10 Most Infamous Shows In Rock History

On paper, the idea of the Altamont Festival seemed like a great idea at the turn of the '60s. Since Woodstock had brought the image of peace and love to the East Coast, why not bring it back to the West Coast where it all began? Well, ideas are one thing...execution is a far different beast.

First of all, the show had a huge slot with the Rolling Stones as the headliners, which quickly sparked controversy when the Hell's Angels were brought on as security. Being paid in booze, the biker gang basically did nothing aside from stand in front of the stage as the Stones played, only to have things go to hell during their performance of Sympathy for the Devil. Just as the song was reaching its fiery climax, concertgoer Meredith Hunter pulled out what one of the bikers thought was a gun, causing him to start a fight in the middle of the crowd and stabbing Hunter dead.

Despite all of his insistence for the crowd to settle down, Mick Jagger couldn't manage to save the rest of the gig, with everything devolving into near chaos before the Stones ultimately left the stage. For as much as the '60s may have been about building utopia, this is where those hippie ideals came to much darker conclusion.