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5 Notorious Classic Rock Concert Moments

Nine words from Axl Rose in concert led to a full-on riot 29 years ago today (July 2.) Of course, there are plenty of other concert moments that will live in…

Axl Rose
Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Nine words from Axl Rose in concert led to a full-on riot 29 years ago today (July 2.)

Of course, there are plenty of other concert moments that will live in infamy.  Here are just five moments that have reached legend status.

Axl Rose & the Riverport Riot

GettyImages-53324726-1.jpgGene Kirkland/Getty Images

Admittedly, the above description sounds like an amazing band name, but what wasn’t amazing was the riot that ensued at a Guns N’ Roses show in Maryland Heights, Mo. on July 2, 1991 at the Riverport Amphitheatre. Axl Rose cut the set short after seeing a fan in the crowd with a camera, and well you know the rest:  Cut to the infamous “Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” line...and cue riot!


Ozzy & the Bat

GettyImages-1807549-1.jpgHulton Archive/Getty Images

Another classic!  At a January 20, 1982 show in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan threw a dead bat onto the stage.  Ozzy thought it was a toy bat. (Oops!) Of course, after the show was when he went to the hospital for a round of rabies shots.  FUN!


Alice Cooper & the Chicken

GettyImages-699919313.jpgGeorge Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Alice Cooper was playing the Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival in September 1969, when a chicken was thrown onto the stage. Alice then threw the chicken back because, “It had feathers; it should fly!” Wrong! This iconic moment only added to the Shock Rocker’s legend…and likely still gives PETA fits.


Jim Morrison “Exposes” Himself

GettyImages-3350502.jpgCentral Press/Getty Images

What’s so crazy about this incident is that decades later, no one really knows if it actually happened.  During a 1969 gig in Miami, Morrison allegedly exposed himself on stage and was later charged with indecent exposure and “the use of obscene language.”   There’s still no photographic proof that the Lizard King shows his...lizard, which is likely why decades later, the Florida Clemency Board issued a pardon.


Altamont

GettyImages-3297399.jpgLen Trievnor/Express/Getty Images

There are few classic rock concert moments as tragic and infamous as Altamont, which took place on December 6, 1969.  Poor organizing and the Hell’s Angels acting as security was a recipe for disaster and led to the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter, which was chronicled in the documentary Gimme Shelter.


Axl Rose & the Riverport Riot

GettyImages-53324726-1.jpgGene Kirkland/Getty Images

Admittedly, the above description sounds like an amazing band name, but what wasn’t amazing was the riot that ensued at a Guns N’ Roses show in Maryland Heights, Mo. on July 2, 1991 at the Riverport Amphitheatre. Axl Rose cut the set short after seeing a fan in the crowd with a camera, and well you know the rest:  Cut to the infamous “Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” line...and cue riot!


Ozzy & the Bat

GettyImages-1807549-1.jpgHulton Archive/Getty Images

Another classic!  At a January 20, 1982 show in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan threw a dead bat onto the stage.  Ozzy thought it was a toy bat. (Oops!) Of course, after the show was when he went to the hospital for a round of rabies shots.  FUN!


Alice Cooper & the Chicken

GettyImages-699919313.jpgGeorge Stroud/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Alice Cooper was playing the Toronto Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival in September 1969, when a chicken was thrown onto the stage. Alice then threw the chicken back because, “It had feathers; it should fly!” Wrong! This iconic moment only added to the Shock Rocker’s legend…and likely still gives PETA fits.


Jim Morrison “Exposes” Himself

GettyImages-3350502.jpgCentral Press/Getty Images

What’s so crazy about this incident is that decades later, no one really knows if it actually happened.  During a 1969 gig in Miami, Morrison allegedly exposed himself on stage and was later charged with indecent exposure and “the use of obscene language.”   There’s still no photographic proof that the Lizard King shows his...lizard, which is likely why decades later, the Florida Clemency Board issued a pardon.


Altamont

GettyImages-3297399.jpgLen Trievnor/Express/Getty Images

There are few classic rock concert moments as tragic and infamous as Altamont, which took place on December 6, 1969.  Poor organizing and the Hell’s Angels acting as security was a recipe for disaster and led to the stabbing death of Meredith Hunter, which was chronicled in the documentary Gimme Shelter.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights