Video: Metallica Played A Surprise Gig at a Small San Francisco Club Last Night

Alberto Cabello from Vitoria Gasteiz, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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There’s an old joke: where does an 800-pound gorilla sit in a movie theater? Answer: wherever he wants. And if there is any band in the world of heavy metal who’s an 800-pound gorilla, it’s surely Metallica, who are without a doubt the biggest metal band in the world. So it’s unsurprising — albeit incredibly cool — that on a whim, the band decided to play a surprise show at an intimate club in San Francisco last night.

As reported by Consequence of Sound, the Four Horsemen took to the stage at The Independent, a 500-person-capacity venue, last night, with the following announcement coming on hours before the show: “Surprise, San Francisco! Metallica! Tonight! Don’t walk, RUN to our box office with $20 cash right now to grab a wristband! It will sell out fast!”

The show sold-out within minutes of the announcement. Fans were required to show proof of vaccination on purchase.

The show was also historical for the band, in that it was the first gig where they opened the set with the track “Whiplash” off of 1983’s massive debut album Kill ‘Em All. On top of that, the band only played a couple of tracks from this year’s 30th-anniversary-celebrating record The Black Album — set staple “Sad But True” and lesser-played classic “Holier Than Thou.” Also included in the set were rarities like “The Memory Remains” off of 1997’s ReLoad and “No Leaf Clover” from their 1999 symphonic collaboration album S&M.

Check out the setlist for Metallica’s club gig below, followed by video of the event. Damn, wish we’d been there!

Whiplash (first time as an opener)
Ride the Lightning
The Memory Remains
Now That We’re Dead
Holier Than Thou
No Leaf Clover
Sad but True
Moth Into Flame
Fade to Black
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Creeping Death
One
Master of Puppets
Battery
Fuel
Seek & Destroy

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Words by Chris Krovatin