Don't recall ever seeing Metal Church open for them (although my memory of that era is spotty, at best). I did see John Marshall play rhythm guitar for Metallica on two different occasions, though. Of all of the bands I've seen over the years, Metallica is where I always wind up with the most interesting stories.
Aside from those two shows, I spent all of the first Dallas Justice show at the barricade. Newstead gave me beer during the first beer break. During the second beer break I reached for another and he kicked my hand and said "don't be greedy!" He did give me a pick later, though.
During a later Summer Sanitarium gig, Hetfiled wasn't even in the country. They had a variety of guest singers come out, and Kid Rock's midget was running around the whole show screaming "yeah motherfucker!" in that little midget voice of his. Immediately after that stadium tour, as in 2 days after, they played two makeup gigs in Dallas and packed every single piece of their stadium rig under the shed at Starplex, and everything that couldn't fit went out on the lawn facing back in. Only show I've
ever been to that was too loud for me. During One, the explosions would go off, and they were completely silent because the prerecorded gunfire and helicopter noise totally drowned them out. About halfway through I went out to the lawn for a while, and even that was so loud I went to the outer concourse for a couple of songs. Ears rang for 10 days after that. I was on the floor during the Theater of Pain Tour when Motley Crue claimed to break the world record for SPL at a rock concert, and that didn't come close to what Metallica did in an outdoor venue; not by a longshot.
Got to see another Sanitarium tour from on stage a few years later. During Fuel and Nothing Else Matters my host took me back to sit behind the drum riser. I'd been over in the VIP section where things were relatively calm, and he called me over just as Fuel started up, and they had flames erupting all over the stage like the inside of a V8. People are walking around like it's just no big deal at all, and I'm hunched down covering my head like the world's on fire. My host tells me "now don't move--anywhere!" Yeah, no shit.
There's actually a small, onstage dressing room immediately behind the drum kit where they can go for water, or to tend to their monitors and such, and they had a Make A Wish dying kid in there who got to see the whole show from 3' behind Ulrich. Thought that was pretty nice of them.