A Metallica fan gets amped early during Day 2 at Outside Lands. Photo: David Hall, for the Register
As many might have guessed, Day 2 of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco was all about Metallica. Given that Golden Gate Park was likely the only hometown venue the Bay Area quartet hadn’t performed at during its 31-year career, their day-capping show took the cake for most historically significant of the weekend.
Though it’s certainly debatable, I’d say the outfit’s two-hour, pyro-packed, fireworks-filled set – comprised chiefly of highly regarded ’80s classics – easily beat out Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s powerhouse performance on Friday and is likely to trump Stevie Wonder’s sure-to-be impressive event-closing concert Sunday night.
Frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Lars Ulrich were clearly out to prove something with selections that began and concluded with their oldest and most thrash-focused material, avoiding anything post-’97 save for “Hell and Back,” from last December’s Beyond Magnetic EP.
Giving a clear nod to their origins, they launched with “Hit the Lights,” Ulrich’s and Hetfield’s first, seed-planting creation from 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, following that quickly with “Master of Puppets” and “Fuel.”
Loyal fans who turned out en masse, faithfully sporting shirts from all eras of the band’s career, must have been thrilled with the show’s midsection, which included blazing cuts such as “Ride the Lightning,” “Fade to Black,” the highly appropriate “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and, of course, “One” and “Enter Sandman.”
Concluding the encore with an unequivocally volcanic version of “Seek and Destroy,” replete with an outro jam on a snippet of … And Justice For All’s “The Frayed Ends of Sanity,” the show symbolized more than three decades of unchallenged metal royalty. As Hetfield put it: “Metallica is alive and well in San Francisco” and is thrilled to represent a city that “likes its music heavy.”
The Kills' Jamie Hince and Alison Mosshart at Outside Lands. Photo: David Hall, for the Register
That seemed generally true earlier in the day, too, when thousands could be spotted groovin’ to the crunchiest of Tame Impala’s new tracks, “Elephant” (off their upcoming sophomore release, Lonerism); or flailing right along with the boys of Explosions in the Sky for their crushing run of “Yasmin the Light”; and most definitely as fans shouted out the lyrics to Portugal. The Man’s rowdy cover of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.”
The Kills’ searing main-stage set represented the final holdout of heaviness before the headliner. Singer Alison Mosshart’s and guitarist Jamie Hince’s sinister combo carried more gripping oomph than ever with the addition of four percussionists pounding away on identical sets of floor toms and snares.
Yet the day wasn’t all head-banging and metal horns. Geographer was the only group thus far to successfully summon some sunlight, adding a good bit of glory to its final uplifting electro body-mover, “Kites.”
Likewise, up-and-comers Alabama Shakes and veteran jazz-pop star Norah Jones proved – with sheer numbers of screaming fest-goers that stuffed the tiny Sutro Stage area nearly to the point of discomfort – that a little genuine rock ‘n’ soul and some genuinely enthralling vocals can go a long way.
I also heard from various others that Sigur Rós was phenomenally enchanting, though I skipped the Icelandic group this time for the full treatment from Metallica. (A friend relayed this comical bit: frontman Jonsi remarked that if he were in the audience, he’d be at Metallica, too.)
As I did yesterday, I find myself in the position of wanting to blab endlessly about every immaculate moment from Day 2 (they were countless). But time’s up. I’ll likely add a few more thoughts from throughout the weekend in my wrap-up after Day 3, including bits on Franz Ferdinand, Regina Spektor, Jack White, Dispatch and Mr. Wonder.
In the meantime, click either of the pics above for more photo highlights from Day 2, or click here for Day 1.
Setlist: Metallica at Outside Lands 2012, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Aug. 11, 2012
Main set: Intro: The Ecstasy of Gold (Ennio Morricone cover w/ video clip from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) / Hit the Lights / Master of Puppets / Fuel / Ride the Lightning / Fade to Black / The Memory Remains / Hell and Back / Sad but True / Welcome Home (Sanitarium) / Orion / One / For Whom the Bell Tolls / Blackened / Nothing Else Matters / Enter Sandman
Encore: Creeping Death / Battery / Seek & Destroy (with The Frayed Ends of Sanity outro jam)
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Outside Lands 2012: Metallica caps heavier day with the Kills, Explosions, Tame Impala and more is a post from: Soundcheck