Rock Report 9-21-21

Metallica announced a last-minute, intimate club show at The Independent in San Francisco last night (Sept. 16) and played a 16-song set which marked their first full concert performance since November of last year.

News of the concert spread quickly after Metallica invited fans to come down on social media, reportedly stating, “Hey! Gonna let you in on a little secret .. We’re playing tonight at The Independent in downtown SF. Grab a $20 bill and get your ass to the box office right now! Proof of vaxx is required to get a wristband and it’s gonna sell out fast. One ticket per person, cash only!”

Pearl Jam returned to the stage last night (Sept. 18) for their first proper show in over three years, debuting a handful of songs off their 2020 album Gigaton. You can see the setlist and videos from the show below.

The ’90s rock titans headlined Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, N.J., leading a two-day bill that also featured the Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Idol , Patti Smith and dozens more. With the exception of a one-song performance during last year’s All in WA COVID benefit show, Sea.Hear.Now marked Pearl Jam’s first official show since their Sept. 4, 2018 performance at Boston’s Fenway Park.

While the Michael Jordan “flu game” is the stuff of legend in Chicago, there might also be some room for reflective admiration in the Windy City this week for Axl Rose who managed to gut his way through a three-hour set with Guns N Roses while likely suffering through the effects of food poisoning.

Rose revealed his malady a day after GN’R played Chicago’s vaunted baseball shrine and noticeably wasn’t completely on his A-game. While the news outlets pointed out that the show was full of “gusto,” they also mentioned Rose struggling “during the night to tether himself to a comfortable vocal range” and “straining to hit notes in his top register,” while still crediting the musician for “giving it his all in the marathon se