Acoustic 4 A Cure
Fillmore Auditorium
May 15, 2018
Photos by Raymond Ahner.
The fifth annual Acoustic 4 A Cure benefit show took place at the Fillmore recently and proved once again to be nothing short of a great concert for an even better cause.
Created by Sammy Hagar and Metallica frontman James Hetfield as a way to put on a must-see event while donating the proceeds to the Pediatric Cancer Program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, the event has become one of the most celebrated concerts of the year, not to mention one of the hottest tickets. Unfortunately, Hetfield was not able to attend this year’s concert, but several stepped up to take his place, including Eddie Money, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Kevin Cronin of Reo Speedwagon, and the legendary Taj Mahal.
After kicking off the evening with a short set of his own, Sammy Hagar was joined by Weir and Cronin for a couple of songs, including “Friend of the Devil.” It was then Eddie Money’s turn to take the stage, and he did not disappoint the fans by playing a couple of his FM radio classics, “Two Tickets To Paradise” and “Baby Hold On.”
Sammy returned to the stage a short time later, this time joined by guitarist Joe Satriani, bassist Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith, and together the four of them put on a brief set of Chickenfoot songs, playing together for the first time in just over two years.
Although the Red Rocker said the four really didn’t have time to rehearse together, they clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves, as they ran through a handful of songs which turned out to be the highlight of the evening.
The show was not over yet though, as all the performers from the evening came back out to sing a 75th happy birthday to Taj Mahal, complete with a birthday cake delivered by none other than celebrity chef Guy Fieri. Everyone then joined Taj to sing “Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay,” wrapping up a great evening for an even better cause.
Here’s a slideshow with more photos of Acoustic 4 A Cure by Raymond Ahner:
Find out more about UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital here.
