New venue built for Metallica’s upcoming concert in Singapore
When a band has been together for 32 years and gained a massive following, how big should an indoor venue be to stage their concert?
This appeared to be the dilemma LAMC Productions faced when they thought of flying in Metallica for a concert in Singapore.
None of the venues could accommodate the crush of fans expected to show up to a Metallica concert, scheduled on August 24th in Singapore.
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If you build it…
So, said Ross Knudson, co-owner of LAMC Productions, “We had to make a new one.”
The band will christen the new 30,000 capacity Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore in what promoters are calling the concert of the year.
And for me, it may well be.
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Epic show in Manila
When Metallica played Manila in April 1993, I was too young to go. But I remember how disappointed I was as my elder sister and her friends went to the show. I stayed home and played Metallica’s “Unforgiven” on the piano, as my sister had taught me.
Through the years, I heard stories from people who saw that epic gig in Ultra where Razorback and Advent Call were the front acts (which happened to have Kevin and Karl Roy as members—Kevin with the former, Karl the latter). Karl performed with his then band wearing a wedding gown.
At one point, I heard that people from the higher seats jumped to the front and destroyed some of the chairs. It was a real-life riot, a night that had gone down in history as one of the most epic concerts the Philippines has ever seen.
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Pinoy pride
From that point, we only saw how Metallica had grown more massive through time.
Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist James Hetfield, the band is one of the most influential and commercially successful metal bands, having sold 110 million albums worldwide.
More exciting to us Filipinos is the fact that guitarist Kirk Hammet (replacing original guitarist Dave Mustaine who was kicked out and then went on to form Megadeth) is half-Irish, half-Filipino. (His mom is from Cebu.)
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The ‘Metallicouple’
Two years ago, we lived vicariously when U.S.-based Pinoy musicians Dennis and Annette Diaz jammed with Metallica on stage during the band’s 30th anniversary concert at the Fillmore in California.
Now, 20 years after their Manila concert, and 20 years since they were in Singapore, I am going to get a chance to see Metallica live. While their concert won’t be in the Philippines, Singapore is close enough.
This time I won’t be left home playing the piano.
Tickets are selling fast. To book tickets, visit sistic.com.sg. Tickets are at SGD188 (Section A) and SGD148 (Section B). A public shuttle service to the event grounds andafter the concert wil also be provided. Metallica Live in Singapore is brought to you by LAMC productions. For more information go to www.lamcproductions.com.
Niña Sandejas’s first solo exhibit “Behind the Curtain’s Shadows” is ongoing until July at Apartment 1B restaurant on the ground floor of One Rockwell East Tower, Rockwell Drive near Power Plant Mall in Makati. Visit her blog, like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Read more of Niña’s blog posts on Yahoo! OMG!.
