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It would seemingly make sense — Bay Area rockers Metallica at the 50-Yard line performing for the hometown San Francisco crowd at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but alas the NFL went another direction and tapped Coldplay. Still, Metallica got their spotlight on Super Bowl weekend Saturday night (Feb. 6) playing CBS Radio’s ‘The Night Before’ concert trading the tough turf for some prime outfield real estate in San Francisco’s AT&T Park.
Addressing the elephant in the room, frontman James Hetfield told the Associated Press prior to the performance, “The fan base is really wide, but as far as playing halftime for the Super Bowl, I have a feeling that ship has passed. We’re not a variety show. We’re not pop. We’re not sparkly and all that kind of stuff that I think seems to be what is needed for that.” See Hetfield’s comments in the video player above.
When it came time for showtime, the band drove home the point with an opening video that started with the words “Metallica: Too Heavy for Halftime.” Hetfield later stated during the show, “I think it works out for a reason. We get to play a whole show for a lot of people and we get to represent the Bay Area.”
As for the show, the night began with a blistering rendition of “Creeping Death,” then gave way to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” before Hetfield addressed the audience. “Fuel,” “King Nothing,” “Ride the Lightning” and “The Unforgiven” kept the night moving.
Other highlights of the set included the frenetic finale of “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” complete with an exhausted Lars Ulrich bowing on his kit while James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett looked on, an extended bass finale by Robert Trujillo on “Sad But True,” an amazing accompanying light and laser show during “One” and Kirk Hammett’s post-“Battery” guitar solo featuring a portion of “Hero of the Day.”
The band finished out the night with a rousing rendition of “Whiskey in the Jar,” the somber “Nothing Else Matters” and the stadium anthem “Enter Sandman” complete with a fireworks display going off above the baseball field.
Also during the evening, James Hetfield did tell the crowd that the band has been working on a new album and stated, “It’s coming near the end.” But respecting the process, he stated it was not his intent to get anyone’s hopes up for an imminent release, but he does feel that work on the disc is “near the end.” At the end of the show, Ulrich reiterated Hetfield’s statement, revealing that they would be seeing fans soon with a new record.
Metallica “The Night Before” Concert at San Francisco’s AT&T Park Set List
1. “Creeping Death”
2. “For Whom the Bell Tolls”
3. “Fuel”
4. “King Nothing”
5. “Ride the Lightning”
6. “The Unforgiven”
7. “The Memory Remains”
8. “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”
9. “Sad But True”
10. “Wherever I May Roam”
11. “One”
12. “Master of Puppets”
13. “Battery”
14. “Fade to Black”
15. “Seek and Destroy”
Encore
16. “Whiskey in the Jar”
17. “Nothing Else Matters”
18. “Enter Sandman”
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Source: Loudwire.com
