Back in 2005, Metallica got the rare opportunity to open for a band who was actually still bigger than them: the Rolling Stones. The thrash titans supported the rock pioneers at SBC Park in San Francisco on November 13th and 15th, 2005, and while it was a dream come true for Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, the experience didn't go down quite the way he hoped.
In a new interview with Bill Maher, Ulrich revealed that when Metallica were backstage during the show, they were instructed not to make eye contact with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger when he walked by them to prepare for his set. Ulrich was expecting a night of hotel party shenanigans with the legendary Keith Richards, but instead, they got told by a Stones assistant that the band were essentially off-limits to Metallica — who were treated like lolely openers in Jagger's presence.
"At that time we had played shows over our career with Deep Purple, with AC/DC, with a few other bands, all the bands that I had posters on on my wall when I was a kid, and so the last one of those boxes to check was the Stones," Ulrich told Maher, as transcribed by Metal Hammer.
"So we're sitting backstage, and — and this is in no way a judgment on the Stones, this is really more about us — at one point a a personal assistant or whatever comes and says, 'Mick Jagger's gonna walk through here in a couple minutes, he's going over to his private gym in his truck, and he's going to warm up before the show. When he walks through here, please don't make eye contact with him or talk to him.'
"So we're sitting there going, What? He has a truck with a portable gym in it? He goes and warms up for 30-45 minutes before he goes on stage? Cue Hahaha, Oh my God! Now guess who's got a truck with a gym in it? Guess who's got a Peloton bike on the road with us? Guess who's got a chef who walks around and makes us protein drinks and all kinds of other nasty stuff?"
Ulrich continued, "I had dreams, like, I thought, we're gonna play with the Rolling Stones and you know where I'm gonna spend my whole time, is in Keith Richards hotel room, sitting at one of those legendary parties 'til nine o'clock in the morning: I'll be the last one to leave! It wasn't exactly like that."
"I always go and say hello to our support act: I look them in the eye, I ask them if there's anything they need. It's a human thing; if somebody comes out and plays on a Metallica stage I want them to feel at home."
See Ulrich's full interview with Maher below.
