Heavy metal fans in Minnesota had a blast over the weekend when Metallica played two shows at U.S. Stadium Bank. With more moving parts than you can possibly imagine, the M72 World Tour is an incredible production. The United States was rocked by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-worthy heavy metal. Bank Stadium as two energizing performances by Metallica were shredded and hammered. It’s an amazing production that hundreds of hardworking people helped make possible. The tour coordinator, Jon-Michael Marino, stated, “What we do in Minneapolis might not be the same as what we did in Chicago last week.”
“Metallica alone has slightly more than 150 employees.” In addition, there are 92 truck drivers, 168 local production workers, and 40 steelworkers. a four-piece band supported by more than a hundred times more members. Each tour stop is supported by another 800 local jobs. Marino stated, “The tower system takes about 36 hours of labor.” The circular stage is surrounded by eight steel towers, each of which is nearly 100 feet tall and weighs more than 14 tons. According to Marino, they are without a doubt the stage production’s most cumbersome component. As a result, a second set of towers is already on their way to the next stop on the tour. There are no duplicates in this particular portion of the production. He claims that “it’s about another 12 hours to build stage, video, audio, and lighting on top of that” once the towers are in place. “It’s pretty mind-boggling how much weight is all around us. Right now, a cabling tension system weighing approximately 20,000 pounds is above our heads. Additionally, the total cost of all speakers is approximately 120,000 pounds,” he stated. According to Metallica’s team, there are 588 speakers all together, making it the largest touring audio system ever.
In addition, there are 650 lights, 24 LED screens that cover 1,200 square meters, and 37 miles of fiber optic cable that connects them all. It would extend from the United States if all that cable were laid out. all the way to Stacy, Minnesota, via Bank Stadium. Marino stated, “The amount of engineering and logistics that goes into our basic ‘rock show’ is pretty incredible.” Regarding the rock concert, the band requires a staggering number of instruments. On the stage, there are four drum kits, and the truck has two backups. There are 64 guitars and basses that will be traveling, and 36 of them must be ready for the stage (one for each band member). Why are so many guitars required for each performance? “There are a variety of tunings across 15 to 16 songs. Additionally, there are natural events like broken strings and out-of-tune guitars that necessitate immediate replacement,” Marino stated. For each performance, all of the guitar and bass strings are changed. 6,000 guitar picks are used or distributed each show. Consider yourself fortunate if you found a drumstick in the crowd. Each show, only 25 of those are used or given away. On their tour, Metallica is deservedly in the spotlight, but the band’s supporting cast should also be recognized.
