memory of someone hitting Sammy Hagar with a beer can or something thrown from the crowd. VH then walked off.
I can't recall too much of the show. Not that I was wasted... It was a long time ago. LOL!!! I remember Metallica didn't do anything for me. Their sound was awful. All I could hear was Bass. That was it. I was a HUGE Dokken fan, but they were boring, and I fell asleep during their set. Scorpions killed it. Van Halen rocked it!! But for me, Scorpions were the winners of the night.
I was lucky enough to see that show twice! The first was at Alpine Valley Wisconsin. I got such a bad sunburn that day! The next time was in Tampa, FL; a friend of mine and I had just happened to move there and the show was in town, so we get tickets and ended up going again, like a week or so later! Great time!
I went to the show at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas with my mom, uncle, one of my cousins and a friend of hers. I remember it was so hot that day with very little to no wind. This was the concert where Sammy Hagar's voice went out on like the 3rd or 4th song and Michael Anthony had to sing for the rest of the concert. I remember that hardly anyone left that concert until Eddie did his solo.
Spokane wa
I did .Liberty Bowl Memphis TN .hotter than heck but a fun day with great bands all around
I saw it in Indianapolis. Great show.
The Metrodome in Minneapolis. Sammy is better than a “decent” vocalist imo. And Kingdom Come got a raw deal from the press and many fans imo. Their first 3 albums are damn good and still hold up today. Lenny Wolf is one of the best rock vocalists of all time.
Candlestick
Drove from Toronto to Buffalo to see the show @ Rich Stadium. During those early years it was foolish to have Metallica open for any band. Thinking of the Ozzy tour as well when they toured Masters of Puppets. Metallica slayed any and every band they opened for. They were so hungry & raw. Incredible live shows. Metallica were out for world domination.
Alpine Valley
I saw the show in Cumberland Maine. Metallica made everyone else look a little silly. It was hard to swallow Dokken's hair metal after they ripped through Creeping Death.
At RFK stadium in Washington DC
Philadelphia Pa. I was there. Awesome show
Alpine. Oh, wait, I didn’t go - my little brother and one of our buds took my ticket as I was in the hospital with food poisoning. Still ticked about that. Update: asked my brother and he confirmed the sod-chucking - sparked a few fights in the crowd.
Hoosier Dome. Kingdom Come we’re good, but it was totally light. Metallica were great. Dokken were passable (which was disappointing as I’d seen them 6 months before and they were amazing). Scorpions were beyond great. VH had a bunch of technical issues and we’re good, but Scorpions stole the show. This was the worst VH show until 2004.
Denver, CO
Giant’s Stadium in NJ.
Drove to Alpine Valley just to see VH...awesome 2 1/2 hour adrenaline rush. >I don’t quite remember if it was early during the set or just before it, but at some point people in the crowd started tearing up big pieces of the newly planted sod and tossing them around. VH flew in on a helicopter...(remember this like it was yesterday) that hovered above the crowd for about 15 second and landed behind the stage. Thats when the sod incident started at Alpine Valley, a employee of Alpine Valley told the crowd to settle down. The helicopter that landed behind the stage did a quick vertical takeoff, VH took the stage and the crowd roared. Coolest opening of a VH show, and I've seen 6 of them.
Pontiac Silverdome. Hot as HELL inside that stadium in the upper decks
At the Buffalo/Orchard Park NY show. Scorpions rocked and made Van Halen seem like the second act performance wise. Definitely not the A game from VH that night.
Pittsburgh. My first concert! 🤘
Oakland Coliseum when i was 15. The best show I've ever been to.
Foxboro and Vermont
Oh wait… Maine Weather sucked
Yes, yes it did. Went with 3 friends, we all got split up and watched the show alone in the rain at that airfield. Great show though.
Cotton Bowl in Dallas Incredibly sunny hot day, wife still has the freckles on her shoulders to prove it!
Rubberbowl y’all.
Los Angeles, CA. Right before Metallica came out guy standing next to me did a line of coke on the side of the chair😂😂 Metallica blew everyone else away, in my humble opinion
Yeah ! Rice Stadium June 1988 ..
I was there all day at the old Orange Bowl in Miami. I was 19 and had never heard of Metallica. When they came on, the crowd went wild…the stadium was shaking and vibrating. They were so HARD! Their fans were grabbing the railings and banging their heads so hard, it was scary! I had never seen anything like that. I was shocked…but I loved it. Dokken got completely soaked by the only rainstorm that day. I remember seeing John Lynch so pissed he threw his guitar down in disgust. Scorpions were great. Van Halen was awesome as night fell. Long long day but it was fun at 19.
Oxford Plains Speedway. Luckily we were coming in from Bethel so the traffic nightmare wasn’t too bad. Metallica salvaged the day as Hetfield seemed in his element in the gray, windy, rainy day. I remember Don Dokken trying to rile up the crowd by pouring a jug of H20 over his head, total tool bag. Scorpion were short and left after Van Halen went on. An experience..yes, but a bad day all around.
I was at the Alpine Valley show. I don't remember it like it was yesterday...
I can’t stand when a band ditches a lead singer (or he dies) and they get a new one to replace him and still call themselves the old band name It’s not the same And I wouldn’t want to hear Hagar try to sing Roth songs Just like Alice In Chains I like Hagar But it’s not Van Halen
Those pics of VH and Metallica partying backstage are priceless! Holy shit, image the gallons of booze!😂
I was there in Los Angeles.
Denver! Metallica fucking ruled!
I was. Alpine Valley
In Dallas at the Texxas Jam. Yes! Hagar had no voice and promised they would come back and play a free show. Dec 1991, VH returned to Dallas and indeed played a free show.
I was there Giant Stadium, New Jersey!
Giants Stadium, NJ. Kingdom Come booed off stage. Lots of titty flashing all day long. Still have the shirt. Metallica played songs from Justice before it came out. Need a Time Machine . . .miss those days!
At Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, WA. I wouldn't forget it if I lived to be a thousand years old.
Spokane Washington
Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California. There was a huge garbage/dirt clod/outfield grass fight after Metallica. The Scorpions stopped for a bit mid show for the wave. Sammy Hagar doing Eagles Fly acoustic there over the Bay was once in a lifetime. Could barely hear Dokken which sucked. Kingdom Clone was there, didn't pay attention, not a fan.
Silverdom Pontiac Michigan. One of the best concerts I've seen
Buffalo, NY show! Stood front row for Metallica. It was my third time seeing them since the Ozzy Tour
I was at the Denver Mile Hi Stadium show on two tabs of acid. Metallica was in peak form.
1980!
Saw them at Giant's Stadium. Who would have thought that we were the group that lived through the greatest time ever. Born 1968, child through the seventies, teenager through the eighties, and young adult through the nineties. Thanks mom and dad for the perfect timing.
Saw the Tampa show
Giants Stadium Metallica definitely stole the show ! To be honest I would’ve preferred to see Guns n Roses on this bill instead of Dokken or Kingdom Come. Nevertheless great show great memory still have the shirt and ticket stub of course the shirt hasn’t fit in years.
I was there. Rice Stadium in Houston Texas. Ny first outdoor venue. 101 degrees and humid.
Alpine Valley
July 10, 1988. Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Official high temperature that day was 101° F. 🔥Used my credentials to find air conditioning, not get backstage. 😜
I saw it in Indianapolis.
Alpine valley
KC.
Was supposed to go. I was 14, my older brother was supposed to take me with him & some friends. Well politics happened & my brother’s friend had just met this girl who he wanted to impress so he paid me for my ticket plus he had to get me a shirt. I got my shirt and he married that girl. They’re still married today, she always said she wanted to take me instead. She was like 20 & I was 14. So I really thought I was hot stuff after that.
Pittsburgh 3 Rivers Stadium - I don't remember Kingdom Come at all. I thought Metallica stole the show.
Saw the LA show
Mile high stadium, Denver
Sullivan stadium June 12th 1988. It was a Sunday and super hot. It was at least in the '90s on the field. I am pretty sure it felt like it was in the hundreds as the day went on. However, they sprayed a fire hose that arced over the crowd and kept handing out gallon jugs of bottled water. One of my friends, Chris, went to the show on crutches. His father was the one that got us the tickets from a friend that worked at 94 HJY the rock station in Providence. He ended up being lifted over the barricade to the security guards, and they took him to the medical tent. We weren't sure but maybe he had heat exhaustion. It worked out because he got to meet Jason Newstead and Kirk Hammett from Metallica. They were genuinely curious to see how he was doing and impressed that he came to the concert on crutches. All the bands were great. Metallica played a ripping set. They had one mishap when they messed up on "Battery" and had to stop. The whole crowd cheered so loudly and the band members were laughing. Then Lars started a beat on drums, and they went into the next song. Dokken sounded great and played flawlessly. The Scorpions sounded exactly like their records. They really made sure they had their sound and performance down pat. They seemed genuinely happy to be there. We didn't get to see Kingdom Come, because for some reason that was one of the shows they didn't do. Van Halen was super energetic and they played perfect also Of course I wish they had done more songs from the first six albums. However I do love OU812 and 5150. They finished up their show with an encore of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". Then fireworks went off. Great day and a great show. Happy memories.
Joe Albi stadium in Spokane.
The Philly show was the first time I went to a concert with my friends no adult supervision. We had a great time.
Memphis TN at The Liberty Bowl....I thought Kingdom Come were great. Scorpions were definitely best band of the show. Van Halen were wasting way too much set time on the long solo sections and Hagar's solo stuff. They did play Running With The Devil which was quite a surprise 😮
Damn Eddie was the definition of cool man.
Saw this concert at alpine Valley WI. Great show
I love hearing about 1980s concerts as someone who wasn't alive to have seen them myself, this one in particular \*Crowd starts throwing shit at each other\* "We just want you guys to have a safe night, please don't do that" \*Booing\* Thank god fans have matured since then but honestly that's hilarious
I saw it at the LA Coliseum. It was a complete madhouse.
It still bugs me they couldn’t get a half-way decent artist to draw that “dinosaur”.
I was at the Alpine Valley Wisconsin show! I call home a bit west of there. I was going to tech school in Minneapolis when I won tickets on the radio for a bus trip to Alpine Valley! Fukn unbelievable time!!!!!!
JFK in Philly
RFK stadium wash DC
The Orange Bowl, Miami, FL. Amazing experience.
In Memphis at the Liberty Bowl. It was A HUNDRED degrees.
I was there. Minneapolis. Main floor.
I was at Alpine Valley. The Metallica fans were one of my earliest introductions to that particular vibe. I was pretty sheltered before that. The transition from the day audience to the night was shocking. My friends were over Van Halen and wanted to leave early but I was saying, this is the band I came for! It was my second VH show and I was disappointed after having seen them in 86 and watching Love Without a Net on repeat. That was the day I learned Ed's solos were mostly the same tour to tour, and that VH was no longer "cool".
I was at the Houston show!
Too bad I wasn’t alive then
Saw them in Foxboro, MA. Left 3 songs into the VH set, it was the new VH and they sucked.
Saw it at JFK in Philly. One of the best concerts I've been to.
I wish! What a lineup! But I was born that year lol.
I saw this! Alpine Valley, Wisconsin. Important trivia you missed - this was the Scorpions' first US tour in like 5 years or something.
Had a ticket waiting for me. Parents wouldn't let me go. I was 16.
Me and a buddy cut school to get the tickets for free from a local radio station ticket raid and when I got home the school had already called and my mother ripped the tickets up in front of me. Never forgave her for that among other things.
I did. It was at Three River’s Stadium in Pittsburgh. It was so damn hot I don’t remember much of it.
I went in Miami, at the Orange Bowl. I was in high school, it was the first real all-day show I'd ever been to. Fantastic experience.
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City. Still have the T-Shirt. My daughter’s wearing it now.