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Talk about setting the bar sky high right out of the gate.
The very first public event at the brand new Chase Center in San Francisco turned out to be nothing short of epic.
Of course, we all expected a lot from the occasion, as two of the Bay Area’s most beloved musical entities — Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony — finally reunited onstage to open the new home of the Golden State Warriors on Friday (Sept. 6).
But the result was a concert that fans will be talking about for decades to come, much like Metallica and the symphony’s first collaboration — dubbed S&M — which occurred in April 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre.
“Welcome Metallica fans from all over the world descending on San Francisco,” drummer Lars Ulrich greeted the capacity crowd. “Welcome all San Franciscans.
“How (expletive) cool is this?”
Pretty darn cool. And fans will get another shot to experience this S&M2 show again on Sunday at Chase. Then, a little over a month later, folks around the country will get to join in on the fun when the “S&M2” film hits theaters on Oct. 9. (See Metallica.film.)
Everything about this S&M2 concert felt like a big event. First off, of course, was the chance to see the most-buzzed about new venue to open in the Bay Area since the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014. And the building definitely didn’t disappoint. It proved to be a pretty nice place to see a show, offering up fine acoustics and a number of other selling points (like comfy seats and tasty concessions).
Plus, the parking/traffic situation didn’t seem to turn out to be the big mess that so many feared. Most of the 16,000 fans had navigated along the learning curves that come with visiting a major venue for the first time and were at their seats and ready to rock by the time the group made its entrance to “The Ecstasy of Gold,” which is Metallica’s regular walk-up music.
The group took its place with the orchestra in the center of the in-the-round stage, surrounded on all sides by the enthusiastic sold-out crowd, and launched into the mesmerizing “The Call of Ktulu,” which happens to be the opening track from the multiplatinum “S&M” album (documenting the ’99 Berkeley shows) as well as the very worthy 2001 Grammy winner for best rock instrumental.
The music was unbelievably rich and powerful, as the four mighty men of Metallica partnered with the 75-piece symphony — including a 41-piece string section — to belt out wonderful versions of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Memory Remains” and “Confusion” during a strong 65-minute first set. Add conductor Edwin Outwater to the equation and you had a total of 80 folks onstage.
Following a 20 minute break, the symphony returned, this time initially led by Michael Tilson Thomas. The legendary conductor, who just kicked off his final season with the symphony, ran the show for three numbers, the first of which — Prokofiev’s “Scythian Suite” — did not feature Metallica.
The rockers would return for the second offering, closely following Thomas’ direction through Alexander Mosolov’s futurist “Iron Foundry.” Then Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo took a quick break, leaving their Metallica bandmate James Hetfield to sing along with the symphony on a touching, tender rendition of “The Unforgiven III.”
Ulrich, Trujillo and Hammett, along with Outwater, returned for “All Within My Hands.” Then came one of the big highlights as the musicians paid tribute to Metallica’s original bassist — the late, great Cliff Burton — with an amazing version of the instrumental “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth,” featuring Scott Pingel, the symphony’s principal bassist.
The adventurous, diversely appealing show ended with a flurry of fan favorites, highlighted by an incredible take on “Master of Puppets.”
On so many levels, it was a historic event. And everybody in the house — including the guys in Metallica — seemed ecstatic to be witness to it on the opening night of Chase Center.
“There is no place on the planet that Metallica would rather be than right here with you,” Ulrich says.
Set list:
Set 1
1, “The Call of Ktulu”
2, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
3, “The Day That Never Comes”
4, “The Memory Remains”
5, “Confusion”
6, “Moth Into Flame”
7, “The Outlaw Torn”
8, “No Leaf Clover”
9, “Halo on Fire”
Set 2
10, “Scythian Suite”
11, “Iron Foundry”
12, “The Unforgiven III”
13, “All Within My Hands”
14, “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth”
15, “Wherever I May Roam”
16, “One”
17, “Master of Puppets”
18, “Nothing Else Matters”
19, “Enter Sandman”
