Streamed Metallica show delivers decibels for worthy cause.
Staying home easier with livestreamed semi-acoustic show
Even at their quietest, the talent of Metallica is deafening.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, fans from across the globe logged on to watch the Bay Area’s biggest band perform a special, semi-acoustic concert streamed live from the band’s headquarters in San Rafael. The occasion was Metallica’s second annual benefit concert in support of its charity, All Within My Hands.
While 2018’ s performance, which also featured Metallica unplugged, took place at the Masonic in San Francisco, COVID19 restrictions made it necessary for the band to go fully virtual this year. That meant it wasn’t able to host any fans at the gig. Instead, the band had a backdrop of screens featuring the faces of Metallica diehards watching in realtime, which added a notable intimacy to the experience. Tickets ranged from $ 15 to $ 95 and included package options for audio downloads or a chance to be on the video wall for a song.
In a preshow video, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett spoke about why Metallica having its own foundation, formed four years ago to support local food banks, workforce education and other critical local services, was an important step for the band.
“Now that we have our own charity,” he explained, “it means we can send resources to wherever they’re needed with laser sharp focus.”
“It’s important that you guys know how seriously we take this,” drummer Lars Ulrich added in another clip. “No one should be going to bed hungry at night.”
Whether the band is playing in Antarctica, performing with the San Francisco Symphony like it did for the opening of Chase Center last year, or raising money and awareness for special causes, longtime fans know Metallica takes everything it does seriously. That was the case again for the band’s first payperview livestream event, which followed drivein screenings this year of an exclusive performance filmed with no audience at Sonoma’s Gundlach Bundschu Winery.
Divided into two sets, the band’s digital show started by doing away with the heaviest part of their sound. By going acoustic, Metallica shifted the focus from blasts of reverb and deafening drum fills to something defined chiefly by the texture of James Hetfield’s voice.
Additionally, whatever it is the wizards on Metallica’s sound and video team figured out for this show, every other act should consider itself on notice. It was a masterful technical achievement, with impeccable video quality that incorporated numerous angles and live fan feeds while never lagging for a second.
Seeing Metallica in the flesh is an experience that cannot be replicated, but in stripping away all of the distractions that come with a concert, fans can focus on the fury of Ulrich’s assault on a snare drum or the poetry of Hammett’s fingers in the frenzy of an inspired solo.
The first set’s eight songs included a dazzling cover of Deep Purple’s “When a Blind Man Cries” and the live debut of acoustic takes on “Blackened” and “Now That We’re Dead.” To close out the opening segment, offspring Layne Ulrich and Castor Hetfield joined their fathers by providing backing percussion on the Metallica charity’s namesake song.
“Maybe one day we’ll be the ones being wheeled out to back them on a song,” the elder Ulrich quipped. “We’ll be out there with maracas for ‘ Battery’ or something.”
After a short break, Metallica returned with amps in tow.
Highlights of the sixsong second half included “Wasting My Hate,” performed for the first time since 2011, as well as a gripping cover of “House of the Rising Sun,” made famous by Eric Burdon and the Animals, that pushed Hetfield’s range to its limit but to great effect. Between songs, Metallica’s four members chatted with a few of the viewers featured in a honeycomb of screens on the walls around them.
Hailing from Bulgaria, Venezuela and New Jersey, most of the lucky chosen were too excited to hold much of a conversation, but one woman did eagerly introduce Hetfield to several of her cats.
After a blistering rendition of “Enter Sandman,” the band called the show to a close by offering profuse thanks to the virtual crowd and a reminder from Hammett to “stay safe so we can come see you again.”
“Thank you for supporting All Within My Hands, and, even more importantly, thank you for supporting Metallica through thick and thin,” Ulrich said.
If more virtual concerts like the one Metallica delivered over the weekend are in the works, staying home for a bit during this pandemic will be a little easier.