Music

Get off my stage: Five crazy things to happen during gigs

by Ciaran Thompson

This past week amateur video emerged of Neko Case telling the crowd, “I will fucking fight you,” after somebody threw a copy of a New Pornographers CD at frontman Carl Newman during a gig in Boston. The wrath of Neko got us thinking two things. Wow, Neko Case is a real badass you don’t want to screw around with and what are some other crazy things to happen at gigs caught on camera? Through our research we’ve selected five notable on-stage occurrences involving musicians, fans and in one case the security guard watching over the most pit. They’re all reminders of how anything can happen at live shows and are a motivation to go see a band or artist when they come by your town, whether you own earplugs or not.

Queens of the Stone Age

During a performance of the heavy track “No One Knows” from the album Songs for the Deaf at the Hard Rock Cafe, Queens of the Stone Age singer Josh Homme watches as a fan gets up on-stage and tries to steal the spotlight. Not thinking twice he pushes him off and calmly adds, “This is my fucking stage.”

Nirvana

This clip looks like a gig from one of Nirvana’s earlier shows, but after they had recruited Dave Grohl on drums. The band was playing a cover of the song “Love Buzz” from their debut album Bleach when Cobain had the insatiable urge to jump into the crowd mid-song. The security guy wasn’t too pleased and upon pulling the singer back on stage he proceeded to smack him around a bit before Novoselic and Grohl jumped in.

Slash

During a recent gig in Milan, Slash was hit from behind by a fan who managed to sneak backstage. Despite this, the guitarist still tries to continue the gut wrenching guitar solo for “Sweet Child of Mine,” but his axe takes some heavy damage and he gets the roadie to bring him another. In the meantime he encourages the crowd and even does a little air guitar.

Akon

Charges were brought upon singer Akon after he threw a fan from the stage after getting security to bring him up. Apparently the kid threw something at Akon during his show in Poughkeepsie, New York. He later said it was a publicity stunt. Sure, buddy.

Oasis

For those that were there to see Oasis, it was possibly the worst thing that could happen. The chances of the band coming back on after Noel Gallagher was pushed over by a guy from Pickering were slim. The crowd even resorted to shouting “Fuck that guy” for a few minutes and thankfully the band did return to finish their set. It was by far the most memorable thing to happen at the now defunct V-Fest on Toronto Island. The action starts at 1:25.