The average T-shirt breakdown at a Metallica concert goes something like this: 94 percent Metallica shirts, 2 percent Iron Maiden, 2 percent Black Sabbath, 1 percent Slayer, 1 percent Slipknot and .00001 percent Britney Spears/Taylor Swift. (You always have that one guy being ironic with his shirt choice.)
The fact that there were far more button-ups and polos than concert T’s to be seen in the Metallica crowd on Wednesday night — probably by a ratio of 100:1 — clearly underscored that the biggest Bay Area band of all time wasn’t playing one of its regular shows at Chase Center in San Francisco.
No, the hard-hitting quartet — featuring vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo — had arrived to perform a massive corporate gig during Saleforce’s Dreamforce conference. This Dreamfest concert, which doubled as a benefit for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, was astronomically priced, with tickets starting (!) at $1,500 a pop and then quickly moving up from there in a manner that resembled a Richter scale.
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Dreamfest always gets huge names acts — with past participants including Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 — and this year’s fandango not only featured mighty Metallica but rising pop star Benson Boone, who performed across the street from Chase on a stage erected at Bayfront Park. The sets took place at roughly the same time, giving fans the choice between Hammett guitar solos and Boone backflips.
In other words, the choice was pretty simple:
The band — which was playing its third Dreamfest gig, following bookings in 2011 and 2018 — treated the techies to a “greatest hits” style show that ran some 90 minutes and included a dozen songs.
Performing in-the-round, with concert-goers lined up on each of the four sides of the relatively no-frills stage, Metallica came out the gate with a head of steam and hit the crowd with a ferocious version of the “Ride the Lightning” favorite “Creeping Death.”
“Sing it,” Hetfield demanded of the crowd. “Did you bring your voices?”
Yes, the attendees brought their voices. But the problem is that “Creeping Death” isn’t “Enter Sandman,” so many of these casual fans — who are in San Francisco to attend the conference — probably didn’t know the words.
Sure, it’s unavoidable that these things have a bit of a “corporate gig” type feel to it, but that didn’t stop anyone from having a grand time — and it certainly didn’t keep Metallica from putting its all into the performance.
“We are hear to have some fun tonight,” Hetfield remarked. “So, join us.”
Ulrich, in particular, seemed to be pushing for greatness from the first swing of the drumstick until the last note of the night, powering the band through such marquee numbers as “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Fuel” and “Wherever I May Roam.”
Hetfield was in typically good humor, goofing with the crowd and remarking that he was curious about what was happening on the other Dreamfest stage.
“Hey, is that Benson Boone guy on right now?” Hetfield said of the young pop star, who had just packed Chase Center on his own earlier in the month. “I want to see it. I want to see the backflip.”
He even told one lighthearted joke at the audience’s expense.
“How many tech guys does it take to screw in a light bulb?” the singer asked. “None. They call a tradesman.”
Mainly, he just kept right on rocking — just like he does at every gig, be it a stadium show on the group’s ongoing M72 World tour or a corporate gig for Silicon Valley types — sounding great on the microphone as he crooned through “Nothing Else Matters,” “The Memory Remains” and others.
Hammett was pure mastery on guitar throughout the evening, really turning heads with his leads on “The Unforgiven” and “Master of Puppets,” while Trujillo thundered through the groove in all the right ways.
Fans had been waiting all night for “Enter Sandman” and they’d finally get it as a closing number, which prompted one of the worst mosh pits of all time — basically like three guys running around and occasionally almost bumping into each other — and sending everyone back to their hotels with smiles on their faces.
Metallica setlist:
1. “Creeping Death”
2. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
3. “Fuel”
4. “The Memory Remains”
5. “The Unforgiven”
6. “Sad but True”
7. “Wherever I May Roam”
8. “Nothing Else Matters”
9. “Seek & Destroy”
10. “One”
11. “Master of Puppets”
12. “Enter Sandman”
