Blimp Time-Hop: The First Portland Show From Metallica In 1989

32 years ago today, Metallica brought the Damaged Justice tour to the Cumberland County Civic Center on March 30, 1989. This was their second appearance in Maine. The band included Lars Ulrich on drums, James Hetfield on guitar and vocals, Kirk Hammett on lead guitar and Jason Newsted on bass.

The first one was on a very rainy day in June at Oxford Plains Speedway for the Monsters of Rock festival. That bill also featured Van Halen, The Scorpions, Dokken, and Kingdom Come.

To be honest, I didn’t get into Metallica until 1991 when my friend Paul Sek brought a copy of the ‘Black’ album over to my apartment on Concord Street, when my neighborhood was mysterious Woodford’s Corner in Portland.

You see, in 1989 I was busy going to Grateful Dead shows. Well Paul was also a Dead Head…a Dead Head who also liked to bang his head! Thanks for turning me on to Metallica, Paul.

1991 was the year WBLM introduced Metallica to the playlist. In 1989, the Blimp wasn't quite there yet. However, Portland Metal Heads were all about …And Justice for All and were absolutely there. Metallica sold out the Civic Center that night with Queensryche opening.

Here's the setlist from Metallica's first appearance in Portland.

setlist.fm

Here's a surprisingly good quality video recording of the entire 1989 St. Patrick's Day show in Hartford, Connecticut. It was shot just a couple weeks before they melted faces here in Portland. Did you see Metallica on this tour? If you can remember anything, tell us your story on the WBLM Facebook page.