Take Me Away From Here - Set This Circus Down

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Although concerts take months of planning and preparations, often the most memorable events are incidents that were not planned for. This thread will be include some of the memorable, exciting, tragic, and funny incidents that happen at music concerts and award shows.

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At a concert in Washington recently, Tim McGraw removed a fan from the audience. Tim McGraw's staff explained his actions in a statement:

"A man rush[ed] to the front of the stage. This overly aggressive fan attacked a female fan, and Tim witnessed this incident. Tim called for security, but when they could not respond quick enough, Tim and several crew members removed the fan from the audience. He was then turned over to the local authorities."
 
 
  
 
A year ago, Tim's wife Faith Hill was upset at a fan who grabbed her husband. She said, "Somebody needs to teach you some class, my friend. You don't go grabbin' somebody else's, somebody's husband's balls, you understand me? That's very disrespectful!"

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What is it about concerts that causes these types of incidents ?


What are the responsibilities of facilities and artists to protect fans?

Paul Stanley of Kiss threatens to end a concert.
 
  
A fan is warned about pointing a laser into Paul Stanley's eyes.
  
Tegan and Sara offer fun instructons for fans on how to behave.

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Sometimes the bands are the aggressor. This behavior changes the concert vibe.

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Noel Gallagher Attacked Onstage In Toronto

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher was assaulted onstage last night (Sept. 7) during the band's headlining set at Toronto's Virgin Festival on Toronto Island Park.

The band was performing "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" when a male emerged from the rear of the stage, running towards an unsuspecting Gallagher and pushing him in the back. Gallagher fell to the stage while the unknown assailant attempted to attack singer Liam Gallagher, before members of the band's crew tackled the man. According to the CBC, the assailant was arrested, but details have yet to be announced. The band said Gallagher "fell heavily onto his monitor speakers" and was taken to a local hospital "to be examined for a suspected fractured rib and ligament damage." The band was supposed to perform tomorrow night in London, Ontario, but the status of the gig is uncertain.

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Oasis Guitarist Hurt in Onstage Attack (in the NY Times)

The British band Oasis postponed its concert in London, Ontario, on Tuesday after an attack on the band’s guitarist Noel Gallagher, at a concert on Sunday, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Gallagher was injured onstage when a man pushed him from behind at a performance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto. The band’s Web site, oasisinet.com, said that Mr. Gallagher’s ribs and a hip were bruised. Daniel Sullivan, 47, of Pickering, Ontario, was charged with assault and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 24. The concert has been rescheduled for Dec. 15.

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Oasis' lead guitarist, Noel Gallagher, might abandon the American leg of the band's world tour - as he is still bedridden following an onstage assault. The band has already cancelled many of its gigs due to the attack on Gallagher, who is now recovering in a New York hotel room.
Pushed over during the band's performance at the V Festival in Toronto, Canada last Sunday, the rocker reportedly has several injuries and can barely walk.

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Oasis has postponed three additional shows in the wake of injuries suffered by guitarist Noel Gallagher during a Sept. 7 onstage attack in Toronto. Gallagher has three broken and dislodged ribs and has been advised by his doctor not to perform for another week.

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The man accused of attacking Noel Gallagher onstage in Toronto last year has had his charge upgraded.

Gallagher broke several ribs after Daniel Sullivan, 47, ran onstage and pushed the guitarist onto his monitors during Oasis' Virgin Festival gig in Toronto last September. The band were subsequently forced to cancel a number of gigs and promotional plans for new album 'Dig Out Your Soul', in order to allow Gallagher to recover.

Sullivan was originally charged with assault over the incident, but his charge has now been upgraded to one count of aggravated assault, reports The Press Association.

The maximum sentence carried by aggravated assault is 14 years in prison, whereas the maximum penalty for assault is five years.

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Katy Perry recently endured a humiliating slip-up at the MTV Latin American Awards in Mexico. After performing 'I Kissed A Girl' while perched atop a giant four-tier cake, she slipped on the icing and fell flat on her face. After repeated attempts to right herself she gave up and crawled off stage on her hands on knees. All this before a TV audience of tens of millions.

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Sick of the catcalls he was receiving and from watching audience members leave in droves, Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins eventually invited a particularly vocal heckler onstage to have it out with him. "Last night's show fucking sucked, man!" the young man yelled into Corgan's microphone to an abundance of cheers.

Corgan appeared to stay calm and asked the fan if he wanted his money back, but then told him to leave. And while the man walked off the stage, Corgan let loose with this gem:

"By the way, I liked that song you wrote. I heard it was Number 1. Wasn't it Number 1 in Europe? It's called Take Your Dick Out Of My Ass And Stick It In My Mouth."

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At this years Tony awards, “Rock of Love” host Bret Michaels was clothelined after performing with Poison. Here's his run-in with some stage scenery after performing "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of "Rock of Ages."

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It doesn't matter
The time that I fall
I'm up for the next one
Like I'm ten feet tall

I keep falling off
I keep falling off

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Feuding rockers Aerosmith looking for new singer?

Steven Tyler, 61, recently said he wants to concentrate on solo endeavors, a claim he has made in the past but never followed through on. He also stopped communicating with the rest of the band several months ago, and hired his own manager.

Joe Perry said last month that Tyler has refused to write a song with him for a decade. More recently, Perry said that the last time he phoned Tyler, the singer hung up on him.

Incredibly, the band has still managed to perform concerts, but a summer trek through North America was cut short in August when Tyler fell off the stage and broke his shoulder. None of his bandmates accompanied him to the hospital.

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This year, Kanye West picked the beginning of the Video Music Awards to deliver one of his famous rants.

The rapper stormed the stage just after the first award, for Best Female Video, was presented to Taylor Swift. He cut the teen singer off, grabbing the mic and protesting in support of Beyoncé.

"I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time," he proclaimed as B looked on from the crowd, stunned.

During the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas, West delivered another rant and lost his temper after he was displeased with his performance being set inside a hotel suite rather than on the show's main stage.

'Ye's rants are usually in support of his own work. He memorably took the stage at the American Music Awards in 2004, declaring he was robbed of the Best New Artist nod.

His protest against Swift, however, was not well received. West stood briefly on the stage after his comments as the crowd was silent. Audience members then began to clap in support of Swift after West left the stage.

According to reports from inside the house, once cameras cut away from the action, West flipped off the crowd and returned to his seat. Wale then said to the crowd, "You can't blame a man for speaking his mind." His words were met with boos, and Wale then said, "Kanye, I tried."