Metallica & Boston weather the storm & Ride The Lightning in epic night 2 show

Aug 08, 2024

Metal Mayhem ROC was on-site to cover the 2024 opening weekend of the second leg of the 72 Seasons US Tour in Foxborough, MA. Night two of the "No Repeat Weekend" (Sunday) featured different Support Acts, Ice Nine Kills & Five Finger Death Punch, however Mother Nature threw a curveball into the plan. Faced with on again/ off again thunderstorms & lightning flashes, the concert was initially delayed with the patrons moved to safe zones in the concourses while others waited patiently outside the entry gates. Fortunately, the undesirable weather moved on however Ice Nine Kills was not able to perform due to time delays & FFDP had their stage time cut in half. That said, with fears of a canceled event in the rearview mirror, the fanbase energy escalated to a much higher level which certainly translated to a boosted level of interplay between fans & the bands.

Veterans Five Finger Death Punch, currently out on a US Summer Headlining tour of their own, delivered a 30-minute set of their aggressive & consistent style of Metal to their dedicated & unique fan base, as evident by passionate Singer & Leader Ivan Moody suggesting to the crowd that there was NO WAY the band wasn't going to play!

Headliners Metallica in comparison to night one, performed 16 different Songs highlighted by an overtly happy & playful James Hetfield who was serenated by the Fanbase post-show to acknowledge his 61st birthday the day prior. In addition to this, Kirk & Rob surprised the locals by performing an impromptu version of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", the latter taking the lead vocal, plus the full Band performing the epic & lengthy "Inamorata" from "72 Seasons", a track clocking in at 10 plus minutes. All night the Band seemed fueled & inspired to deliver their A game to the loyal & unwearied fans, and it certainly felt like "Ride The Lightning" was the theme of the night in more ways than one!

Introducing Metal Mayhem ROC "On The Road" Team

Jon "The Vernomatic" Verno - Co-founder and CEO of Metal Mayhem ROC
Lance "Metal Walt" Franco - Co-host, Creative Director & V.P. of Operations
Mike Pille - IT specialist
Jim Stuhler - Head of Transportation and Security
Andrew & Kate Wroblewski- Show Correspondents

1 Vernomatic & Andrew Wroblewski
2 Vernomatic & Metal Walt
3 Vernomatic & Jim Stuhler- CPAP BOZO'S
4 Jim Stuhler, Vernomatic,Andrew Wroblewski,Kate Wroblewski, Metal Walt and Mike Pille
5 Jim Stuhler,Mike Pille,Vernomatic,Metal Walt,Andrew Wroblewski & Kate Wroblewski

Andrew Wroblewski was the second-chair sound engineer on the recording of Kill 'em All. He has been a guest on the Metal Mayhem ROC Podcast several times and was featured, along with Kirk Hammett and Rob "Nice Lungs" Thomas, in last fall's Kill 'Em All 40-year anniversary YouTube interview on our video channel. Andrew's claim to musical fame is being the talk-back voice of "Bass Solo Take One", from Anesthesia Pulling Teeth from the Kill 'Em All album.

The Making of Kill 'Em All-
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Rq2lgdrVvT0ckobZlk3yn?si=17636aca05c9470c

Unearthed never heard before Kill'Em All Studio outtakes
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6VB0XrYipyIV3yi2LNPm2U?si=cc53778831ff4368

Kirk Hammett Interview- The Kill 'Em All Tell All Interview-
https://youtu.be/VEZ6VWz_DS0?si=qLIIv6GbmjCk0u_F

The bonus part of this incredible weekend was the chance to meet some of our on line friends in person, reconnect with old friends and to meet new young Metallica fans.

1 Metal Walt, Eric Vitale,Jon Verno
Eric Is life Long Metallica Fan and host of the Face book fan page BIRTH SCHOOL METALLICA DEATH

https://www.facebook.com/groups/510163217884235

2 Metal Walt,Evan St. Amand, Vernomatic
We met Evan in the Friends and Family suite with his mother Sherrie. This was Evan's first Metallica show.

3 Andrew Wroblewski, Eric Vitale,Vernomatic

4 Jon Verno,James Saliby,Metal Walt-
Jim is our Tour friend and has long time ties with Kirk Hammett. Works at Mercury Studios at Universal

5 Jene DiLorenzo,Dean Dilorenzo,Jon Verno-
Dean treated his wife Jene to this Metallica show for her 40th Birthday. He wrote a killer book about his 30+ years of meeting Rock stars and was a guest on the Metal Mayhem ROC Podcast several years ago.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ZeHfhblciVPoVc73VQxi4?si=204506cca5094ef1

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Diehard_s_Journey_in_Rock_n_Roll.html?id=DhCBzQEACAAJ

6 Steven King, Donnell Webster, Janet King-
Steven, Donnell, and Janet made the trip from Rochester, NY, along with Donnell's husband, John, and a soccer van filled with old-time friends.

Faced with on again/ off again thunderstorms & lightning flashes, the concert was initially delayed with the patrons moved to safe zones in the concourses while others waited patiently outside the entry gates. The Middle Photo is 30 mins after they reopened the admission gates and 5 minutes before FFDP took the stage. Pretty amazing to witness in real time and in person how both the Gillette and Metallica management teams executed this very serious weather situation.