7 Awesome Live Performances That Ended In Devastating Riots

1. Metallica & Guns N' Roses - Montreal Olympic Stadium (1992)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzBbZkJPS5g Over to the grandaddy of riots, the mecha of all messes, the apocalypse-connoting footage of Metallica and Guns n' Roses' twin-headline gig that all ended in tears. Metallica were up first, playing to a 53,000-strong crowd who at that point in time would have had within it a huge number of dedicated fans that would genuinely have given a limb to see Metallica live. Couple that with the rest of them who were Guns n' Roses fans, a band who the media at the time had labelled 'The Most Dangerous Band In The World', due to their debaucherous ways on and off stage. Anyway, sadly for Metallica's lead singer James Hetfield, he accidentally stood on a flame pod housing within it a 3,200-degree firework, the setting off of which all but eradicated the skin on the left side of his body, obviously prompting the band to call off their portion of the gig. Hetfield miraculously survived, and was actually back on tour soon after, albeit guitar-less with a microphone-holding cast so he could continue performing. It was then over to Guns n' Roses to pick up the pieces and deliver an extended fan-satisfying set every single person in the audience wanted at that point. The only problem? Axl Rose's ego. After playing for less than an hour he spotted someone in the crowd attempting to take his photograph, and instructed the security to seize the item, which after they failed to do (why would they?) he dove in himself to tackle the (now-ex) fan of the band. Axl would then refuse to continue, forcing the rest of the band to also turn-tail and leave, an action that the already thoroughly disappointed audience were most certainly not okay with. Cue a mass toppling of cars police and otherwise, a smashing of windows throughout the arena, as well as everything in between from barricades to hotdog stands being thoroughly pounded into paste. As Metallica would later reflect, all Guns n' Roses had to do was be the band their fans always wanted them to be, and play an extended set to make up for the tragedy that had befallen James Hetfield, yet due to Axl Rose's myriad of issues, they couldn't even do that. So there you have it, were there any riots or gig-going experiences you've witnessed either in person or through Youtube that you'd like to include? Throw them down in the comments below and lets hope history never repeats itself in ways similar to the above!
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.