A concert that erupted into chaos. Many were arrested, many ended up injured. Violence between security, the bands, and fans in the audience.
Took TC, who was just only about 15 or so I think, to see a line up of:
- Scratch Acid
- Cro-Mags
- Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics
- Motorhead
Scratch Acid, who according to Wikipedia, were an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its front man David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesus Lizard.
Well, the majority of people at the show (maybe a few hundred) were there to see Motorhead. Scratch Acid was mostly ignored, with folks talking and nowhere near the stage.
Things got "edgy" during the Cro-Mags set, which was confrontational and aggressive. The crowd began to stir, with a lot of slam-dancing, and security felt the need to "assert" themselves.
All became lost during Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics set, as the destruction from the stage really riled up the crowd, and at one point it looked as though Williams tried to slice a security or policeman's head off with a running chainsaw (I couldn't honestly tell if there was a chain on it).
At that point, fights began, people were dragged away, arrested, or sent off on ambulance.
Somehow late into the night, Motorhead appeared and played to a somewhat quieted crowd. Each song would begin, only to hit a middle portion that just seemed to be drums and bass pounding away "da da da, da da da". Amazing.
Motorhead was so loud that the glasses holding drinks on the small tables would vibrate across the top, so you had to either hold the drink or be ready to catch it.
All this for $10 I think, what times.
The really bad news didn't hit until I arrived back home, and I decided to watch Game 6 of the World Series between my Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. I had videotaped the entire game.
Little did I know, what would transpire during those ten-innings of baseball. Wow.
