re: Wildest thing you’ve ever seen at a concert?

Railroad Earth at Hillberry this year. Dude was carrying around a huge limb. People were throwing beads and glow sticks trying to get them onto the limbs. Before the set was over he had quite the collection. Then some self ordained wook patrol confronted him. He was tripping balls and they were freaking him out. It was cool to watch him from afar but he was kind of annoying when nearby. He didn't show up for the second set.

Hirsch Coliseum in Shreveport in the early 80s. Pre-show the lights are on. Two hotties walk onto the floor together, and all eyes went to them. Both wearing tiny cut-offs, halter tops, and sporting high heels (one wore green shoes, the other red).

They pranced across the floor enjoying the attention. Weren't there 5 minutes when they tore into each other in a catfight. Cops dragged them both out, kicking and screaming, before the show even started.

They got a big cheer. I still want to know what caused the fight and how the rest of their lives turned out.

Also at the Richfield Coliseum outside Cleveland. Springsteen NYE 1978. I was 14 and it was my first concert. Wives and girlfriends, etc. come on stage to countdown...right at midnight somebody chucks a M-80 on stage and it explodes about 5 feet from Bruce's head. I really thought that it could have blown his eye out...but he shook it off and went back to playing. Steve Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) demanded that the crowd point out the person that threw it. It was vintage Bruce...young, energetic, classic Clarence, no politics.

For the Springsteen haters, I guess you can regret that it didn't end his career. For the Springsteen fans, I ran across the the set list from that night (I don't really remember if this is exact but it seems close):

Kid Leo introduction
Badlands
Streets of fire
Rendezvous
Spirit in the night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Independence Day
The Promised Land
Long guitar solo into Prove it all Night
Pretty Flamingo
Thunder road
Jungleland
The Ties that Bind
Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
Fever
Fire
Candy’s room
Because the night
New Year’s countdown and fireworks blast
Rave on
Springsteen sets up Clarence
Auld Lang Syne
Good Rockin’ Tonight
Point Blank
Mona
Preacher’s daughter
I Get Mad
She’s the One
Backstreets
Rosalita
Born to Run
encore
Detroit Medley
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Quarter to three

Mid 70's

Somehow Skynyrd was opening up for Tower of Power (I know, strange but is was the 70's). Obviously LS goes over their allotted time and the TOP roadies begin coming out onto the stage, trying to LS to stop playing.

Before it was done, both road crews began fighting.

TOP never performed that night.

2006ish... saw one of my guitar heros Dickey Betts & Great Southern play in Charlotte. Encore Ramblin' Man. Dickey fricked up the intro so bad, he yelled STOP and made the bad start over.

The place was silent. It was bad. I tried to erase that memory from my head. I always wanna remember Dickey w/ his gold LP jamming out w/ Warren Haynes (yes, I'm the one who likes 90s Allmans better than the original).

I have never seen a crowd like the one for MCR at Riot Fest last year. It was like Bourbon St on Mardi Gras times 10,000, some straight up “Battle of the Bastards” shite. The crowd moved me over 200 yards away from where I started, ironically, right into the back of my friend who I came there with that’d been camping in front of the stage all day.

If MCR hadn’t stopped and told the crowd to take a couple steps back between every other song, I’m convinced there would have been dozens of fatalities. I’d never seen anything like that.

Rage Against the Machine in Nashville 12/8/99. Metro police protested the show and Zach De La Rocha went on a wild rant calling them a bunch of inbred, redneck, racist pigs. Nearly started a riot in the Municipal Auditorium that night.

Politics aside, they’re a great show.

dariokgladstone
Member since Apr 2023
2 posts

I saw two old drunk men in formal attire get into a fight at the Dallas Opera. It was so out of place it was hysterical. There was a lot of swing and miss.