The Apollo Theater in Harlem has seen a number of historic live shows, starting at James Brown's legendary live shows and flowing from there. It's understandable that other huge acts want the chance to perform on that hallowed ground, but most blanche at the logistics of downsizing from an arena down to a 1,500 seat venue. But not Metallica.
The biggest band in metal performed at the concert hall on Sunday night as a run-through of it greatest hits, of which there are many. The band may have had to tone down its normal stage show of fire and explosions, but live staples such as "One" and "Creeping Death" still struck home.
The event was managed by Sirius XM, which granted tickets to the event to a lucky few listeners. The concert was broadcast live over a temporary Sirius channel titled "Mandatory Metallica," which allowed 25 million additional listeners to tune in. Which makes it, in a way, much bigger than a typical Metallica concert.
"This place is so rich with history, and we're gonna mess it all up!" vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield told the audience, before adding "Just kidding!" just in case.
Although The Apollo has staked its name in R&B and soul history thanks to artists such as Brown, Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye, but heavier rock acts have begun showing interest in being part of history during 2013 as well. Aside from Metallica, Trent Reznor's side project How To Destroy Angels also played its New York City show at the Apollo, despite ticket demand that far surpassed its limit.
It was Metallica's second New York appearance that day however. To commemorate the retirement of New York Yankee Mariano Rivera's number, the band appeared at Yankee Stadium to play one of their biggest hits, "Enter Sandman." "Sandman" has been Rivera's entry music during most of his time in baseball, becoming the most renowned example of individual theme music in sports. Some fans were reportedly miffed when the band failed to mention Rivera during its 2011 show at Yankee Stadium.
