Photo Credit: Drew Altizer
Thought leaders, tech pioneers, and super models were just a few of the people who headed to Daly City on Wednesday night for the 7th Annual Concert for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. 22-time Grammy Award winners U2 performed at the extravaganza, which was in partnership with Salesforce and their yearly conference, Dreamforce. The event took place outside at the Cow ‘Cloud’ Palace and raised more than $10 million. The festivities began at 7 p.m. with a reception where cocktails flowed freely and a sumptuous buffet satisfied guests. Marc and Lynne Benioff, he in a black baseball cap with rhinestones and she in black pants with lace-up sides, made quite the rocker couple. Party goers like Christy Turlington, Lars Ulrich, and Vanessa Getty dined on a spread of braised chicken with greens, marinated white beans, polenta cakes, and halibut with salsa verde. The bar was wide open and free-flowing. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. took the stage around 8:30 p.m. and kicked off their 16-song set with hit “Vertigo.”
An all-access pass granted concert goers a better view of the stage, from a platform to the left of the masses. The relatively tame crowd got fired up during U2’s politically charged “Bullet the Blue Sky.” Clips of Donald Trump’s campaign speeches were played on the jumbotron and juxtaposed with Bono talking to Trump. The saying “Make America Great Again” transformed into “Make America Hate Again.” Bono took the time to thank the Bay Area and its leaders, like Nancy Pelosi, who have led the way on activism and gay rights. He personally thanked Benioff, for donating $1 million of Dreamforce’s profits to RED, Bono’s nonprofit organization that fights AIDS. Bono also called all American tax payers AIDs activists and thanked the crowd. Other hits that U2 played included “Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” “Beautiful Day,” “One,” “With or Without You,” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer
After the show, VIPs like Melinda Gates, Laurene Powell Jobs, Sean and Alexandra Parker, and Tolan Florence headed inside the tent for a raucous after party hosted by Will.I.Am and MC Hammer, who is now a DJ. The buffet had been reset with a new spread of food—late night fare like quesadillas and hot dogs and a smorgasbord of miniature sweets including cream puffs and apple pie bites. It was a great party, even if it was a pain to get an Uber home at the end of the night.