Monsters of Rock Tour 1988

Main article: Monsters of Rock

Monsters of Rock Tour 1988
Tour by Van Halen and Metallica
Start date	May 23, 1988
End date	July 30, 1988
Legs	1
Shows	32
Van Halen and Metallica tour chronology
1986 Tour (1986) Monsters of Rock Tour 1987 (1987) Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 (1988) OU812 Tour (1988-1989) Damaged Justice (1988-1989)

The Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 was a festival tour of the USA in 1988, headlined by hard rock band Van Halen as part of their promotion for their OU812 album with heavy metal band Metallica as well as other bands including Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come. It formed the first section of the OU812 Tour, the main part of which followed immediately after Monsters of Rock 1988. As one of the many well known Monsters of Rock tours, the tour featured an impressive line-up, especially for a single day event, and proved very popular.

Being a large scale event with multiple acts, there was a long gap between many dates when the band's gear was transported and set up.

Typical Metallica setlist

(Taken from the Oxford, ME Oxford Plains Speedway show on June 25, 1988)

1. "Creeping Death"
2. "For Whom the Bell Tolls
3. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
4. "Whiplash"
5. "Fade to Black"
6. "Seek & Destroy"
7. "Master of Puppets"
8. "Last Caress" (originally performed by the Misfits)
9. "Am I Evil?" (originally performed by Diamond Head)
10. "Battery"

Tour bill

Members of Van Halen and Metallica, back stage during the Monsters of Rock Tour, 1988.

• Van Halen (headline act, 100 minutes)
• Scorpions (75 minutes)
• Dokken (60 minutes)
• Metallica (60 minutes)
• Kingdom Come (45 minutes)

Tour included General Admission seating in Wisconsin where the entire stadium had a food fight after Metallica.

In Dallas, Van Halen's set was cut short by vocalist Sammy Hagar's voice problems. He promised that Van Halen would return to Dallas and play a free show. Van Halen made good on the promise three years later on December 4, 1991 when they played a free concert at Dallas Alley , a gentrified area on the northwest side of downtown Dallas where free concerts were often hosted to boost traffic for restaurants and stores in the adjacent collection of shops.

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Pre-tour warmup gigs
May 23, 1988	Los Angeles, California	United States	The Troubadour (Metallica only)
May 24, 1988
Tour
May 27, 1988	East Troy, Wisconsin	United States	Alpine Valley Music Theatre
May 28, 1988
May 29, 1988
June 4, 1988	Miami, Florida		Orange Bowl
June 5, 1988	Tampa, Florida		Tampa Stadium
June 10, 1988	Washington, D.C.		RFK Stadium
June 11, 1988	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		JFK Stadium
June 12, 1988	Foxborough, Massachusetts		Sullivan Stadium
June 15, 1988	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania		Three Rivers Stadium
June 17, 1988	Pontiac, Michigan		Pontiac Silverdome
June 18, 1988
June 19, 1988	Orchard Park, New York		Rich Stadium
June 22, 1988	Akron, Ohio		Rubber Bowl
June 23, 1988
June 25, 1988	Oxford, Maine		Oxford Plains Speedway
June 26, 1988	East Rutherford, New Jersey		Giants Stadium
June 27, 1988
July 2, 1988	Houston, Texas		Rice Stadium
July 3, 1988	Dallas, Texas		Cotton Bowl
July 6, 1988	Indianapolis, Indiana		Hoosier Dome
July 9, 1988	Memphis, Tennessee		Liberty Bowl
July 10, 1988	Kansas City, Missouri		Arrowhead Stadium
July 13, 1988	Minneapolis, Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
July 16, 1988	San Francisco, California		Candlestick Park
July 17, 1988
July 20, 1988	Spokane, Washington		Joe Albi Stadium
July 23, 1988	Los Angeles, California		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
July 24, 1988
July 27, 1988	Seattle, Washington		Seattle Kingdome
July 30, 1988	Denver, Colorado		Mile High Stadium

Metallica personnel

• James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
• Lars Ulrich – drums
• Jason Newsted – bass, backing vocals

References

External links

• Van-Halen.com - The official Van Halen website
• Van Halen NewsDesk