As if playing in front of 55,000 fans with Metallica at U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday isn't enough for them, California hard-rockers Avenged Sevenfold will perform for 1,500 more in a surprise warm-up gig Thursday at First Avenue. And as if they would have any trouble packing the place, the band is making it a free, first-come, first-served show.
"Anyone who wants to go just needs to line up, and they can get in free," frontman M. Shadows instructed as he announced the special concert on the 93X-FM airwaves Wednesday morning. The radio station will be giving away tickets, too.
Shadows said the idea behind the small gig is to break in the band's new drummer Brooks Wackerman (of Bad Religion) before the big Metallica gig. "It seems insane to just throw him into that," the singer said, going on to sing his praise for First Ave, where A7X played some early gigs – and, for that matter, where Metallica also got introduced to Twin Cities audiences (in 1985).
"It's so classic," Shadows said of the club. "The history is unbelievable."
