S&M

Do you know what today is the day?. April 21. Exactly 13 years ago Metallica played their first gig with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. It was the first of the two (the second took place a day later) concert at Berkeley Community Theater in San Francisco. Although this was not the first ever combination of rock music with a symphony orchestra before, no one tried to collaborate with such a heavy music. Maestro Michael Kamen has previously worked with Metallica with so-called “elevator version” song Nothing Else Matters, which was released on single. Now, however, it was not one piece but the whole album. Concerts have been recorded and published in November 1999 as a S & M album. In my view the versions of some songs with the orchestra sounds pretty good. The best example is the opening song The Call of Ktulu - an epic work that dazzles its monumentality. An instrumental piece written in 1984 seems to be created to arrange it for orchestra. As you can imagine tickets for two concerts in San Francisco sold out very quickly.

Two complimentary tickets from Tony Smith

Each of the fans at the Berkeley Community Theater in his seat (there was only seating space, but the audience was more standing than sitting and some came into the scene) found concert program

Concert program (easiest to find) from Berkeley Community Theater...

...and laminated pass for two nights

My tickets from these concerts, I have bought from Tony Smith, a former tour manager of Metallica and the first president of the official fan club. Currently, tickets from these concerts very rarely appear in the sale. Better looking case with programs that you can buy without much problem on eBay (prices started from $ 30). Most fans associate Metallica concerts with the orchestra only with those two shows in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the team promoting the album S&M play in November the same year two more concerts.

ticket from 19 november 1999 show

Concert program (hardest to find) from Berlin Velodrom

Both led by maestro Michael Kamen with different orchestras. The first concert was held November 19 in Berlin Velodrom hall with Berliner Symphoniker. After the concert was aftershow party with some band members. My friends, who managed to get to this party mention many beers with Lars and pictures with band members.

Invitation for Aftershow party...

...and promo sticker signed by Michael Kamen (RIP) and Jason Newsted

The last of the concerts took place four days later in New York's Madison Square Garden, accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke. An interesting fact is that this concert was recorded in its entirety - I remember an auction on eBay which have been put up for sale three promo radio CD’s with recorded whole concert. A ticket to this concert is very hard to find. From the entire set of four concerts the hardest to buy are ticket from Madison Square Garden and the program from Berlin. Other tickets and programs appear once or twice a year on eBay.

ticket from MSG ...You have to be lucky to find this one for sale

 concert program from MSG with the Orchestra of St. Luke

Schleyer Halle 1988-2009

In the last week the postman brought me two very cool Metallica concert posters. When buying them, I wanted to create a set together with the tickets. It worked because the tickets and posters have common features - town and the hall where concerts were held – Schleyer Halle, Stuttgart in Germany.  The indoor arena was built in 1983, the year before the first Metallica visit in Germany but in 1984, band not filled the hall to 15,000 people. The Four Horsemens gave their first concert in the Schleyer Halle in November 1988 during the European Damaged Tour. Unfortunately I have no ticket and poster from that concert.

from my "Wanted" list. This one above found on ebay

 Another Metallica concert in the Schleyer Halle took place during the Wherever we may roam Tour in the winter of 1992. Metallica was at the peak of its popularity. Black album, black shirts, black poster and black concert tickets. The black design is characteristic for the most of the tickets and posters from the German part of the tour. Paradoxically, a ticket from Stuttgart has a different design and my copy bears the sign of the times - the original color was not too much. In the case of a poster, at first glance it seems that there is nothing but a black color, but at the right angle you can see the team logo and two snakes.

1992 ticket

Back in black - poster from 1992 concert

For the next visit Metallica fans in Stuttgart had to wait 4 years. The specificity of the venue forced the organization of concerts held in the winter. Next stop in Stuttgart was in 1996 during the Poor Touring Me Tour. Metallica's new image of the musicians was reflected in the design of European concert tickets and posters from this period. Just in case the ticket from 1996 Stuttgart is not what we call “picture ticket” but most other European tour tickets shown photo from Load album booklet. We see them on posters promoting the concert. With this ticket related to some kind of story - because it was the first Metallica ticket purchased by me on eBay.  

My very first ticket from ebay (above) with backstage pass (below)

Poster from 1996 concert. Most of the European tickets had design like this poster.

Photo stolen from ebay

Metallica's last performance so far in the Schleyer Halle was a concert that took place during World Magnetic Tour in 2009. All German posters on this tour have the same design. My poster is pretty huge and in perfect condition but the ticket shows signs of damage.

...blood sweat and tears. Ticket from 2009 show...

...and huge poster (80 x 60 cm)

Finally, I would write something about the origins of the name of the hall. Not everyone can know that the arena was named for Hanns Martin Schleyer, a German Employer Representative, and former SS officer and Nazi activist, who was kidnapped and killed by the terrorist Red Army Fraction.