UPDATE: The remaining shows of the tour have now been cancelled.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre have broken out into an on-stage brawl at Melbourne's Forum Theatre.
Attendees at the group's first show in Melbourne since 2018 have released footage of the brawl which saw bandmembers Anton Newcombe and Ryan Van Kriedt violently scuffling, with a guitar reportedly being aggressively swung by Van Kriedt in frontman Newcombe's direction. The pair then wrestled in scenes that wouldn't be out of place at a pro wrestling event.
Watch the wild scenes in fan-captured footage below.
Social media lit up with reports of what led to the scuffle. The play-by-play provided by @adidh_ on X (formerly Twitter) provides a particularly vivid summary.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre gig at the Forum Melbourne tonight ended up really absurd. What ever happened, will always love their music and wish you well Anton. pic.twitter.com/X9Ct2QVZMc
— Adi D. (@adidh_) November 21, 2023
The drama has made mainstream news with Channel 9 amongst the traditional media outlets running the story.
There is no confirmation from the band at this stage as to what this means for the remainder of the tour, which is set to continue this evening in Castlemaine. At this stage it seems the intention is to press ahead with that date.
The heavy world is not exempt from its own fisticuffs and feuds, with a series of similar incidents throughout the years having taken place, however in the modern world, we are becoming more accustomed to online feuds taking the place of actual physical encounters.
Physical confrontation has also been known to be a way to gain entry into a band in our world as this story from Slipknot's early years affirms.
Turntablist Sid Wilson has revealed that during their formative era, the band often pushed things a little far for their own safety.
Speaking with Revolver, Wilson shared that he once head-butted Slipknot percussionist and bandleader Shawn 'Clown' Crahan six times to prove that he was just crazy enough to be worthy of joining the band. The head-butting took place during a rendition of the song Tattered and Torn during which Clown had a tendency to go out into the crowd and engage in all sorts of carnage with fans while they chanted "kill me" and as far as Wilson is concerned, Clown had it coming.
"He would go out in the crowd and wrestle with kids, tie them up with microphone cords and drag them across the floor.
"So he would go into the crowd every show — I didn't know this, I'd never seen the show before. And I can see him looking at me through the mask, and he starts this 'Kill me' [chant], and I see him coming out from behind this drum, and I could just sense it."
"I was like, 'He's coming for me. He wants to prove to me that they're crazy — and I am fucking nuts.' So, I'm like, 'It's on.' And I just start running and I start leapfrogging people, grabbing their shoulders and just jumping over. And then I'm crawling across the top of the crowd. And I get up there and he was getting ready to take one step off the stage. He looked down to get his placement, and he looks up and I'm right there.”
"I grab him and I headbutt him six times. Bam, bam, bam. And I'm coming in for the seventh one and he pushes me away, falls down and crawls back to Joey, and he goes, 'I don't give a shit what anybody says — that guy's in the band."
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