Metallica, S.F. Symphony to open the new Warriors’ Chase Center
Organizers announcing shows at the new venue through the week
Metallica, the biggest Bay Area band of all time, is set to open the new Chase Center in San Francisco.
The band, which has sold more than 125 million albums worldwide, will rock the new home of the Warriors on Sept. 6, long before Steph Curry and company play their first official game in the 18,064seat venue. And Metallica, consisting of vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo, will will be joined by an old friend — the San Francisco Symphony, led by
Michael Tilson Thomas, in his final season as orchestra conductor.
The Chase Center opening show was announced during a press conference Monday at the venue, with Hetfield, Ulrich and MTT in attendance.
The performance not only celebrates the opening of the new building but also the 20th anniversary of Metallica and the Symphony’s groundbreaking collaboration of 1999, which produced the Grammy-winning live album “S&M.”
The original “S&M” live dates, which took place at the Berkeley Community Theatre, have become the stuff of legend over the years.
“We wanted to do something that would be unique to the Bay Area. Something that would only happen here and nowhere else in the world,” says Rick Welts, Warriors president.
The show isn’t even part of a larger tour. This is a special one-off for the Chase opener.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. March 22. Prices were not disclosed. See chasecenter.com for details.
The Metallica/ Symphony show was the first step in what organizers are calling “Reveal Week,” with plans to announce seven more events/concerts at the Chase this week — 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday, and 4 p.m. Friday. We’ll post updates on www.mercurynews. com/entertainment.
Metallica is in the midst of a multi-year world tour in support of its excellent 10th studio album, 2016’s “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct.” The group performed at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento in December.