10 Craziest Onstage Incidents In Rock

It's not really that awe-inspiring seeing any rock band smash their gear anymore. While seeing the Who's Pete Townshend smash a guitar during the set may have been fun in the '60s, a lot of the modern acts trying to smash guitars end up feeling cheap by comparison. If you were going to smash your gear in the modern age though, Nirvana designed the blueprint on how to do it right...sort of.

Going around the world to promote their album In Utero, both Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic would turn to smashing their guitar as an excuse to end their set. As everything started to wind down though, things got a bit too chaotic when Novoselic threw his bass in the air. Instead of coming down in one piece, the neck of the bass came down right on Novoselic's hand, nearly impaling it.

After seeking some medical treatment, Novoselic was much more careful in handling his more chaotic stage habits. That didn't stop Nirvana from destroying their gear again at the MTV Awards though, with Novoselic catching a bass with his face towards the end of the song Lithium. To this day, Novoselic says he still has the scars on his hands to prove the more hurtful moments of the band's set. While it might not have been best for the band's self preservation, this kind of self-sabotage is still some of the most satisfying moments of rock stage shows.