Riverport Riot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Riverport Riot was a riot at the Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis Missouri which was instigated by Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose during a concert on July 2, 1991.
During the band's performance of "Rocket Queen", the 15th song in the set (counting drum & guitar solos), Rose jumped into the audience and tackled a fan who was recording the show with a video camera. After being pulled out of the audience by members of the crew, Rose said: "Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I'm going home!", slammed his microphone on the ground and left the stage.
The sound the microphone made sounded to some fans like a gunshot, so band member Slash quickly told the audience, "He just slammed his mic on the floor. We're outta here." The angry crowd began to riot and dozens of people were injured. The footage was captured by Robert John, who was documenting the entire tour for the band. Rose was charged with having incited the riot, but police were unable to arrest him until almost a year later, as the band went overseas to continue the tour. Charges were filed against Rose but a judge ruled that he did not directly incite the riot. [1]
Rose later stated that the Guns N' Roses security team had made four separate requests to the venue's security staff to remove the camera, all of which were ignored, that other members of the band had reported being hit by bottles from the audience and that the venue's security had been lax, allowing weapons into the arena and refusing to enforce a drinking limit. Consequently, Use Your Illusion I and II's artwork featured a hidden message amidst the Thank You section of the album insert: "Fuck You, St. Louis!"
[edit] External links
- YouTube video of Axl Rose jumping into the crowd, confiscating the camera, and leaving the stage
- YouTube video of the Riot - Part I
- YouTube video of the Riot - Part II
- YouTube video of the Riot - Part III
- Memory archive personal diary of a concertgoer
