Here's What Happened at the Metallica and SF Symphony Concert at Chase Center

Friday September 6, 2019

Chase Center was rocking for its first concert thanks to Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony. Here is a rundown of what happened before, during, and after Chase Center's inaugural event.

Before the Concert:


12:00 pm - Metallica gets fans excited with a Tweet about the concert.

1:00 pm - A few people begin to trickle into the plaza from Third Street. Some take a seat on the stairs of The Gatehouse while others wander around the plaza and take in the sights. A line of about 20 people begins forming in front of the Metallica merchandise booth in the plaza.

2:30 pm - Line for Metallica merchandise booth grows to more than 60 people. A good number of people in are already rocking their Metallica shirts, hats, pins, etc.

2:35 pm - Metallica fans Kyle and Tammy arrived nearly six hours before the start of the concert. They wanted to get a head start on purchasing some Metallica merchandise. Kyle and Tammy are veteran concertgoers, having attended nine and seven Metallica shows respectively. Kyle made his way to Chase Center by taking the Caltrain from Santa Clara, while Tammy drove to Mission Bay from Sacramento. Kyle said he absolutely had to see the opening of Chase Center and was especially looking forward to hearing some deep cuts from the S&M album during the concert. Tammy mentioned she kept track of the construction of Chase Center and was elated when she saw the “spectacular” Chase Center as she drove over the Bay Bridge.

2:45 pm - Peter made the trip all the way from Slovakia to see Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony perform at Chase Center. He said he’s been a Metallica fan since 1988 and has attended 11 concerts so far. When asked about his thoughts on Chase Center, Peter said it is a “nice building, new” and that he was looking forward to the only Metallica concert with the San Francisco Symphony.

3:30 pm - Event staff closed the arena bowl area for a pre-show soundcheck to ensure that the stage arrangements were ready for the concert. Members of the San Francisco Symphony took their places on the outer edge of the circular stage to rehearse.

4:25 pm - All along the circular Upper Concourse, vendors from eateries like Bakesale Betty's and Hot Dog Bills were hard at work to prepare food prior to opening the doors to concertgoers. The aroma from the eateries filled the air of the concourse. As the eateries prepared food, Warriors Shop spaces were temporarily converted to sell special Metallica merchandise made readily accesible to concertgoers.

4:30 pm - Down in the arena bowl, the San Francisco Symphony made their final preparations before the show. Though the doors were not set to open for another two hours, the Main Concourse was already buzzing with activity.

4:40 pm - In front of the East Entrance, attendees enjoyed a panoramic view of the San Francisco waterfront and took selfies in front of Olafur Eliasson’s "Seeing spheres" art installation. News trucks parked along 16th Street, with local media outlets waiting in anticipation to cover the inaugural Chase Center event.

4:45 pm - More fans began to occupy the plaza, punctuated by the line for the Metallica merchandise tent exceeding at least 80 people. Some concertgoers are also lined up at the box office. The diverse crowd seemed all ready to experience Chase Center for the very first time.

4:55 pm - Young Utah couple Iman and Lauren lounged on the steps of The Gatehouse. “We bought our tickets six months ago knowing this was going to be a big event,” Lauren revealed and added that this would be her very first Metallica concert.

5:00 - Mother-daughter duo Liliana and Marina made sure to attend this “once in a lifetime event,” together. The Berkeley residents used Amtrak, Bart, and Muni to make their way to Chase Center for tonight’s event. “We used our event ticket to ride Muni for free, “ Liliana shared, “and it was a really smooth trip.”

6:30 pm - The crowd of concertgoers nearly filled entire plaza as the Chase Center doors officially opened for the event. Lines to enter Chase Center reached from the West Entrance doors all the way to The Gatehouse. As soon as they entered, people flocked to the merchandise stands. A good number of people also headed to the different concourses for food. There was a tangible feeling of excitement in the air; the energy was unbelievable.

6:45 pm - People continue to flow through the West Entrance by the handful. Attendees take selfies with the dynamic videoboards across from the box office to the main lobby. Concertgoers that seemed like strangers greet and embrace each other like old friends with Metallica as the uniting force.

7:00 pm - Chase Center is filled with a jovial atmosphere as attendees explore all that Chase Center has to offer with its eateries, cocktail areas, and views of Mission Bay. Some attendees also made their way down to Portal B to access the arena bowl to check out the show’s stage set up. A blue light gently shined on the stage as people snapped pictures of the arena bowl.

7:45 pm - Fans began to trickle into the arena bowl to their seats. The bowl was about 40% full with concertgoers observing the stage setup. The United Club emerged as a popular place, with attendees enjoying an ice cold beer or crafted cocktail before the show.

8:00 pm - Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich expressed his excitement for the show on Instagram, saying "San. Francisco. Let's. Do. This."

During the Concert:

8:40 pm - The San Francisco Symphony took the stage and starts the concert with a slow rendition of "Ecstasy of Gold." Purple and gold lights draped over the crowd as they shouted in excitement while smoke-like graphics filled the video boards above the circular stage.

8:45 pm - The crowd rose to their feet as Metallica finally joined the San Francisco Symphony on stage. Dressed in all black, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet, and Robert Trujillo strummed away with drummer Lars Ulrich in the center of the stage. The excited crowd let out a deafening cheer when they heard the first note of "The Call of Ktulu."

9:00 pm - The spherical stage is draped in gold-tinted lighting, as fans fist-pumped to Metallica’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony’s melodic arrangements. The energetic crowd can’t help but sing along to the dynamic performance while drummer Lars Ulrich fires up the Chase Center crowd.

10:00 pm - Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony depart the stage for an intermission. Concertgoers leave the arena bowl to enjoy an ice cold beer or crafted cocktail at a nearby Chase Center eatery as they await the second half of the show.

10:30 pm - Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony take the stage again after a 30-minute intermission with a rousing rendition of "Prokofiev." Colorful images project from spherical screens above the stage, amplifying the atmosphere of the performance.

11:30 pm - Music director Michael Tilson Thomas led the San Francisco Symphony and joined Metallica to close out the concert with a rousing rendition of "Enter Sandman." The crowd was fully into the performance as nearly the entire audience rose to their feet and sang along. In a surprising end to the show, Thomas then hopped on stage to play the keyboard to end the concert alongside Metallica.

11:35 pm - The crowd began to exit the arena bowl after a standing ovation for Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony.

After the Concert:

11:38 pm - Alejandro Aguilar shared his favorite part of the concert on Twitter saying, "When you are at opening night at Chase Center with Metallica literally #NothingElseMatters."

11:41 pm - After the show, Shivam Bhatt Tweeted "What a glory. What a joy. Thank you, Metallica."

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