Source: Blabbermouth.net
**UPDATE**: Kirk Windstein has released the following statement regarding Thursday night’s incident:
“In regards to the fan jumping onstage during our set at Maryland Deathfest. The Maryland Deathfest organizers/venue do not allow fans to run on stage uninvited. That’s their policy. They had barriers and security in plain sight to prevent that. If someone chooses to go against their policy, I have no control over that and at a show like this I’m not expecting anyone to run onto the stage, especially during ‘Planets Collide’. So I’m rocking out, my eyes are closed and then I guess security tackled the fan into me. I was already on edge having driven 15 hours straight through the night without sleep to play the gig. We had no backup guitars or techs with us so if we broke a guitar or even a string, the set would have been seriously delayed or ended. At shows WITHOUT security or barricades, if you decide to run on stage or dive off it, at least be respectful, get up and dive off and try not to hit into the band or break their gear and try not to break your neck or the neck of someone else. Thanks for understanding!”
The original article follows below.
CROWBAR frontman Kirk Windstein slammed a fan for almost breaking “every fucking tooth” in the guitarist/vocalist’s mouth during the band’s concert Thursday night (May 22) at the Maryland Deathfest at Rams Head Live! in Baltimore. The incident took place while CROWBAR was performing the song “Planets Collide” and a fan made his way on stage, briefly bouncing around and clapping, with the apparent intention on jumping back into the audience. It was at this point that a large security guard came rushing from the left side of the stage, tackling the fan and nearly knocking Windstein off the podium. The band continued playing for another 15 seconds or so before Kirk asked his bandmates to stop and addressed the crowd directly.
“Stop this fucking song,” Windstein said (see video below; beginning around 2:25 mark). “I’m so sick of this shit. You’ve got motherfuckers like Randy Blythe — nicest motherfucking guy in the world. Some asshole goes into his office, fucks his fucking world up, and the guy almost goes to prison in a foreign fucking country. Do I go into your office and fuck your computer up? No. You know why? I respect you and I love you. Thank you. A lot of people think I’m a dick, go suck one, motherfucker. This is about respect. My eyes are closed, I’m playing my goddamn heart out. You could have broken every fucking tooth in my mouth. Thank you, security.”
During a May 2010 LAMB OF GOD show in the Czech Republic, 19-year-old concertgoer Daniel Nosek sustained a head injury that allegedly led to the fan’s death. LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe was charged with manslaughter in the case, but was eventually acquitted.
Regarding the practice of stage diving, the presiding judge in the Blythe case stated “ninety percent of the audience” must have known that jumping off the stage was prohibited at the venue, as a barrier was in place and concert security had successfully prevented fans from hopping the barricade during the show. The judge also noted that Blythe‘s hand gestures calling for a round of applause could have been misunderstood as an invitation for fans to come up onto the stage.
A number of rockers came to Randy‘s defense, with many of them citing the 2004 shooting death onstage of PANTERA guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott as the reason why musicians are so defensive nowadays about fans invading the stage.
DISTURBED singer David Draiman said: “The only thing [Randy] is guilty of [is being involved in] a horrible accident. Someone comes up on stage, they get thrown back into the pit. [I’ve] done it a hundred times myself. The fault should be in the hands of the venue security who were supposed to ensure that no one got up there. It’s a dangerous thing to try.”
Draiman‘s bandmate and drummer Mike Wengren told The Pulse Of Radio not along after Dimebag was shot that his death had cast a shadow over live performing. “I think one of the most scariest things is, you go up onstage, and there’s this energy transfer between the band and the crowd, and you almost feel invincible. You feel very empowered. Never in a million years would anyone ever think something like that was even possible, and I think it just caught everyone off guard. It’s pretty scary.”