METALLICA's LARS ULRICH Pays Tribute To Late Composer/Conductor MICHAEL KAMEN

Lars Ulrich has paid tribute to late composer and conductor Michael Kamen, who spearheaded METALLICA‘s first performance with the San Francisco Symphony. The concert, which took place in 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theater, yielded the Grammy Award-winning live album “S&M”.

This September, METALLICA will once again join forces with the San Francisco Symphony for two exclusive performances at San Francisco’s brand new arena-sized venue, the Chase Center. To honor the original album, the concerts, which will be conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas and Edwin Outwater, are being dubbed as “S&M²”.

Ulrich took to his Instagram Sunday night (April 21) to write: “Today is the 20th anniversary of the very first concert ‘TALLICA played with the @SFSymphony under the direction of Michael Kamen. The shows took place at the Berkeley Community Theatre April 21 & 22, 1999. At the time, the gigs weren’t even called S&M yet…that came six months later when the live album and movie was released.

“I’m pictured here with the conductor, the arranger, the main instigator and the reason the whole thing came to be, Michael Kamen, who had reached out a few years earlier to see if we were game to try this kinda collaboration out.

“Michael had a background in film scores, including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard, and had previously done similar undertakings with PINK FLOYD, Eric Clapton and AEROSMITH among others. He thought that we would be an obvious choice for a pairing like this and we said yes in 2 nano seconds flat and followed Michael‘s lead for the next few years, as we went on an incredible adventure together with concerts in SF, Berlin and NYC among other things. We threw ourselves deep into unknown creative territories and walked away with most incredible of experiences and the coolest album and concert film.

“Michael passed on in November 2003, but his love of life and his appetite for shaking up conventions will always be something I’ll take with me and cherish.. A very precious few years.

“And of course looking forward to the continuation of this, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this whole endeavor with our two very unique concerts in September opening the @Chase_Center.”

The new concerts will take place on September 6 and September 8.

The classical musicians and classic rockers will be the first acts to perform at the new 18,064-seat arena that will serve as home to the NBA team Golden State Warriors in the fall.

The “S&M²” concerts will feature the first live performances of these arrangements in 20 years, plus the first-ever METALLICA/San Francisco Symphony renditions of songs written and released since the original “S&M”, with new orchestral charts by Bruce Coughlin.

Kamen died in November 2003 after suffering from multiple sclerosis for several years. He was 55.

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Today is the 20th anniversary of the very first concert ‘Tallica played with the @SFSymphony under the direction of Michael Kamen. The shows took place at the Berkeley Community Theatre April 21 & 22, 1999. At the time, the gigs weren’t even called S&M yet…that came six months later when the live album and movie was released. I’m pictured here with the conductor, the arranger, the main instigator and the reason the whole thing came to be, Michael Kamen, who had reached out a few years earlier to see if we were game to try this kinda collaboration out. Michael had a background in film scores, including Lethal Weapon and Die Hard, and had previously done similar undertakings with Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and Aerosmith among others. He thought that we would be an obvious choice for a pairing like this and we said yes in 2 nano seconds flat and followed Michael’s lead for the next few years, as we went on an incredible adventure together with concerts in SF, Berlin and NYC among other things. We threw ourselves deep into unknown creative territories and walked away with most incredible of experiences and the coolest album and concert film. Michael passed on in November 2003, but his love of life and his appetite for shaking up conventions will always be something I’ll take with me and cherish.. A very precious few years. And of course looking forward to the continuation of this, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this whole endeavor with our two very unique concerts in September opening the @Chase_Center. Wanna? Fuck yeah I wanna!!! #wanna ? by @antoncorbijn4real

A post shared by Lars Ulrich (@larsulrich) on Apr 21, 2019 at 11:10pm PDT