Last summer, downtown Minneapolis was awash in a sea of pink, red and midnight blue outfits and glittery sequins during two Taylor Swift nights at U.S. Bank Stadium. This summer, it’s a wave of black, black, more black and the occasional stripe of shiny leather studs that is flooding the streets surrounding the Vikings’ field, as seen Friday during the first of two nights of Metallica.
Like Swift, Metallica is an artist who knows how to make a concert a special event. He did it once before when he played one of the two opening concerts at US Bank Stadium in 2016. This weekend he’s doing it in a bigger venue than ever before.
In conjunction with the two Metallica concerts, which were spread over two nights (Friday and Sunday) to give the band a break on Saturday, there are various fan activities happening around town, like film screenings and even a bowling night. Hey, try banging and screaming “Creeping Death” when you’re 61.
In addition, Metallica is announcing the weekend as “No Repeat Weekend,” meaning Sunday’s setlist will be completely different from Friday’s – a crowd-favorite selection that began with “Creeping Death.”
The opening acts also change every night. Wolfgang Van Halen opened the concert on Friday with his Foo Fighters-like band Mammoth WVH, a set that showed that Eddie Van Halen’s son is not only a budding guitar hero, but also a rock musician with a strong voice.
In the middle slot of the show, Pantera defied the odds to get back up and really unleash hell after the deaths of their co-founding brothers, drummer Vinnie Paul and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott. The Texas band’s troubled G-singer Phil Anselmo – whose guttural growl sounded as dirty and foul as ever – convincingly led the reformed group through an hour of thunderous sludge metal.
Anselmo had two metal veterans as key support: Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zack Wylde. Neither are young whippersnappers, but they played songs like opener “A New Level” and set highlight “Walk” with perfect youthful muscle and bravura, just like the Abbott brothers did in the early ’90s.
“Everything we do, every (expletive) note we play is for Dimebag and Vince,” Anselmo said. A video tribute to them was later played. Based on the enthusiastic response from fans on Friday, the new Pantera could draw the same crowds it once did if it continues to tour.
