Rockers aren’t exactly known for their polished performances. A measure of chaos comes with the territory. Usually, though, you can count on a band to at least seem rehearsed in their playing. Rockers have the unique ability to throw caution to the wind while still maintaining a tight sound.
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Every so often, a rock star will surprise a crowd by being truly reckless, apathetic, or a little too intoxicated. These types of performances have gone down in music history because of their shock value. Find five such shows, below.
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1. CC Deville Leaves Poison Hanging at MTV Awards
Poison guitarist CC DeVille went on a bender right before the 1991 VMAs. While the rest of the band —though they weren’t exactly clean-cut either—was raring to go, DeVille showed up markedly unprepared with new, bright pink hair as further evidence of his wild behavior.
The band was originally supposed to perform “Unskinny Bop” at the award show but, when DeVille took the stage, he quickly gave up on playing that track and instead transitioned over to the band’s 1986 hit, “Talk Dirty to Me.” DeVille quickly gave up on that idea as well.
Bret Michaels and DeVille then got into a physical fight backstage, which culminated in DeVille being asked to leave the band.
2. Liam Gallagher Sabotages Oasis at Wembley Stadium
In 2000, Oasis was set to play a string of shows at Wembley Stadium. It was primed to be the band’s big comeback after a series of lineup issues in the late ’90s, but quickly pushed them further down the rabbit hole when Liam Gallagher relapsed hours before one of the shows.
Gallagher in his inebriated state, decided to sabotage the entire performance. He refused to sing the right words to the songs so that the live broadcast of the performance would be rendered moot. Though it wasn’t a good look at the time, you can’t deny Gallagher’s impromptu lyric writing is a little impressive.
3. Frey and Felder Threaten to Get Physical During Eagles Benefit Concert
The Eagles were notorious for their internal fights getting in the way of their productivity as a band. One of the most famous instances of that came during a 1980 benefit concert for Senator Alan Cranston.
Prior to the Senator going up on stage to give a speech, Don Felder made a passing, negative comment about Cranston, which sent Glenn Frey into a tizzy. They performed as they were asked, but in between playing their hits, Frey and Felder can be heard exchanging crosswords. The band effectively fractured after the show.
4. Woodstock ’99 Becomes One Big Riot
One of the most notorious events of all time, Woodstock ’99, was more so a riot than it was a rock show. Despite the festival being created with the hopes of restoring its namesake’s sense of hope, peace, and love, it quickly devolved into something far darker.
Crowds ripped scaffolding down, assaulted other concertgoers, and started bonfires among other acts of violence. Nu metal clearly didn’t inspire the same sentiments that folky rock did in the ’60s.
5. Rolling Stones at Altamont Kills the Flower Power Movement
While Woodstock ’99 proved that “flower power” was certainly not alive and well, it was the Rolling Stones at Altamont that hammered the first nail in that coffin. The Hell’s Angels were tapped as security for the show, which in hindsight, wasn’t the best decision.
The Angels were anything but gentle in their security approach, and with the rest of the crowd becoming similarly feisty, things quickly became violent. The crowd rush resulted in one fan, Meredith Hunter, being stabbed to death.
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