It never ceases to amaze me what some people will do for 15 minutes of “fame.” There have been numerous recent reports of audience members throwing objects at performers on stage during concerts: Drake, Harry Styles, Bebe Rexh, Kelsea Ballerini and Adele all have been victims of such disgusting behavior. An attorney for the man arrested and charged with throwing his cell phone at Rexha said that his client’s “sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone and return it as a keepsake.” Yeah right. Tell it to the judge.
One of the more bizarre incidents took place at a recent Pink concert, where a fan tossed on stage what reportedly was a bag containing the ashes of their mother. Sorry, I’ve got that beat. At a show in New Jersey a few weeks ago, one of my techs intercepted a fan who sneaked backstage with their father’s ashes, asking us to take him on tour with us. True Story. She and her father were kindly escorted out of the building.
What the heck is wrong with people?
I get it when fans toss gifts on the stage, or even if there’s a song-related gag involved (“Cigarettes” from King’s X comes to mind…). In my years with Blue Öyster Cult, rare instances of gift-giving have included fans tossing flowers, stuffed toy Godzillas, small packages with photos and a request for an autograph, and not-so-recently… women’s underwear. Yikes.
Much more common is the relentless harassment my crew is subjected to when packing down our gear after a show, with people badgering them for a set list. Such a big stink over a dumb sheet of paper that the recipient will place in a drawer beneath their socks and never look at again for the rest of their lives. That, I don’t get.
It’s one thing when a fan brings a gift to the stage or asks a security person to do so, but hurling a cell phone at an indefensible performer is inexcusable.
I was reminded of an incident many years back when I played drums in the band Dagger. We were in the midst of a set on an outdoor stage and someone flung a bottle at Rob, our lead singer. If I recall correctly, it landed near his feet and shattered. Thankfully no one was hurt, but we were stunned and more than a little pissed off, Rob especially. Any performer will tell you that you simply can’t see more than a few rows of the audience once the lights come up—especially at an outdoor, nighttime show—so we were defenseless against such an attack. I think one of the guys in the band said something to the effect of, “Have that guy brought up on stage where I can see his face and fight back…” (we were piss and vinegar back then). The net result was that, as with many of the performers who recently experienced similar scenarios, the show came to an abrupt halt.
As a tour manager, I certainly would pull my band off the stage immediately in such a situation. And, I think it’s important for all artists to make it clear that such behavior will result in the same reaction: show over. There needs to be a zero-tolerance attitude among performers because if not, it invites repeat offenders. If the knuckleheads who perform such acts want to see their mug shot on the 6 o’clock news to get their 15 minutes of fame, so be it—that will be their legacy—but there’s absolutely no reason for entertainers to risk being injured while simply trying to do their jobs.
