Howard Stern rocked out to Metallica
The Hamptons aren’t precisely identified for sweaty mosh pits or epic metallic guitar solos. However Thursday evening, the one percenter East Finish hideaway was rocking when Metallica stormed Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett for an intimate, invite-only gig celebrating SiriusXM’s brand-new Most Metallica channel.
And proper within the thick of it? Howard Stern, who rolled in together with his youthful spouse Beth, amidst rumors he’s leaving SiriusXM for a brand new residence. The King of All Media has at all times worn his love of arduous rock proudly, however seeing him side-by-side with Beth in such a tiny venue whereas James Hetfield and firm roared by “Grasp of Puppets” felt like a kind of “pinch me” rock ’n’ roll moments. Stern seemed each bit the fanboy — head nodding with a smile, soaking all of it in — proving that even the largest voices in radio can nonetheless be like one among us.
Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell had been additionally noticed within the crowd, together with Andy Cohen, Colin Jost, Michael J. Fox, and Sylvester Stallone. It was the final word tradition conflict: Wall Avenue millionaires rubbing elbows with diehard headbangers, all united by Metallica’s wall of sound.
The setlist pulled no punches. Metallica leaned heavy on the classics — “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Issues,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls” — however the power made it really feel like we had been again within the Bay Space golf equipment of the early ’80s. Hetfield grinned as he instructed the crammed-in crowd, “It’s scorching and sweaty, we’re getting shut and private — that is enjoyable!” His bandmates matched the vibe: Kirk Hammett’s solos shredded, Lars Ulrich cracked jokes from behind the package, and Robert Trujillo stalked the stage with basslines that shook the tiny membership’s partitions.
Howard Stern watched Metallica’s Ozzy Osbourne tribute
However the evening’s most emotional flip got here when the band broke into the riff from Ozzy Osbourne’s “Loopy Practice,” a unfastened, loving tribute to the fallen Prince of Darkness, Selection stories.
For Stern, who’s interviewed everybody from Ozzy to McCartney throughout his storied profession, it needed to be surreal to face toes away from Metallica paying respect to a fellow legend. Beth seemed on smiling, the couple clearly moved by the burden of the second.
Metallica have performed stadiums and festivals that dwarf small cities, however nights like this remind you why they’ll eternally be the individuals’s band. No huge stage rigs, no pyrotechnics — simply 4 musicians locked in, and discovering a technique to hold it uncooked with a star crammed viewers.