Monsters of Rock Tour 1988

The Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 was a festival tour headlined by hard rock band Van Halen as part of their promotion for their OU812 album. The Scorpions were a co-headliner. Opening bands included Metallica, 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 bands' gear was transported and set up.

Tour bill

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

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

The opening night of the tour in Alpine Valley was not without incident. The band Dokken had terrible sound and was subsequently booed for a lengthy amount of their set. The amphitheater at Alpine Valley had been recently sodded and before the Scorpions took the stage, fans had become impatient and started hurling chunks of the freshly laid sod into the air. Attendants came out and threatened to close down the venue. The scene calmed down and the show finished to thunderous applause.

In San Francisco's Candlestick Park a stadium-wide food fight took place aimed solely at the upper deck. Unfortunately each band played only five minutes longer than the band before them. Kingdom Come played for only 15 minutes, and the show closed with Van Halen playing only 35 minutes. This was after Van Halen held a press conference at Universal Studios, while seated in front of a giant robotic King Kong – Eddie Van Halen stated “Five bands will be playing full sets”.

In Tampa, a stadium-wide food fight took place. The show was general admission and the food fight took place between the concertgoers in the stadium stands and those on the field. Police around the perimeter of the field were being hit with bottles and garbage and eventually had to leave the stadium. The front field was so jammed with people they were starting to pass out and had to be passed to the front of the crowd and pushed over the rails to safety. They also had to spray the crowd in the front of the stage with firehoses to cool them down. Dokken also had issues with their PA system, it was broadcasting on the same frequency as Tampa International Airport's tower.

In Memphis, another food fight occurred between the audience in the stands and those on the field. Van Halen cut their set extremely short after Sammy Hagar's equipment malfunctioned. He called out to his guitar tech during the final song, "My axe be cutting out on me, Zeke." The concert was introduced by hostess Martha Quinn of MTV.

In Kansas City, the food fight continued between the lower and upper levels of Arrowhead stadium.

The Maine show was plagued by late afternoon moderate-to-severe thunderstorms & a near riot during a lengthy delay. The severe storm forced Dokken to play toward the rear of the stage to escape the torrential downpour / lightning. The storms caused a long delay post-Dokken's set, at which the crowd started chanting "Rain or Shine, Rain or Shine". As the crowd was getting more agitated, they were finally apprised of the situation (by a roadie or tour manager). However, the information was delivered in a very ill-advised way; arrogant, condescending, & taunting in nature to the point of the official saying "what?, do you think you're going to get your money back?" At this point the crowd started heaving chunks of the broken asphalt (which the people were standing on) at the tour official, as well as the equipment on stage & the situation nearly devolved into a full-blown riot.

In New Jersey, a toilet was ripped from the wall causing a small flood on one side of the stadium. Between Dokken and the Scorpions, members of the crowd stole a case of frozen hot dogs from the back of the on-field concession stand and threw them into the audience. There was also a large food fight due to people getting fed up with the extremely long wait between the Scorpions and Van Halen. People from the upper decks threw food, drink and trash over the railing. At the same time, about one hundred or so people jumped the wall and rushed onto the main field which led to cheers erupting through the stadium.

In Los Angeles, the power was shut off during Metallica's set because fans were aggressively rushing the stage. The members of Metallica sat on the drum riser and watched. After a short break, they resumed their set. Fifteen people were arrested.^[1]

Metallica's following act Dokken would come over severe ridicule from the thrash metalheads in the crowd for not matching Metallica's intensity.^[2]

In Dallas, Van Halen's set was cut short by vocalist Sammy Hagar's voice problems. He promised Van Halen would return to Dallas and play a free show. The band made good on the promise three years later on December 4, 1991 with 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. This show also had a water/cup fight between the field and the stands at either end of a concession stand that was along the sidelines on the west side of the stadium.

The Houston show also had a trash/food/water fight between the field and the stands. There was also a venue issue where a barrier broke and at least one person fell to a lower level of stands landing on lower seats. EMS was forced to eject several people. The show continue as scheduled.

In Seattle the Scorpions' singer Klaus Meine was hit in the throat by a camera thrown out of the audience. He ranted about having respect for the bands on stage for about 5 minutes, then they did one more song and left the stage. This was about 3/4 into their full set.

At Alpine Valley a lighting rig fell during the Scorpions' set, and Sammy Hagar fell off the stage.

Dave Grohl attended the June 10 show in Washington, D.C.. "I was a cynical pothead," he recalled in 2008. "Like, 'This is stupid. This place is so big.' It made no sense. But now I guess it does."^[3]

Setlists

Typical Van Halen Setlist

1. A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
2. Summer Nights
3. There's Only One Way To Rock
4. Panama
5. Bass Solo
6. Runnin With the Devil
7. Why Can't This Be Love
8. Mine All Mine
9. Drum Solo
10. You Really Got Me
11. Sucker In A 3 Piece
12. When It's Love
13. Eagles Fly
14. I Can't Drive 55
15. Best Of Both Worlds
16. Guitar Solo
17. Black And Blue
18. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
19. Superstition
20. Rock And Roll

Typical Scorpions Setlist

1. Blackout
2. Big City Nights
3. Every Minute Every Day
4. Rhythm Of Love
5. Bad Boys Running Wild
6. Make It Real
7. Coast To Coast
8. Still Loving You
9. Don't Stop At The Top
10. Can't Live Without You
11. Coming Home
12. The Zoo
13. No One Like You
14. Rock You Like A Hurricane
15. Dynamite

Typical Dokken Setlist

1. Tooth And Nail
2. Just Got Lucky
3. Burning Like A Flame
4. Into The Fire
5. Heaven Sent
6. It's Not Love
7. Guitar Solo
8. Mr. Scary
9. Standing In The Shadows
10. Alone Again
11. Turn On The Action
12. In My Dreams

Typical Metallica Setlist

1. Creeping Death
2. For Whom The Bell Tolls
3. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
4. Harvester Of Sorrow
5. Whiplash
6. Fade To Black
7. Seek & Destroy
8. Master Of Puppets
9. Last Caress
10. Am I Evil?
11. Battery

Tour dates

References

External links

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