Five Concert Riots That Make Metallica And AC/DC Fans Look Lame

This last week's been an interesting one in terms of violent behaviour at rock shows.

About 50 AC/DC fans were reportedly arrested for "drunk and disorderly behaviour" following the Australian rock band's gig in Wellington, New Zealand over the weekend.

While this seems like a big deal, local police were actually playing down the number of people arrested. Why?

Well, as New Zealand Police Inspector Mike Coleman told the Otago Daily Times that about 30 to 40 people are usually arrested at every Saturday night gig, and 50 is "not bad, [for] a full moon and a nice hot night."

Amusingly, the newspaper ran a headline about the gig which read "AC/DC fans stay out of trouble."

Last Tuesday (Jan. 26), what was either a disturbance or "riot" (depending what news source you read) erupted at Metallica's show in Santiago, Chile after a group of fans attempted to force their way into the venue.

The group were reportedly pushed back by military police using hot water canons, according to the Latin America Herald Tribune, and 120 fans were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, drinking in public and drug possession.

A video of the event is floating around:

While show violence and concert rioting aren't anything new and we don't advocate it in any way whatsoever, here are five incidents that are a little more serious and more notorious than last week's two events:

5. In 2008, fans rioted during a Dead Prez concert at Washington's Evergreen State College, causing over $30,000 U.S. in damages and overturning a sheriff's patrol car.

4. In 2003, Marilyn Manson fans rioted following a show cancellation in Kansas City, Mo. due to safety concerns. Then, MTV News reported police said 2,000 to 3,000 of the 12,000 fans at the show started rioting, leading to 130 riot police showing up. They were met with a barrage of rocks, beer bottles and other bottles filled with urine before firing pepper spray at the fans. Nine police cars were damaged and another fan was even arrested for attempting to hit a cop with his car.

3. In 1991, Guns N' Roses walked off stage during a show in Maryland Heights, Mo. after Axl Rose jumped into the crowd to stop a fan from filming the show with a video camera. He said he was going home and blamed security after being pulled back on stage, which led to a full-scale riot in the stadium with many people being injured.

2. A year later, fans rioted after Guns N' Roses walk off stage in the middle of their performance at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in August 1992. Rioters overturned cars, smashed windows, set fires and looted stores all because Rose said he had a sore throat and wouldn't continue singing. At the risk of making this all about Guns N' Roses fans, let's not forget that riot in Vancouver in 2002 because Rose didn't show up, either.

1. Although it wasn't a riot, probably the most notorious incident of concert violence occurred on Dec. 6, 1969 during The Rolling Stones' set at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival. Things were already rowdy before the Stones took the stage and the band repeatedly urged the fans to stay cool when they were playing. A fight erupted during "Sympathy For The Devil" and was later quelled, but by the time the band started "Under My Thumb," members of the Hell's Angels — who were providing security for the festival — got into a fight with an 18-year-old named Meredith Hunter. A Hell's Angel punched him in the head, and although Hunter's girlfriend tried to get him to drop the issue, he was reportedly so high he kept fighting and pulled out a gun, which led to Hell's Angel Alan Passaro stabbing him to death and being stomped by several Hell's Angels.

AC/DC will play these shows:

May 14 Sofia, Bulgaria @ Vassil Levsky Stadium
May 16 Bucharest, Romania @ Piata Constitutiei
May 19 Udine, Italy @ Stadio Friuli
May 22 Wels, Austria @ Flugplatz Wels
May 25 Hannover, Germany @ Messe
May 27 Warsaw, Poland @ Bemowo Airport
May 30 Oslo, Norway @ Valle Hovin Stadion
June 1 Tampere, Finland @ Ratina Stadium
June 3 Stockholm, Sweden @ Olympic Stadium
June 5 Horsens, Denmark @ CASA Arena Horsens
June 8 Bern, Switzerland @ Stade De Suisse
June 11 Donington, England @ Donington Park (Download Festival)
June 13 Stuttgart, Germany @ Cannstatter Wasen
June 15 Nice, France @ Parc Des Sports Charles Ehrmann
June 18 Paris, France @ Stade De France
June 20 Dresden, Germany @ Ostrahege
June 22 Berlin, Germany @ Olympic Stadium

You can see Metallica here:

March 1 Guadalajara, Mexico @ Estadio Tres De Marzo
March 3 Monterrey, Mexico @ Estadio Universitario
March 5 Guatemala City, Guatemala @ Estadio Mateo Flores
March 7 San Jose, Costa Rica @ Saprissa Stadium
March 8 Panama City, Panama @ Plaza Figali
March 10 Bogota, Colombia @ Parque Simon Bolivar
March 12 Caracas, Venezuela @ La Rinconada
March 14 San Juan, Puerto Rico @ Coliseo De Puerto Rico
April 13-14 Oslo, Norway @ Telenor Arena
April 17 Riga, Latvia @ Riga Arena
April 18 Tallinn, Estonia @ Saku Suurhall
April 20-21 Vilnius, Lithuania @ Siemens Arena
April 24-25 Moscow, Russia @ SK Olimpiisky
May 11-12 Belfast, Northern Ireland @ Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary @ Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 18-19 Lisbon, Portugal @ Pavilhao Atlantico
May 23 Lyon, France @ Halle Tony Garnier
June 16 Warsaw, Poland @ Bemowo Airport (Sonisphere)
June 18 Zurich, Switzerland @ Jonschwil Degenaupark (Sonisphere)
June 19 Prague, Czech Republic @ Mimon Airport (Sonisphere)