Bands Who Are Absolute Nightmares On Tour 

Grunge the disrespect to Metallica was unnecessary lmao so they’re trying to take care of their crew, sue ‘em!

Grunge here’s one... my 18 year old cousin is a better drummer than Lars Ulrich

Come on... Lars is just a guy. A guy who plays drums and just makes music (even he admits that)

Grunge, trying to make Metallica's touring contract seem over the top just makes you look like amateurs. they should be lauded for taking care of their crew, not derided for making sure the venue can handle their requirements.

Nile: Karl is a total prick.

Metallica is one of those bands that do take care of their guys, hence the reason why they've apparently been able to retain many of the same crew members since the late 80's/early 90's. That is one of the luxuries of being a multi-million dollar band, though: being able to reward everyone handsomely for their service. Another short anecdote, because I'm reminded of it: I worked with a guy who did carpentry/stage construction for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, back in '07-'08, I wanna say. He told me that on the European leg of the tour, Springsteen took every weekend off to fly back home to the States to see his kids. The kickback of that was, instead of just a bunch of guys sitting around with their thumbs up their asses, Springsteen handed down $3,000 bonuses to every single member of his crew to "do whatever they wanted while he was away". So essentially, during these breaks, his crew took some time to drive out of fly all over the map and just generally see the sights. My co-worker, in particular, claimed he flew out to Spain and Italy, consumed the local cuisine, got drunk etc etc you get the picture. Some of the guys didn't even spend their $3,000; they just pocketed it, every weekend of the tour. Imagine what those dudes' net looked like at the end of their fiscal year with that sort of treatment goin on. I'm not really the biggest fan of "The Boss" in the world, but that definitely made me respect the guy a lot more.

I saw Metallica years ago in Dallas. Sadly, James hurt his back shortly before they were to come on. The 3 remaining members came out on stage and made the announcement and asked everyone to be cool as they will play, however, with a sub singer. They also asked everyone to retain their tickets as they would reschedule the concert and ensure those tickets were available for a trade in at no cost. When James recovered, they kept kept their word and put on a mighty show! That right there is why they are the one and only might might mighty Metallica!

@@hamupinhere I used to be on the Manowar crew, our head of techs was Bruce's former guitar tech, he had so many great stories about his time with them. And we also did a few festival gigs with Metallica, their crew were a great bunch of guys!

Joseph McDermott That’s a fair question and I’m not sure what they offered to those who couldn’t attend the second concert. I was in line trading mine in the second the new date was announced. They were 100% Metallica and I love them now more than ever!!

@@TriumphAusStahl you have my dream job I would love to be part of a big band and tour the world

Yeah imagine wanting to look after your huge crew who run your show! This video is dumb

Craig Hughes I agree, but I mean. “Hot breakfast, lunch and dinner for 100” is pretty excessive.

Hammer_of_creation I had no idea the food was for the crew. The video never mentioned that and (too me at least) made it out to me that they did that just to be “cool” or “excessive.” Them getting food for their crew is fucking awesome. Please disregard my original comment.

Georsef a lot of people don’t know that a ton of venues pay terribly to the people playing. Metallica has grown to have a great reputation for crew treatment from what I heard.

Mofair Hellivan one of the guys who comes into the store I work at saw me wearing a Metallica t shirt and told me he was on their crew in the 90s. Said they were the coolest bunch of guys and he had a great time working for them

Yeah, when you think about how big Metallica is, and how large their crew is, those requests dont seem all that crazy.

Metallica sucks.

Lil View ok “Lil”

Lil View ya know it’s almost like some people have OPINIONS

Kirby Everyman and its fans safety

Apparently the reason why bands have such weird demands is to make sure the promoter actually read the terms. David Lee Roth says that if he includes weird demands it's to make sure they read the terms. Because if any of that isn't done then whole thing can go down hill fast.

So unreasonable! Venues must hate them!

A lot of bands will have their own caterers who will look after them and their crew rather than the venue, also the venues will have liability insurance but bands should have their own insurance for themselves and touring crew as well as all their equipment.

Yawn. Considering a crew normally arrives ~11am, and the unions unload the trucks, a breakfast is absurd. As is expecting the venue to provide for that which is the responsibility of the band's employees.

And yet didn’t hear what a straight BITCH Lars is?! 😂 One of the most hated pussies EVER 🤮👎 Diva ass pathetic sissy. Laughing stock of the music industry lololol

@@ThomasinaJefferson-ke7xs He has more money and fans than anyone is this thread. What do you got?

Keoki Holguin Exactly. Ridiculous that they included Metallica. They are known worldwide, not only as a band that takes care of their fans, but also their road crew. I’ve heard plenty big time promoters cite Metallica as one of the best bands to work with.

A lot of metallica's crew have been with them for years. Says everything.

Given the fact that they play to hundreds of thousands of people on many different venues around the world, the hauling of their massive expensive equipment and the fact that they're potential targets for ambulance chasers, I'd say they're REALLY SMART in their approach. They also take care of their own personnel and have earned the status to ask for anything that makes them feel as comfortable as at their own homes. They're old enough and been in the game long enough to perfect it. Even though I stopped listening to them back when the Black Album happened, I'm still very happy for them and very much espect what they've achieved. More power to them.

Nathan Parry Yeah. James still has the same guitar tech. I think he’s been working with them since the black album tour.

Same for Dio.

Roth is a pretty smart dude. He wants to make sure the show is safe and enjoyable

I was scrolling through the comments looking for this one. A great way to see if the promoter has paid attention to the details that matter (weight allowances, voltage regulators, et al.)? Put in a few that don't (no brown M&Ms, lol).

We do the same in the US Army. Take the simplest task (making your bunk in Basic Training) and break it down to the most minute of details. If you can’t get the easy things right, you will surely fail at the hard things.

In the early 80's in Pueblo, CO, the details of the stage assembly were not read. No one was hurt but it ruined a rubber surface basketball court, a failed attempt to replace wood basketball courts.

Didn't David Lee Roth have a legal agreement in event he impregnates a groupee?

TraceVandal My sentiments exactly.

Yeah, what absolute dicks they are for doing this. Obviously, they should park the trucks 50 miles away and have the crew unload everything onto their bare shoulders and carry it all the way to the stage without getting anything to eat or drink. Treating the crew well? Nope, we don't do that here. :P

not a huge "tracevandal " fan and you lost me at anything starting with "not a fan" it instantly makes me think the commenter(you) is a Godzilla sized douche-bag that's just a little bit too narcissistic

So true. I used to work as a roadie and having quick, close access to the venue from the trucks is so necessary. Without it, everything takes 2-3x as long and makes the physical work so much more difficult.

You’re right bro

Grabe bro.

I’d piss in Adele’s and Beebs food just for that.

They showed the AJFA stage set up. They were even worse at that point using alcohol to medicate after losing Cliff.

Then all hell broke lose after that, hair cuts smoking etc, there career has been a emotional battle from start to whenever it may end, btw not a hater AJFA is one of my all time fave albums

She probably thinks St. Anger was their biggest success LOL. Though I admit I like that album. And I heard he recently fell off the wagon, though he might be back on again.

@@jimmym3352I thit St. Anger was a huge disappointment you couldn't even tell Kirk Hammett was on the album to me that's there worst album even tho I did enjoy those sings live when I saw them there best song on that album was unnamed feeling which was really good live.

Exactly. When I saw Metallica on the list I cringed.

they do NOT travel with all the manpower needed to put on a show NO BAND DOES

@@dannullmeyer7378 they don't bring security but that is it. Metallica are a different beast than most bands.

Dan Nullmeyer they do tho

Dan Nullmeyer Yeah man. They do. I know this. I’ve been listening to them since the early 80’s and have been to 14 live performances. I’ve spoke to numerous members of their staff. I’ve watched metclub videos where their touring roadies, instrument experts, Tour management personnel, etc are all interviewed talking about their life and work on the road with the band. Metallica are the greatest live touring band.......without question......ever. No one comes close. It’s a massive show and it’s been massive since they outdone Ozzy Osborne night after night when they last supported in a tour before becoming the live beast everyone knows. And that was 33 yrs ago so they’ve kind of perfected the way to do live shows. Metallica will literally tear down the audio equipment of a venue if they must, install their own and then reinstall the venues audio when they leave if they deem the venue audio is where they want theirs. Do you really think James Hetfield just lets random guys from various countries tune, service and handle the 6 to 8 guitars he uses each show? You think Lars Ulrich just assumes some local will get the pyrotechnics timing right with the local lighting and sound guys he’s using. And the local sound guy. Yeah Metallica will be fine with his interpretation of how they should sound. Metallica should just use corrective service labour in the area to set up their rotating, rising heavily engineered stage setups. Don’t worry about experts who do it again and again. It’ll be fine. Of course Metallica is a huge deal and a huge set up that involves a massive touring crew. Their tours go for years, but only months without break. So if You are in their crew it’s like a 12 week on( away)4 weeks off(back home) kind of deal at times. I think it’s great that Metallica is so professional that they ensure all their staff are professional and to show respect to their staff they will not tour a city unless their professional staff are given professional level treatment.

don’t care, Metallica is trash and are pure bred assholes

Have you *seen him PLAY GUITAR?* = Fucking Atrocious! I've been playing since age 12 and it makes me ILL seeing his..."skills"... He may as well just stick to falling on his ass trying to skateboard; which he *CAN'T DO EITHER!*

I mean he’s released a rock album before but I’m not about to argue with the gatekeepers of rock 🙄

Or a band

Jon Haugland of course he is. Haven’t you heard his godly guitar solo?

I would disagree. The word “Rockstar” has evolved to a meaning which encompasses more than just Rock n’ Roll. Whether you like his music or not, he’s an overall talented musician who has influenced many current artists.

Metallica’s demands as described here are nothing out of the ordinary.

Kenny Chesney has a “Tiki bar “ that goes on tour with him. Timothy B Schmidt of the Eagles brings along a teakwood table that he eats off of. Tim McGraw has to have every other fluorescent light disconnected in his dressing room. George Strait had almost no special requests. He just shows up and plays and leaves.

I seen them live its a big production show

Gotta love effeciency

Metallica is the opposite of Guns n Roses-they want to be cool to everyone, which can create a logistics and supply nightmare when you are Metallica. And after the thing with GnR, I can understand wanting the huge insurance. Why have some jerk touring partner band get your stuff trashed and then you have to foot the repair costs? And besides, it's not like you can go without insurance anyway-pretty much that is the first thing you must get to have a tour or festival.

kicky_sam_49 Indeed. As is the need for several business offices. Tour managers need to have a workspace to manager and direct, they need a place to cut checks for the crew and monitor payroll, they need places to work with local officials on permits and insurance coverage, and they need a place for planning ahead for the next stop on a tour. It may be a quartet of musicians playing music, but a stadium band is a large business in every aspect of the word.

Van Halen was the product of venue damage so to prevent venue damage again, they made extreme contracts.

They just wanted Metallica for the thumbnail

the way i see it, they make jobs and business in any city they visit.

I think its pretty cool that Metalica demands food for the entire crew / staff working there. Shows they actually give a shit about other people

RastaSaiyaman all good , well thought out replies, I’m sure someone will come along and mess it up but folks we have a reasonable conversation going in the comments, it may not be a first but it is rare!!

Freddie Jay honestly I don't know much about the music business but it didn't seem like Metallica were being hard to work with, it clearly seemed like they were just demanding stuff for their workers because they're such a big band and so many people work for them.

Exactly. This isn't 1983 Metallica running around in a van from venue to venue, and would be lucky if they had one roadie to help with their gear. This is a multi-million dollar affair to launch these massive shows with giant video screens, pyro, lighting rigs, and extensive audio setups and crew to run it all. And they continue to bring in the ticket sales anywhere they go, and do everything to justify the cost of their tours. I'm sure the Rolling Stones put on just as large of a show with just as many people working backstage to make it happen.

Since when is he a musician?

He's s a 🐸

Li'l gWayne is a POSEUR!

Since when is Fuck pants are you done

Lil Wayne needs all that security to protect him from music fans who'd love to kill him for being a no talent piece of shit and impersonating a musician.........

You don't know what rowdy is until you walk into Anfield.

Za Doruphin exactly, Liverpool ain’t calm, us scousers are nuts

Teh I don’t think the beastie boys where ready for Liverpool tbh 😂😂✌🏼👌🏼

NOU GAMES 😂😂😂

Ahahaha, good one

That's how badass Metallica was back in the day.

I'm sure they apologized afterwards.

Actually, a normal down to earth Canadian in a rush, will still stop and say "excuse me" if they bump into you. I've been to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and all in rush hour... they tend to hold the door open for you A LOT more. They aren't perfect, but they do seem nicer than a lot of other places.

where was that? Just an interesting comment because Axl was not known as a drinker at that time. More in the early and was basically clean by the late 80s (not like the rest of them) and that show in Montreal that they referenced. The audio equipment was damaged in the show and Axl could not hear himself and told the crowd a few times if it couldn't be fixed that wouldn't be able to perform. After about 4 songs, they told the crowd and promised refunds and to come back another time. That part was not mentioned in this list because if it was, it wouldn't sound dramatic enough.

In 2014 Guinness WR book it says 5 rooms with a pleasant temperature, herring in sour cream, 44 assorted sandwiches and obviously M&M. You could be right, but they may also be very picky about food.

David Lee Roth is the source for that story, so I expect it to be true :) You can check this on snopes.com

Yep, it was to ensure that people actually read the contract.

Yep - it started when one of their stages sank into the wooden floor of a college basketball court causing damage to the venue and the cancellation of the show. Basically the promoters didn't read the contract that mentioned the weight of their stage. Hence the M&M clause.

They put it in there to see if it's actually read...

Big doesnt equal best.

A week or less folks these shows get set up happen and loaded out in 1 day its all normal most large touring acts do this.

Alex Morales I know right? Metallica isn’t just a band, it’s the people behind it as well. They perform amazingly not just based off their talent as musicians but they understand that good crew are hard to come across, like especially sound guys whom good ones are rare, they take care of the people working for them, it’s a loyalty type of thing.

No, I'm pretty sure that Metallica is just the band. I mean, it's not like they perform on the album or anything.

What if its only a 19,000 seat arena in the middle of a downtown that only has room for five tractor trailers at a time? Can't they just buy their own food, like gown ups normally do?

snake knife you still have a team of 100 if you’re booked to play 10 people or 100,000 people. The biggest band in the world needs a big team and a lot of parking spaces

@@snakeknife7518 I'm a fulltime touring musician and yes, I can relate to the spoils and treatment, maybe not as vast and as royal as Metallica but still treated decently. The agent will usually only take bookings where both agent and venue owner are confident that the artists will fill the seats meeting the venues capacity, if the agent think a certain number isn't satisfactory to minimum requirements then they won't take the job, the venue also has to meet the minimum requirements of the production rider too, stage size area, riser and height restrictions for overhead lighting, power access for any backup generators and so on. They also have to deal with the biggest factor, the noise restrictions of when they can have a sound / line check, the maximum db's the sound engineer is restricted too and the cut off time's and curfew of the concert itself before the council start handing out noise restriction fines. It would make no sense plus and it would be a waste of production and money if the production catered for a 50,000 capacity crowd then suddenly a 19,000 arena where only half the shows production was utilized or could fit in it's parking lot. There's really no time for venturing out to buy your own food unless it's listed and confirmed on the tour itinerary, the crew, musicians, even the drivers are on rotation 24hrs where they're either working or resting... drivers drive from point A to point B, after that they're catered for with food and sleep, that's it for them, job done, don't need to see them till the show is all packed up and ready to leave for the next venue. There's only a specific time crew can have access to the venue, you can't just roll up any-time of the day and say "we're here, for the show"... the venue has their own people and staff that need to clear everything before one can even start unloading. The load-in crew need to be on point during set up, that wont happen if one of the engineers or one of the loaders are missing because they took off to taco bell, production would halt and suddenly soundcheck is delayed and pushed back screwing up the days itinerary because of two dumb asses went on a food hunt for a couple of hours. That is why there is catering for the entire production so they can comfortably do their duties and eat on the premises without the worry of starving on the job, venues also provide dedicated drivers called "runners" just in case there needs to be an emergency store run for parts, replacement gear or to fill some wild requests.

Very good point!

To add to your username: The angel from my nightmare. The shadow in the background of the morgue. The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley. We can live like Jack and Sally if we want. Where you can always find me. And we'll have Halloween on Christmas. And in the night we'll wish this never ends. We'll wish this never ends. 😁😁😁😁😁

FUCKING awesome ! What's your band's name ????

LobsterPuncher well.. then you just as cool as Leonard Cohen then.. ‘ RIP ‘ the only two he asks for was a bottle of wine and flowers.. that’s pretty cool.. right.. !

I'd like to see your response if you had millions upon millions of dollars and were in the biggest rock/metal band with everyone and everything at your disposal with a drop of a hat. In other words, make it a large pizza.

@@SpiralDream nah gotta make it extra large

Jamie Howard Ah yeah. The groupies gotta eat too.

@Kriss Daigle lol exactly especially weed but a few xanax would help in case I get stressed out

LedZeppelin Fan06 that would be great. Too bad common people like me and you wouldn’t be able to get tickets because they’d cost a small fortune at face value, and also scalpers would gobble them all up and sell them for 10 times the face value.

@@andrewmachado6988 Ticketmaster is in the news, they're under investigation because undercover reporters went to a scalper convention and found that Ticketmaster is working with the scalpers, earning fees for both the initial sale and the resale. So maybe by 2022 there will be regulations about ticket sales.. because yeah, I'm definitely not paying $400 for seats in the nosebleed sections.

Kevan B I know right!!

Andrew Machado I’ve never been to a rock concert before, unfortunately, I live in the Florida panhandle. There is a civic center about 30 miles away from me, and the only people that play there are country stars, but even then the tickets are around $100 each, and the tickets usually sell out about 2-3 days after they begin selling them.

Many People don´t know this, But Metallica already did make up for the Montreal incident, Lars said when it happen "We will be back and soon enough" and they did in 93, they pull off three concerts and those of the original concert in 92 only had to pay half if they show the ticket

Wow, as if a person can't have their favorite band in the world be Metallica and also a Christian (me) ?

Huh?

PitchSkullBlack I agree! He’s been through sexual harassment and physical abuse from a very young age. He watched his mom and (step) sister get molested and beaten, and he himself has been molested and beaten, by both his biological and step father. Of course he’s not gonna be absolutely perfect. And at the end of his career he sought out help. He was trying you guys.

he also had a mental illness and when i read about this desease it was something like he was not fully conscious of the things he did and that's also kind of a explanation but I'm hella surprised no one ever mentions that

@@jnpsmommy haha, I guess you don't know a lot about Nikki Sixx

yeah and some of the silly stuff is put there on purpose. i remember hearing about a band (can't remember which) who wanted a bowl of M&M's and wanted all the green ones removed because if they got there and saw it had been done they had nothing to worry about but if there were green M&M's there was a chance they hadn't read everything else so they had to double check all the equipment so it was all set up correctly and nothing was gonna go wrong.

@@ironman1181 , You're right on track & yes, I remember the green M&M's quite well. It was Van Halen. When I toured as an opener, our riders (thankfully) were tied to the headliners. When WE headlined, we always required a case of Corona on ice in our dressing room. And EVERY PLACE WE PLAYED COMPLIED with this one request. There were 2 reasons for this: 1. It made sure our rider was fulfilled (at least partially) & 2. When you're in a strange town & things get out of hand, a Corona bottle is an excellent means of defense. We all still got screwed plenty of times anyway, but hey; That's Rock n Roll, Baby! Peace. JR

frenchabortion exactly! People don’t know the facts

Facts

I agree with the crappy and solo parts, not so much the artist part

horrible rapper and shit music? it sells! all genre's have bad artists, like grunge, hair metal, disco,ECT had their 5minutes, now it's horrible rap! the best will ALWAYS be an influence and an inspiration to music ' Eminem, pearl jam, metallica, Pantera, etc will be remembered, machine gun kelly, lilzan,mumble rap,will be what people won't admit that they liked! fuck even generic band's like Nickleback have musical talent, compose songs and play guitars!like to see musicians who can sit down with a guitar and perform, 'Shaun Morgan ' Talent!!!

So they are “crappy” because they are not your type of music? how ignorant. i would to see you even attempt to rap at a level in which wayne does.

@@scarysun15 I would like to see Wayne rap at the level real rappers do.

His tour rider was, LSD, BOOZE, COKE, LSD & LSD.

Actually the specific color M&M contract was meant for one reason. If they saw all M&M’s that color, they knew the concert venue actually read the contract and bothered to address that small detail and such things like proper electrical grounding were probably covered.

@@raptorshootingsystems3379 that's actually pretty smart good for them plus as we all know all m&ms taste the exact same way regardless of color lol

...and given the utterly vast sales of that album and the subsequent propulsion of Metallica to the most successful band of the late 90's it can easily be argued that it is their best (I wouldn't argue that, but it's valid). Huge sales do not necessarily mean quality but when the album continues to sell decades later you may want to concede that it might actually be good!

John F. Kennedy Never said it wasn’t a good album cause I love it to I meant to someone that has been a fan since kill em all wouldn’t like it as much

Moron hey screw u I bet Black was the first Metallica u listen to wasn’t it fuck wit ASK ANYONE THAT HAS BEEN A REAL FAN SINCE KILL EM ALL AND I BET 90% day black is ok but not the best you fucking idiot

Fair enough. I'm obviously too used to seeing their post-1988 back catalog maligned by supposed fans who hail their first four albums and hate the rest. I didn't mean to lump you in that category. Regards.

@@robertmorrison5110 you sound like a frustrated fat man feeling every second of his life is miserable

bigdaddyevil666 i want to move to Estonia from the states

Where can I find the story on this? It's very interesting, & I find it highly believable.

@@JerryAsbury1985 For the dates you can look in the official website of the band, year 93', if i remember correctly the story is there about the tickets, if don't then i can't give the exact source as i read it at least three years ago and i've read a lot of the band over the years, but might be the book "Enter Night"

Fantastic! They got a 50% discount! Really cool! But... they payed to see a WHOLE show and they got was... *blank*?

@@themastema1189 Thanks to Axl crybaby ass.

50% ? Shoulda been fucking free.......

Ariana Grande is a perfect example of this. She is CRIMINALLY arrogant and ungrateful for all she has and the people who put her there. She is literal human garbage......

I wish I worked for Metallica!!

Yeah but lars is a jerk

Lawrence Carpenter *You're*

Absolutely, these over rated bands are elevated by their hero worshiping masses who have no concept of real music or reality

Pat Gannon sounds like you’re just ignorant. She’s not requesting the 6 inch flowers because she actually gives a fuck. It’s to make sure the venue is actually following the rules and doing what they’re supposed to do.