Monsters of Rock Tour 1988
| Tour by Van Halen and Metallica | |
| Start date | May 23, 1988 |
|---|---|
| End date | July 30, 1988 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 30 |
| Van Halen and Metallica concert chronology | |
The Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 was a festival tour of the United States in 1988, 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.
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. It truly looked like a massive sod fight. Attendants came out and threatened to close down the venue. The scene calmed down and the showed was 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. 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.
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