Watch James Hetfield Play Metallica’s “Motorbreath” Acoustic At San Francisco Charity Show

Watch James Hetfield Play Metallica’s “Motorbreath” Acoustic At San Francisco Charity Show

The members of Metallica do not exactly do a whole lot of solo-acoustic shows; they are, after all, in Metallica. But last night at the Fillmore in San Francisco, James Hetfield played a quick unplugged set. He and Sammy Hagar were co-headlining a benefit for the pediatric cancer program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. And during his performance — for what, as far as we can tell, was the first time ever — Hetfield turned Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All nugget “Motorbreath,” into an acoustic ramble. (Hetfield has played the annual benefit twice before, but in previous performances, he’s shied away from Metallica’s thrash-metal past.) Given that “Motorbreath” was never one of the quieter Metallica songs, this feels like a real accomplishment. Watch a fan-made video of the performance below.

But why was there so much crowd noise during the performance? Who talks through that? Hagar fans?

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