Jason Newsted recalls only a handful of occasions when his Metallica crashed a concert. One of these happened in Canada, at a time when they were still building their gigantic fan base. During an appearance on the podcast Nashville Now Of Rolling Stonethe former Metallica bassist recalled a concert in a remote Canadian location where he and James Hetfield ended up under a dart throw.
At the time the band didn't yet fill the arenas where hockey teams play in Canada, so the promoters divided the arena in half with a large rubber tent. In this way the audience was concentrated close to the stage, with spectators sitting on the sides, practically above the band.
“The kids were right on top of us,” Newsted says. «We were playing and suddenly… a dart! I look at James, the classic communication without the need for words.” Shortly afterwards a second dart arrives on stage a short distance from Hetfield's shoe. Metallica decides to stop the concert.
«It would have been the fourth time ever that we interrupted a show. It was something we only did when we saw too much blood or someone with an arm almost torn off,” Newsted says. Hetfield picks up the dart, and shouts, “What the fuck?” Metallica fans identify the person responsible, also thanks to the laser pointers that were very popular in those years.
«The security workers, the kids from the public and everyone who had a laser pointer reported it immediately. The fans jumped on him and the police took the bastard out of the arena. This ability to self-regulate is one of the reasons why the Metallica Army is what it is: they feel part of something much bigger than themselves. Because when you're screaming “Die! Die!” together with 100 thousand people it is truly a unique experience.”
Newsted is currently on tour with his Chophouse Band, busy opening some dates on Blackberry Smoke's 25th anniversary tour. Their singer Charlie Starr tells an anecdote told to him by Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes about the famous chorus “Die! Die!” Of Creeping Death of Metallica.
«He told me that the two most powerful things he has seen on the road in his life were Metallica and a Bob Dylan concert alone with the acoustic guitar in front of a crowd of people. On the one hand, the enormous power of Metallica, on the other that of a single man armed with a song.”
From Rolling Stone US.
