If you throw bottles into the air at a music concert, you’re an idiot. What possess people to engage in that kind of behaviour is anybody’s guess, perhaps it’s the alcohol, perhaps they’re over excited, perhaps they’re just plain dumb.
Bottling is almost as old as rock n roll itself, but it generally occurs at festivals when one act in the lineup is of a different genre or audience than the rest of the bands, especially at music festivals.
But that doesn’t mean musicians are immune from the dangers of walking onstage to a hostile crowd at their own concerts.
Back in 2002, Roger Daltrey was hit in the arm with a bottle while performing with The Who at Madison Square Garden. Daltrey was less than pleased, though Pete Townshend was more jovial, joking with the audience that they should throw watches, cameras, credit cards, and their girlfriends up on the stage.
At a Jethro Tull concert in Madison Square Garden on October 12, 1979, a fan threw a rose onstage, and it hit Ian Anderson, wounding his eye with a thorn. The band was forced to cancel the next two shows while Anderson recovered. When he finally did return, Anderson appeared at subsequent concert dates wearing protective goggles.
But it isn’t only the band that are put in danger by the activity. Fans can also get seriously injured, as Stone Roses fan Alison Davidson found out over the weekend when a glass bottle thrown from the crowd aimed at Primal Scream hit her in the face.
Davison was left drenched in blood and had to have four staples put into her head at the Glasgow Green concert the Daily Record reports.
The bottle caused a horror head wound to the 36-year-old, causing her to miss her favourite band and leaving her appalled at the behaviour of the crowd and security.
“Security at the gig was absolutely shocking, no bags were being searched on the way in and so people brought in booze in glass bottles,” said Davidson. “I had been looking forward to the concert for months, but the day was completely ruined, I didn’t even get to see the Stone Roses, I was hit with the bottle while Primal Scream were playing.”
“There was blood everywhere and I can remember being taken to the medical tent by my husband Mark,” she continued. “I want DF Concerts to know that this sort of thing is unacceptable and that they will have to put more resources into making sure events are safe in the future.”
Davidson has complained to the promoters behind the event, DF Concerts, furious that bags hadn’t been checked for weapons or bottles even though her umbrella was confiscated.
“When we arrived at the venue none of our bags were checked meaning that anyone could take in bottles or even weapons. Unbelievably the security staff did take our umbrellas from us. Perhaps if I had still had that it would have protected me from the bottle.”
“There were also flares being let off all over the crowd, again bag searches could have stopped this. I fully intend to go as far as it takes with this complaint to ensure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else. It was a horrible thing to happen on what should have been one of the most memorable days of my life.”
Incidents such as Davidson’s thankfully don’t happen every day, but concert promoters would be foolish to rest on their laurels. Closer to home this year, Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah went on the offensive after a patron managed to sneak a flare into the Sydney leg of the festival and set it off near the mainstage injuring nearby patrons.
“There were 75,000 people at what was a great show at it took one dickhead to ruin the day for everyone. Thanks to smartphones, we’ve had at least a dozen people send us photos of this moron’s face and his name and details,” Maddah said at the time.
“Security staff have been looking for knives or alcohol to this point so this adds a new dimension. The average security guard wouldn’t have recognised a flare… we’ll be adding this as another item in security briefings.”
