Metallica, S.F. Symphony Headline Inaugural Concert at Chase Center
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Friday night's first-ever Chase Center concert, which featured Metallica on stage with the San Francisco Symphony, drew fans from all over the world.
"I left my wife in Myrtle beach, South Carolina in the hurricane to be at Metallica," said Jim Brown of South Carolina. "I'm sorry, honey!"
Aaron Bilgrad of Los Angeles said this would be his eighth time seeing Metallica.
"This is like a once-in-a-lifetime event, well twice in a lifetime," said Bilgrad. "You can't miss this event. This is rock 'n' roll history."
Ankush Anand traveled for 34 hours for the inaugural event.
"I came from Bangalore just to watch Metallica. (I) heard about the Chase Center so came to check out that," he said.
Lars Ulrich is the band's drummer and co-founder.
"It's incredible as we are 38 years into this journey," said Ulrich before the show. "Even though we feel like we're just getting started."
Traffic getting to Chase Center was a big concern before the show. For the most part, fans said Muni and ride-sharing did not present any major delays.
"Took a train and it wasn't too bad, we got here a little bit early," said Courtney Downes of Canada.
Many concertgoers arrived well before the show kicked off past 8:30 pm.
"Traffic was a piece of cake. I haven't been to a lot of sports venues here but I grabbed an Uber and it was super easy," said Mike Scherer of Sonora.
The concert ended after 11:30 p.m.
The concert marked the 20th anniversary of Metallica's collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony. They last played together at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1999.
"Berkeley that was more of a theater set up," said Ulrich. "Obviously this is a sports arena but, as you know, everything here is state-of-the-art."