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Five Famous Concert Riots
Tila Tequila, you are not alone
The Rolling Stones performing at Altamont (Photo: More.com)
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Something that makes no sense: Tila Tequila performing at the Gathering of the Juggalos, a festival for Insane Clown Posse uber-fans. Something that makes perfect sense: Tila Tequila getting pelted by rocks, beer cans, bottles and even feces during Gathering of the Juggalos. Even Vanilla Ice, who also performed at the festival, fared better.
Here are five other more famous (and less funny) concert riots:
#5. Four Organs
This didn’t break into a full-blown riot, but Steve Reich’s composition did induce boos and catcalls at Carnegie Hall in 1973. I’ll let Wikipedia explain the technicalities of Reich’s work, but know this much: “Four Organs” involves, well, four organs and a maraca, leading to “the longest V-I cadence in the history of Western Music.” It’s maddening, with its pulsing sound and how it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. This was too much for the Carnegie crowd, who began to boo and call for the piece to end, and one woman, according to performer Michael Tilson Thomas, “walked down the aisle and repeatedly banged her head on the front of the stage, wailing ‘Stop, stop, I confess’.” It’s kind of like The Telltale Heart—but scarier.
The story behind Altamont was documented in the documentary Gimme Shelter, including footage of 18-year-old Meredith Hunter being stabbed by Alan Passaro, a member of the Hells Angels, during “Under My Thumb” after taking out his revolver. The Stones played on because they knew if they stopped, more fights would occur. All told, hundreds of concertgoers were injured, making Woodstock ’99 look boring in comparison.
#3. Drake and Hanson
Two months ago, the brilliant minds at Paper magazine thought it’d be a good idea to throw a free show at the South Street Seaport’s Pier 17 pairing the band behind “Where’s the Love” (and yeah, “MMMBop”) with the world’s most famous rapper not named Jay-Z: Drake, formerly of Degrassi fame. Well, it’s nice that the show was free—but when 25,000 fans showed up, things got uglier than Zac Hanson’s hair, circa 1997 (eh). People climbed on the awnings of the Seaport’s stores and there was pushing and chair throwing (pictures here). It was like a WWE match, but not staged and full of teenage girls, who are scarier than John Cena. Ninjasonik was there too, although no one rioted over “Art School Girls.” Sadly.
#2. The Who
An event so sad that the normally comedic WKRP in Cincinnati turned down the humor to dedicate an entire episode to what happened in Ohio’s third-largest city. Although the Who’s glory years were behind them in 1979 (drummer Keith Moon had passed away the year before), they were still one of the world’s biggest bands, touring behind Who Are You. In December of that year, the band was set to play a sold out show in Cincinnati in front of over 10,000 fans, many of which had waited hours to be in the front row at the general admission Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum. Here’s an account from Crowd Safe:
When the main entrance doors finally opened close to the time the Who were to take the stage, many eyewitnesses claimed that only one or two main entrance doors, from among a broad bank of doors, were opened to handle the massive crowd. Fans near the front, watched in horror as these doors were opened, then shut, then opened, then shut yet again, and so on. When the doors did open, ticket holders pressed forward. When the doors were shut, people were smashed against each other and the building by the thousands of fans behind them who did not know the main entrance was closed. Deadly crowd surges and rippling human waves of pressure knocked people down and rendered them helplessly trapped and fighting for breath and escape.
Eleven people died and general admission seating was banned in Cincinnati until 2004.
On May 29, 1913, Igor Stravinsky debuted his ballet, “The Rite of Spring,” at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Unlike other ballets at the time, which were elegant and graceful, “The Rite of Spring” was inharmonic, something the crowd was unaccustomed to. Nearly immediately, they began to boo both the music and Vaslav Nijinsky’s choreography. Arguments broke out, with some defending the ballet and others bashing it. The police were then called, and things got so ugly that Stravinsky supposedly fled the theatre before the end of his work. Valuable lesson, kids: don’t mess with classical music fans.
Update (August 23)
From the Coloradoan:
Police firing tear gas broke up a 400-person riot in Old Town Fort Collins this morning that injured several people and created property damage ranging from a smashed store window to a burned tent for a vendor at Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest.
Twelve people were treated at Poudre Valley Hospital for lacerations from glass, hospital spokesman Gary Kimsey said. A 13th person was admitted to PVH for a cut and has since been released. Medical Center of the Rockies also treated on person for cuts.
You know who was playing? Earth, Wind and Fire. The elements can be hardcore, y’know?