METALLICA: Official Footage From First Mexico City Concert

August 4, 2012

Official Metallica.com footage of METALLICA's pre-show tuning-room jam and "Ride The Lightning" performance on July 28 at the opening show of the band's eight-concert run at Palacio de los Deportes (Sports Palace) in Mexico City can be seen below.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, video footage posted online suggests that two members of METALLICA's road crew caught fire and suffered burns during the first Mexico concert, as the two stagehands were seen struggling with a malfunctioning pyro launcher during "Enter Sandman" when both were suddenly engulfed in flame. As frontman James Hetfield called for the band to stop playing, other crew members doused the men with fire extinguishers and took them off the stage in stretchers, with the band resuming its show a few minutes later.

But was it real? A spokesperson for the promoter said it was "all part of the show," and in fact METALLICA has staged this type of "accident" before during its 1997 tour, on which the show ended with the stage seemingly collapsing around the band as one crew member caught fire and another dangled upside down from the fallen lighting rig. The effect was caught on the band's "Cunning Stunts" DVD.

The show on July 28 marked the debut of a new 140-foot-by-50-foot stage that features "colossal components and striking visual elements spanning METALLICA's entire 30-year career," meaning that the "accident" stunt could be back for an encore.

At a press conference before the show, frontman James Hetfield said that the band was focused on "staying alive" while performing alongside the "dangerous elements" of the new production, with bassist Robert Trujillo adding, "Like James said, it's very dangerous — we've got stuff flying every which way."

A post in the "Tour Journal" section of METALLICA's official web site related that "shit really hit the fan (during 'Enter Sandman' with) loud bangs, random fireworks, falling towers, falling spot light guy, falling scaffolding, guy was caught on fire . . . then a complete blackout."

Following its Mexico City stand, METALLICA next plays the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco and then two shows in late August in Vancouver, which will be filmed for the band's upcoming 3D movie.

METALLICA's setlist for Saturday night's concert:

01. Creeping Death
02. For Whom The Bell Tolls
03. Fuel
04. Ride The Lightning
05. One
06. Cyanide
07. The Memory Remains
08. Wherever I May Roam
09. Sad But True
10. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
11. ...And Justice For All
12. Fade To Black
13. Master Of Puppets
14. Battery
15. Nothing Else Matters
16. Enter Sandman

Encore:

17. Die, Die My Darling
18. Seek & Destroy

Photos of Saturday night's show can be found at Metallica.com. A few of the pictures are also available below.

Official Metallica.com footage:

"Best-effects" fan-filmed montage:

Photos below courtesy of Metallica.com

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