#Hokies AD Whit Babcock said, yes, there have been inquiries about getting Metallica on campus and, no, they won't play Blacksburg soon.— Norm Wood (@normwood) August 11, 2015
#Hokies AD Whit Babcock says he's reached out to Metallica about playing at Lane Stadium for OSU but they're out of the country.— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) August 11, 2015
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The tweet in question:
Appreciate the tweet. EddieVT, be sure to link or embed the source in the future, thanks!
Will do.
Playing in Canada the following week...so not THAT far out of the country...
EDIT: Removed-was 8 seconds too slow..
I think it'd been discussed on here before but it's still awesome that Whit would even try.
There's a totally new approach at 25 Beamer Way, and I like it.
While they are on tour there's like a 2 week gap in their tour with labor day smack dab in the middle if I remember correctly
Yep. I just looked. They are in England on Aug 30 and Canada on Sep 14.
Yep, that's the detail I remember.
And while I anticipate that Whit is the kind of guy who could get it done eventually, I don't see Metallica flying back to the states just for Labor Day.
Their Tour Schedule kind of shows otherwise...
Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmm
Maybe going early for a European vacation?
I'm just sayin... Blacksburg, to play on National TV for the opening weekend of the college football season with the national champs in the house...
I wouldn't exactly say no to that relatively small detour on a global tour... Just have the flight from England stop in Greensboro, make the day trip to Blacksburg, you can be in Quebec City the next day with little time wasted.
For a concert with 66,000 attendees, Metalica would pull in ~$5 million. Take that from the total ticket sales for that game (66,000 * $110 = $7,260,000) and VT is left with making only $2.26 million. That's a HUGE hit. And no, Metalica probably wouldn't do it out of the kindness of their heart I would imagine.
Quiet down with your logic.
Just trying to temper expectations. There's already noise about the Brad Paisley concert the night before. With any luck, he'll sing the national anthem similar to how Darius Rucker did a few years back and all fans will receive a treat for the big game to go with the W.
Oh I know.
And, to be honest, I'm a little surprised we're going with Brad Paisley over Darius Rucker.
Darius is a USCe guy but him and Beamer are friends, plus he doesn't have the WVU connection.
Lars gotta get paid
I never said anything about a full concert...
Seriously, one day out of the way to open MNF on ESPN for an intro using your own song that a school who is hosting the defending champs has essentially adopted as their own unofficial fight song?
I'm just sayin....
Would the logistics even work out for them to play at Lane Stadium? I remember the Concert for Virginia Tech had a time lapse video of the setup/breakdown and it took a couple of days.
^This. To play just 1 song would be an outrageous waste of money. The amount of time needed for setup, sound checks/rehearsal, and tear down are brutal. Even if they keep it simple with no special lighting, a small mobile stage that they can wheel back into the service tunnel between SEZ and West Stands, they can't just go out there and run through it cold. If something like this were to actually happen, everyone would know before the game started because the stadium audio team would have to run them through the speaker system to determine the appropriate levels. Everyone would hear it and the surprise element would be ruined.
Sound check would be an issue but I don't think they would be keeping it a secret from the live audience. It would work.
They did it in SF earlier this year for a Giants game. They did the National Anthem and 7th inning stretch and that was it....
The precedent has been set...
Fair enough. Did not know this. Leg for you.
Yep... I mean, I know the band lives in the SF area and are huge Giants fans, but they have shown the willingness to do something like this. With the 2 week gap in their scheduling, and our game right in the middle of it.... I dunno...
just got mad chills envisioning that being Enter Sandman instead in front of a hostile Lane crowd
They also all live in the Bay area. It's a lot easier and a lot cheaper to get themselves, their crew and their gear to a Giants game than it is to Blacksburg, VA.
It is definitely doable. It would have to be a simple setup and have a good amount of support to tear down quickly and not disrupt the turf. It is very doable. though.
I'm going to assume we're not talking a full on concert here, and that we'd just need Metallica on a flatbed/mobile stage at the 50 yd line for part of one song.
Come on. We all know that Lars is all about free music.
No joke, especially with their waning popularity and relevance in today's hard rock/metal scene. They fall into the "classic" subdivision of their genre. They should jump at the chance to be on a national stage like that.
Waning popularity?
I see some sold-out shows on their list, so they're doing well enough I suppose.
I would imagine they still sell out any arena they play
Speaking as a metal fan, I would go see Metallica nowadays for the same reason one would go see the Rolling Stones, to hear them play 20+ year old songs and say I did it at least once.
Did that with the Stones four times. Each of them were worth it.
Quickly... somebody start tracking the private planes in and out of Roanoke/Blacksburg.... Only this time it's not to track if somebody is trying to steal Foster
I work with touring bands all the time and the turnaround of them coming to Lane would be easy. They wouldn't have their full production but wouldn't need it. They don't necessarily need the exposure but it would be a boost for them. If the money was right they could use this is as a fly in date, have back line gear brought in...(wouldn't want the university to do it but an outside source contracted) then they could perform and go on to Canada.
Could Whit work with ESPN to make this happen? ESPN LOVES to show the intros and loves our intro. They'd love the opportunity to broadcast it.
Applicable song.
Well, if Whit is a Master of Puppets, I'm sure he could pull some strings...
Twisting Buckeye minds and smashing their dreams.
Pretty sure Battery will apply to what the LPD does to their offense.
Oh come on... if there was ever a song to describe the LPD
I was trying to stick with the same album, but this is indeed more appropriate.
Fun Fact: The Thing That Should Not Be is not really about Cthulhu, but is in fact about Sam Rogers.
I just hope it doesn't get to big like this...
Dude I would give you my firstborn and entire net worth if you made this happen Whit, DO IT!
If we can't have them in the stadium (this time) how about a live remote???
Now here's a guy with ideas!
That's a great idea. Too bad they're not doing a concert that night...
On Saturday, when Whit was in Charlotte, he said that they are looking to do a concert the night before but nothing is final yet. He said it would likely be a country group
Brad Paisley, confirmed from multiple media sources.
great idea! but since we're a Tech school let's turn that up a notch
Is that Pitbull?
Pretty sure that's the hologramed tupac from a couple years ago
While we aren't talking a full concert, we really aren't even talking a full song. The entrance music cuts out before the words start. If they played the full song, they would be playing for a few minutes after the players ran out which would be kind of weird since they usually run out and then the captains line up pretty quick afterwards. If they played on the field there would be an extra few minutes of moving the small set off the field after that.
It is an awesome idea to think about but I think it would lose some of its luster with the delays. I suppose it would make for some really good TV though.
I think the coolest way they could do it (if it were to be done) is have the band separated around the stadium and as each instrument comes into the song, the band member starts playing and the focus switches to that person.
I have always hated that they shut the song off as soon as the team steps on the field. And I have never understood why either. I think it would be MUCH better if they shut it off right before the singing starts.
And for the love of all that is Holy, do a sound fade and not an instant stop. It sounds bad when the music all of a sudden disappears.
They stop it so that the band on the field, most often being the HTs, can play the fight song.
They have actually started letting it play longer the last few seasons. Has been fading out right around when the vocals start, then the band starts up "Tech Triumph."
That is good. I only made it to 1 game last year and it was the Miami game so I have done what I can to block that memory out.
Great. I guess I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Why don't we suggest that Whit request a Metallica version of Tech Triumph? They could do a direct fade from Sandman to Tech Triumph. This would be a special occasion thing, though. Don't want to upset the band folks.
HT here, and i wouldn't mind a metal Tech Triumph. It was always an odd transition, and the sound level never matches.
Well then. Maybe Sam Rogers should reach out to Metallica...
I find it kind of funny how people are arguing over how it could/would not work when it's already pretty clear that it isn't happening for whatever reason.
I think the live remote thing is the right idea for this. Too much logistication involved in a quickie appearance to make it work smoothly.
It would be much better if it was a complete surprise.
It would be much better if it happened, surprise or not.