Anthrax's concert October 22 night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles was interrupted when a fan jumped onstage and approached lead singer Joey Belladonna. Venue security sprang into action, but unfortunately for Belladonna, it did more harm than good.
As can be seen in a YouTube clip posted Sunday morning (and available below), the band was performing "Metal Thrashing Mad" when a fan approached Belladonna. The frontman stepped back before getting behind the fan to restrain him. A security guard on the floor then jumped to the stage and ran headfirst into the fan and the singer, knocking both hard to the ground.
More security entered the fray, some trying to restrain angry bassist Frank Bello, who went after the security guard. Belladonna can then be seen talking to guitarist Scott Ian about what happened.
"It's pretty smart to tackle the singer," Scott says onstage. "F--king geniuses they are working here, huh? I guess they haven't seen him up here on stage for the last 90 minutes. He's in the band!"
"Thank you very much - sorry about that," Belladonna says afterward, adding that he's not used to being tackled onstage. The band resumed playing and finished what Ian later dubbed the "best show of the year" on Twitter.
"Joey is banged up but OK," he tweeted earlier this morning, following the concert. "You'd think security would know he's in the band. He'd only been on stage for 90 minutes. #geniuses."
"Wow. Joey Belladonna body slammed by security on stage tonight in LA," one fan tweeted, adding that Bello went after the offending security guard.
Fans also posted comments regarding the incident on the band's Facebook page. "Thanks for the show tonight in L.A.! Please come back soon and I hope Joey is feeling better after that dumbass security guy tackled him down," one wrote.
Barring any injuries Belladonna may have sustained, the group will continue its North American tour - which wraps Nov. 19 in Milwaukee - this evening in San Francisco. The group is touring behind the new studio album "Worship Music".
Watch Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna get tackled by security in Los Angeles:
Joey did the right thing, he didn't push him or anything, just non-violently dance with him and was going to push him to side stage like you do with stage-jumpers.
But the security? Are you ****ing kidding me?! Their job is to PROTECT THE BAND MEMBERS AND THE KIDS. They are given EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS NOT to hurt the band at all. That guy should be ****ing fired for tackling Belladonna. He's 51 for ****s sake! Scotts right.
Yeah it sucks that he got tackled and the security guard was wrong, but this wouldn't have happened if a fan ran onstage. Some places don't allow it not just because they don't trust fans, but because it gets chaotic on stage as well. When I went to see Between the Buried and Me, they let fans come onto the stage, and one f*cking idiot bumped Paul Waggoner during his Selkies solo and made him mess up. Yeah, the f*cking nerve. True story. I know it would be cool to rock out with the band you love, but why ruin it for everyone else? Even if you don't bump into anyone or mess anything up, you're distracting and attention seeking, and it's bloody annoying.
At least Joey's okay, though.
The guy was probably just in the moment and shit but really, the security did the right thing. (Except for tackling Joey). Because really you can't be too safe considering what happened to Dimebag Darrell. But Anthrax handled it well.
Yeah it sucks that he got tackled and the security guard was wrong, but this wouldn't have happened if a fan ran onstage. Some places don't allow it not just because they don't trust fans, but because it gets chaotic on stage as well. When I went to see Between the Buried and Me, they let fans come onto the stage, and one f*cking idiot bumped Paul Waggoner during his Selkies solo and made him mess up. Yeah, the f*cking nerve. True story. I know it would be cool to rock out with the band you love, but why ruin it for everyone else? Even if you don't bump into anyone or mess anything up, you're distracting and attention seeking, and it's bloody annoying.
At least Joey's okay, though.
Boo hoo. He messed up the solo. qq cry cry
I take it you've never been to a local/hall show before. The band members sometimes actually get in on the moshing while playing, some even start it themselves.
Woe is the day bands and fans actually mingle, hey?
There really wasn't any other quick way to get them both away from each other. The security guard was just trying to keep Belladonna safe. Dimebag Darrel flashback anyone? The guy did his job. He should have tried to NOT tackle the singer but he probably didn't think that far ahead.
According to the comments, Dimebag did more than just ruin Metal music. He ruined the way bands and fans act together at shows!
Come on people. That was one time. Nathan Gale was a Pantera fan, and he was even more messed up in the head than most of them usually are. It was 1 time out of literally 1000's of times fans have jumped on stage with the band.
I got a horrible flashback to the Dimebag incident. I hope this fool was arrested.
On what charges? I've never gone to any kind of concert where they actually point out "Don't climb on the stage". Some bands allow it.
Are you notified of every law that you might break at any given time? "Don't steal" signs aren't that common in stores either... Maybe drunk and disorderly? This isn't much different than someone running on the field during a sports game which almost always winds up in an arrest.
I got a horrible flashback to the Dimebag incident. I hope this fool was arrested.
On what charges? I've never gone to any kind of concert where they actually point out "Don't climb on the stage". Some bands allow it.
Are you notified of every law that you might break at any given time? "Don't steal" signs aren't that common in stores either... Maybe drunk and disorderly? This isn't much different than someone running on the field during a sports game which almost always winds up in an arrest.
This is Heavy Metal. We're supposed to be breakin' the law, breakin' the law! And goin' against the grain. Not following it to a T and falling in line. Guaranteed everyone in Anthrax, at one point in their life, either snuck into a show or jumped on stage themselves.
According to the comments, Dimebag did more than just ruin Metal music. He ruined the way bands and fans act together at shows!
Come on people. That was one time. Nathan Gale was a Pantera fan, and he was even more messed up in the head than most of them usually are. It was 1 time out of literally 1000's of times fans have jumped on stage with the band.
Think about your favorite guitarist or singer. What if he got killed onstage too? Yeah, it was just one time, but one time is enough. You never know what intentions the people jumping onstage have, whether it's to get attention, have some fun, or shoot someone. You really make yourself sound like a dumbass, you know that? Think a little about what you say next time
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