1992.08.08 - Stade Du Parc Olympique, Montreal, Canada

Lars Ulrich (Metallica): You know, Axl Rose is one of the most real people I've ever met. Okay, probably like one of the truest and more real people that I've ever met. When Axl is in the right mood and the right frame of mind, I mean, there's nobody that touches him as an artist and as a performer. But he's also the kind of person that it's sort of like if the monitors aren't 110%, then he can't deal with it. And then he just, instead of trying to find a way to deal with it, he chooses to walk off. And I'm sort of in a situation where I can sort of relate to both sides, because I think that there's a kind of purity in what he does.

It just so happens that that night, when James blew up onstage, and Guns N' Roses needed to come out and save the day, you know, Axl had one of his nights where he just wasn't really feeling it, and couldn't really pull it off. And that was the night where it really needed to happen -- do you know what I mean?

20 years later, from the archives: Guns 'N Roses at the Big O

After the last police cruiser had been rolled back upright, the last broken chair folded, and long after Axl Rose had staggered from the debris of Olympic Stadium, Montreal was left to look for an answer.

By Mark Lepage, Special to The Gazette August 8, 2012 11:48 AM

Editor's note: This review by then Gazette rock critic Mark Lepage was originally published Aug. 15, 1992.

MONTREAL - After the last police cruiser had been rolled back upright, the last broken chair folded, and long after Axl Rose had staggered from the debris of Olympic Stadium, Montreal was left to look for an answer.

And when the smoke cleared after the Guns N' Roses/Metallica double bill, what was clearer than ever was the schism that exists between the workaday adult world and the world of rock 'n' roll.

Riot? To anyone who believes rock 'n' roll is more than a tool for selling hamburgers, Saturday night's outburst of pent-up anger reaffirmed the music's enduring importance. It was the latest chapter in a history that stretches back past Altamont in the 1960s to rockabilly riots in the 1950s.

In a violent society, things get broken sometimes, but rock music has its own internal code and most of the time can police itself. Still, the concert has left accusations flying in its wake, most directed at the bands and their fans by people who haven't been to a rock concert in 20 years.

We had Mayor Jean Dore reading his version of the riot act and reassuring folks that the big bad band was banned from the Big O forever. Parents everywhere were shaking their heads at youth gone wrong.

So what really happened? Some (most of whom were not there) saw scary TV news footage of kids throwing rocks and jousting with police, heard tales of teens trashing concession stands and stealing Expos caps.

Others saw a reaffirmation, albeit a twisted one, of the very power that makes rock 'n' roll music our truest, realest art form.

You play with fire and you get burned sometimes. Strip away the layers of corporate gloss and FM radio calcification, the Muzak and the "classic rock" legitimization, and rock 'n' roll remains a primal thing at its heart. Rock music is still strong enough to rattle the rafters.

To some, that's a frightening notion.

Like every generation of parents, this one looks at kids and wonders why they can't listen to something nice. And like every generation of kids, this one wonders how parents can be so out of it.

Everybody agrees singer Axl Rose is to blame for what happened last Saturday, that his early exit triggered the outburst. But for the purposes of argument, we will separate these people into two camps: the ones for whom Axl is a bogeyman (read: parents) and those for whom Axl is either a troubled hero or just a jerk (the fans). Of the two, the latter has a better understanding of Axl Rose's place in rock tradition.

Anyone out there remember Bill Haley? Few who attended the Gunners show do, but back in 1955, Haley inspired riots wherever he went. Seen through the sepia mist of nostalgia, film footage of 1950s kids trashing concert halls is quaint, but it is evidence that rock 'n' roll had a violent birth.

In 1992 we have Axl, who, in a more brutal age and circumstances, has to be proportionately more obvious, angry and ugly in order to stir people up.

Still, people who grew up with Haley can't make the Axl connection. The anti-Axl editorializing, head-shaking and tut- tutting carries a not-so-subtle anti-rock bias. To parental detractors, Axl Rose and his gang are vicious, irresponsible, greedhead punks. Axl is the bogeyman; his lyrics are quoted out of context to prove it.

But to someone with any knowledge of rock, Axl is an angry, volatile, charismatic, spoiled, egocentric, selfish, talented singer. Or maybe just a jerk.

But the kids do not fear him.

They know Axl's horrid history of child abuse at the hands of his parents. They know he's unbalanced, that he's in deep psychotherapy, trying to bring his rage under control. They know the context. They've grown up in a world where sex is death (AIDS), where rain is poison, where the sun gives you cancer. If they fear anyone, it's the people who built that world.

Give kids credit for their comprehension. They know that, no matter how many times Axl writes "turn around bitch" or "squeeze your head tight in my vise," he is no more likely to rape anyone than, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger is to grab a bazooka and level a city.

They know those lyrics are intended to offend mom and pop, and to express inchoate rage.

Those in the anti-Axl cadre might defend themselves by suggesting the riot would never have happened if kids could like nicer music. Nothing would have happened at a Phil Collins concert. Right. Nothing would have happened at a Phil Collins concert.

No, you play with fire when you cram 57,000 young people into a concrete toilet bowl, fire them up with 126 decibels of unsanitized aggression, and leave them hanging - twice - on the edge of rockus interruptus.

In the wake of the Guns disaster, the miracles are that nobody was really hurt, and that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Why not? Because rock usually polices itself.

How about a band from Guns N' Roses's own genre? How about Metallica? Two hours before Axl bailed, Metallica's set was cut short when James Hetfield was burned in a pyrotechnics accident. The band explained to fans - three times - why they were cutting the show, that they would return soon to make up the date.

No riot.

There is a moral code to rock 'n' roll. The code is strict enough to insist bands live up to the promises they make to fans, but loose enough to tolerate Guns N' Roses's bursts of nihilism and anarchy.

Metallica lived up to it. GNR didn't. That's the real tragedy, but it could be set right.

How? Axl can do what Aerosmith did a few years back. When a few fans were busted for drug possession at an Aerosmith show, band members bailed them out. It's part of part of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle and part of the code.

Likewise, Axl should hold a news conference right now and tell the world how he supports his fans enough to open his very large wallet and pay Big O damages of $250,000 - tip money to an Axl Rose.

Like every fan, Rose knows the knocks against him and his band are part of a tradition of parents bashing their kids' tastes that goes back to Sinatra and Elvis.

Angry Rock Fans riot in Montreal

Crews worked Sunday to clean up Olympic Stadium following a rampage by heavy metal rock fans enraged when a concet by Guns N' Roses and Metallica was cut short.

At least eight police officers suffered minor injuries when they clashed Saturday night with rioters throwing rocks and bottles, police said. Twelve people were arrested and face charges ranging from disturbing the peace to assaulting a police officer.

Police said one girl was taken to a hospital after being shoved through a glass display case by the charging crowd. No other injuries were reported among spectators.

About 300 police wielding riot clubs chased rioters through streets around the Olympic Stadium and fired tear gas inside. They restored control early Sunday.

Witnesses in the crowd of 53,000 said the riot erupted as concertgoers left the stadium, which held the 1976 Summer Olympics. Lead singer Axl Rose halted the performance after 55 minutes because of a sore throat.

DYNAMITE CONCERT BLOWS UP AT BIG O

Early exits by Metallica, Guns Ν’ Roses ignite disgruntled rock fans

MARK LEPAGE
THE GAZETTE

“They Said It Would Never Happen” was the tag line for last night's Metallica/Guns N’ Roses blowout for 53,000 at the Big 0.

They were right.

There was a blowout all right — in fact, there were a couple, neither of which sent fans home happy after Guns N’ Roses left the stage a mere 55 minutes into their headline set on a snakebit night.

The band’s early exit ignited acts of vandalism inside and outside the Olympic Stadium as disgruntled fans expressed their displeasure.

Fans set small fires in the stands and trashed whole sections of seating on the Olympic Stadium floor. They cheered others who set chairs ablaze. At different times, up to half a dozen minor fires could be seen in the stadium.

About 200 yellow-shirted security officers rushed to trouble spots to herd the jeering crowd out of the stadium.

A combination of bad vibes, bad luck and bad health combined to turn last night’s purported hard-rock explosion into a dud.

Concert promoters blamed Guns N’ Roses’ early exit on a throat condition that had forced lead singer Axl Rose to postpone several shows earlier on the tour.

Erupting flashpots

Earlier, Metallica was forced to cut its set short after an hour and 15 minutes when singer-guitarist James Hetfield was injured by a pyrotechnics display and rushed to hospital.

Hetfield suffered second- or third-degree burns to his hands, arms and face, according to stadium medical officials. His hair was also burned.

Bassist Jason Newsted announced the development to the frenzied faithful after he and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett had completed solo bits punctuated by a column of erupting flashpots that stretched across the entire front of a 300-foot stage.

The accident left Hetfield burned — just like the 53,000 fans at the Big O.

It all came down to the random Axl element. This time, when the singer stormed off the stage after a version Civil War.

Rose seemed agitated after the first few songs of the set, perhaps at a crowd that received the music enthusiastically but did not go ballistic.

Keep in mind the crowd had endured the Metallica accident and had been flattened by a humid two-hour-and-15-minute wait for Axl and Co.

Whatever the reasons, Rose followed a doper’s blues version of Bad Obsession with a speech about how the band had honed its act on a seven-week tour of Europe just to have it all fall apart last night.

“In case anybody here is interested.” Rose said, “this will be our last show for a long time.”

Tone of weirdness

Rose introduced the next song, Double-Talking Jive, and planted his behind on the stage. He sang in a virtual monotone while guitarist Slash pulled off some brilliant flamenco leads on his Les Paul.

The night’s tone of weirdness was compounded by reported sightings of two or three people standing on the rim of the Big O roof.

The Hetfield accident was a disappointing development on two counts.

Metallica had been pummelling along like a crack commando outfit to that point, entirely without the aid of props.

Mainly, though, the band's early exit (drummer Lars Ulrich promised the band would return to town soon to make up the gig) robbed fans of the chance to match the world’s two hardest bands against one another.

Until Hetfield’s ambulance exit, the concert had lived up to expectations. beginning with the Metro ride to the venue.

Fans had started whooping and hollering at the Peel Métro stop, and howled at every stop thereafter on the way to Metal Central — Pie IX, and headbanger headquarters.

And all this was at 5 p.m. — a full half hour before opening act Faith No More took the stage.

Fitting ode

Abbreviated set notwithstanding, Metallica hit the stage with its customary bloodlust.

Drill sergeant Hetfield took the stage, barking a six-word salutation that contained two expletives, and the band commenced to applying heavy shoe leather to 53,000 backsides.

They pummelled into Sanitarium from the Ride the Lightning album, both a fitting ode to the Big O atmosphere and a ballsy vote of confidence in the unity and devotion of their fans.

Faith No More opened with a set of biblical proportions, which is to say it reminded one of Jonah and the whale. Despite singer Mike Patton's impassioned performance, the band was sabotaged by cavernous sound.

Abbreviated Big O concert a fiasco for promoter

Last night's Guns N’ Roses and Metallica concert at Olympic Stadium was a fiasco for impresario Donald Tarlton, whose Donald K. Donald Productions brought the Guns N’ Roses-Metallica double-header to Montreal.

And it left the future of the bands’ North American tour in limbo.

The two groups were supposed to play a concert in Toronto tonight. But early this morning, promoters announced that the sol-dout concert at Exhibition Stadium had been cancelled because of injuries suffered by Metallica singer James Hetfield in Montreal last night.

Tarlton. who has been a rock promoter for almost 25 years — was asked last night whether he thought yesterday was the unluckiest day of his career.

"Yes," he said.

He counselled fans to hold on to their tickets for a possible makeup date in October.

He said he would spend the next couple of days talking to Metallica and Guns Ν' Roses managers and lawyers to figure out an action plan. He said both bands' managers had asked him about the availability of the Big O in October.

Tarlton also attempted to explain the early departure of Axl Rose from the stage.

“As I understand it — and I don’t understand everything—he (Rose) has been ill with this bad throat."

Tarlton had not spoken to the band immediately after the concert. but said there were problems with the monitors on stage. He said Rose might have been singing louder to compensate for the fact that he couldn't hear himself.

Heavy mess

No plans to offer refunds, promoter says

KATE DUNN and ANN McLAUGHLIN
THE GAZETTE

Donald K. Donald Productions, the promoters of Saturday’s rock concert that turned into a riot, say they have no plans to reimburse ticket holders who felt the concert was too short.

And the head of the Olympic Installations Board. Pierre Bibeau said he blames Axl Rose of the group Guns N’ Roses for causing the riot by cutting short his concert performance after just 55 minutes.

This sparked an explosion by some of the 57.000 fans that resulted in fires being set and windows broken inside the stadium.

Constable Bruno Vaillancourt of Montreal Urban Community police said eight police officers suffered minor injuries in shoving matches.

While the vast majority of the concert-goers left the area, police estimate lo.ooo people remained on the grounds, roaming in small gangs, setting fires in garbage cans, breaking police car windows and slashing tires.

Yesterday , crews worked to clean up the stadium, where rioters destroyed and looted the Expos baseball boutique, burned a sports car which was on display and set dozens of small fires.

Montreal Mayor Jean Doré said yesterday he understood the frustration of concert-goers "but that doesn't justify the events that followed."

The crowd lit garbage fires, flipped one police car on to its roof and damaged 26 others, breaking windows and mirrors and slashing tires. Officers moving into the crowd to corral rioters were met by a rain of stones and bottles from a sea of about 10,000 people.

Police sealed off the area and shut down four nearby subway stations to prevent the melee from spreading to the transit system.

"Several hundred in the crowd encircled police and started throwing rocks, bottles and giving police a hard time," Vaillancourt said.

Twelve arrests were made and charges include assaulting a police officer, possession of a weapon, theft and disturbing the peace.

Eventually, at about 12:30 a.m., police reinforcements arrived from precincts across the MUC. More than 150 riot-equipped officers formed a line across the four lanes of Pierre de Coubertin Ave., on the south side of the stadium.

From there the phalanx slowly swept eastward, pushing the rowdy fans into the Viau Metro station, ending the riot at about 1 a.m.

Vaillancourt said three fans were injured during the riot but the injuries occurred inside the stadium, and not during the police sweep.

"It was an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to the riot and that I don't foresee happening again," Bibeau said.

The first problem, Bibeau said, was an explosion of fireworks which gave James Hetfield, lead singer of the band Metallica, second-degree burns to his face, arms and hands. The band told the crowd they couldn't continue without Hetfield, which Bibeau said the audience seemed to accept. Metallica had played about 75 minutes.

Yesterday, Joan Lamontagne of the Montreal General Hospital con-firmed that Hetfield was taken there for treatment, but checked out during the night.

After Metallica left the stage, the crowd had to wait more than two hours for the headliners, Guns N’ Roses.

"The conduct of most of the public was exemplary," Bibeau said. "They waited more than two hours without incident."

Guns Ν' Roses played just 55 minutes when Rose cut the show short, the band walked off into waiting vans, and the show was over. Some fans, angered over paying $40 (or more, if they bought tickets from scalpers) to see the bands started setting fire to Guns 'n Roses T-shirts, then added garbage to the pile and had a number of small fires going on through the stadium, damaging some of the seating.

"It sounded a lot worse than it really was," said Bibeau. "Now that the garbage is getting cleaned up, it's really not that bad. So it's obvious it was just a few people. Most of the audience conducted themselves well.

"We'll be seeking remuneration from the promoter's insurance company," said Bibeau. He said his staff had not yet tallied up the damage.

Concert promoter Donald Tarlton told reporters after the concert that Rose had retired from the stage because of a throat injury that had caused postponements earlier in the band's tour.

Bibeau said Rose should have explained his problem to the audience, as Metallica had done, rather than just abandoning the stage.

"Metallica was very professional compared with Guns 'n Roses." said Bibeau.

"We’re doing an inventory now to determine the amount of damage. It's relatively limited, thanks to the police intervention." said Bibeau. "The neighborhood was not touched."

The band U2 is to play the stadium Aug. 27. "I don’t see why the U2 concert won’t happen," Bibeau said. "We'll have a debriefing about this last concert, and learn from it. I think we had done well in having extra security for this concert, and serving only (0.5-per-cent alcohol) beer. We had metal detectors at the door."

Urgences Santé said eight people were taken by ambulance to hospital during and after the concert. Spokesman Diane Asselin said two of the eight were seriously injured. One of the patients, a female, fell from one level of the stadium to a lower level.

Bibeau said the female fell before the concert began, "so it was not related to the riot."

A concert at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium planned for last night was postponed because of Het-field’s injuries.

Vancouver police will also reassess security preparations for its Guns Ν' Roses concert following the Montreal riot.

Vancouver police Insp. Chris Offer said yesterday the force already has a plan for the band's show scheduled for Aug. 17 that will now be reviewed.

GUNS Ν’ROSES

12 heavy metal fans face charges for riot

Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Twelve people face charges ranging from disturbing the peace to assaulting a police officer after angry heavy metal music fans trashed parts of Olympic Stadium following the cancellation of a Guns N’ Roses concert.

Eight of the 300 police called to the scene late Saturday night received minor injuries in the melee when they clashed with rock-and bottle-throwing rioters who used everything from an uprooted street lamp to metal barriers to smash windows in the building.

Police said no fans were injured but one girl was taken to hospital after being shoved through a glass display case by the charging crowd in the stadium.

“Everyone was yelling: ‘Kill them. We’ve got to destroy everything,’ ” said a horrorstruck young woman named Annie, who watched the incident from her ice-cream concession. “We didn’t know if we were going to die."

On Sunday, crews worked to clean up the stadium, where rioters destroyed and looted the Expos baseball boutique, burned a sports car that was on display and set dozens of small fires before police regained control at about 1 a.m.

Montreal Mayor Jean Dore said Sunday he understood the frustration of concert-goers “but that doesn’t justify the events that followed.”

Pierre Bibeau, president of the Olympics Installations Board, which runs the stadium, said the damage was not as bad as first thought but no dollar figure has yet been assessed.

The triple-bill concert was halted by Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose only a few songs into the band’s act. He reportedly could not continue because of a sore throat.

It was the second glitch of the concert, which also featured heavy metal group Metallica and an opening act.

Earlier, the sold-out event was interrupted when a minor explosion occurred near the stage as Metallica performed.

Lead singer James Hetfield was taken to a Montreal-area hospital where he was treated for second-degree burns.

Hetfield, who spent the night in hospital, is expected to recover fully. He suffered burns to his face, arms and hands, said Jim Monaco, spokesman for Concert Productions International.

A concert at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium planned for Sunday night was postponed because of Hetfield’s injuries, Monaco said.

Witnesses among the 53,000-strong crowd said Metallica cut its set short Saturday when it was decided Hetfield should be treated in hospital.

After a two-hour wait, Guns N’ Roses took the stage but ended their act after 55 minutes, leaving fans boiling mad.

"We were really pissed off,” said concert-goer Rita Stavrakakis, 16, who attended the show with three friends. “We paid $80 (each) for our tickets and they played four or five songs and walked off stage.”

Some of the crowd burned their Guns N’ Roses T-shirts in protest, hurled garbage cans inside the stadium, and overturned concession stands.

Concert-goers ransacked the Expos souvenir boutique, snatching up team garb and trinkets from amid the shattered glass.

"There was heavy damage in the stadium,” said Claude St-Laurent, director of the district police station.

“It was like a tornado,” said one spectator. “It couldn’t have been worse. Tables were flying, chairs were flying, garbage was all over the place."

When stadium security guards managed to get the fans on to the street, the mob was met by helmeted officers carrying batons.

The crowd lit trashcan fires, flipped one police car on to its roof and damaged 26 others, breaking windows and mirrors and slashing tires. Officers who moved into the crowd to corral rioters were met by a rain of rocks and bottles from a sea of about 10,000 people.

"They were frustrated with Axl Rose but he wasn’t there to take it out on,” said one disgruntled fan. “So we had to take it out on somebody else and the police were the only people there.”

Police sealed off the area and shut down four nearby subway stations to prevent the melee from spreading to the transit system.

St-Laurent said he was satisfied with the police operation.

“We knew that this group was a group where we could have more problems than usual so we had more police on the scene for the security outside the stadium,” he said. Security inside the stadium is the responsibility of the Olympic Installations Board.

St-Laurent said he doubted liqour contributed to the problem because booze was not sold on the premises.

Said Ralph Pulice, manager of a tavern in the stadium: “It’s a good thing that we weren’t selling beer otherwise the stadium could be (levelled) to the ground.”

***

Vancouver police wary after melee

Vancouver police will reassess security preparations for the city’s upcoming Guns N’ Roses concert following the Montreal riot.

Vancouver police Insp. Chris Offer said Sunday the force already had a plan for the band’s show scheduled for Aug. 17 but that will now be reviewed.

Soulmonster wrote:

20 years later, from the archives: Guns 'N Roses at the Big O

After the last police cruiser had been rolled back upright, the last broken chair folded, and long after Axl Rose had staggered from the debris of Olympic Stadium, Montreal was left to look for an answer.

By Mark Lepage, Special to The Gazette August 8, 2012 11:48 AM

Editor's note: This review by then Gazette rock critic Mark Lepage was originally published Aug. 15, 1992.

MONTREAL - After the last police cruiser had been rolled back upright, the last broken chair folded, and long after Axl Rose had staggered from the debris of Olympic Stadium, Montreal was left to look for an answer.

And when the smoke cleared after the Guns N' Roses/Metallica double bill, what was clearer than ever was the schism that exists between the workaday adult world and the world of rock 'n' roll.

Riot? To anyone who believes rock 'n' roll is more than a tool for selling hamburgers, Saturday night's outburst of pent-up anger reaffirmed the music's enduring importance. It was the latest chapter in a history that stretches back past Altamont in the 1960s to rockabilly riots in the 1950s.

In a violent society, things get broken sometimes, but rock music has its own internal code and most of the time can police itself. Still, the concert has left accusations flying in its wake, most directed at the bands and their fans by people who haven't been to a rock concert in 20 years.

We had Mayor Jean Dore reading his version of the riot act and reassuring folks that the big bad band was banned from the Big O forever. Parents everywhere were shaking their heads at youth gone wrong.

So what really happened? Some (most of whom were not there) saw scary TV news footage of kids throwing rocks and jousting with police, heard tales of teens trashing concession stands and stealing Expos caps.

Others saw a reaffirmation, albeit a twisted one, of the very power that makes rock 'n' roll music our truest, realest art form.

You play with fire and you get burned sometimes. Strip away the layers of corporate gloss and FM radio calcification, the Muzak and the "classic rock" legitimization, and rock 'n' roll remains a primal thing at its heart. Rock music is still strong enough to rattle the rafters.

To some, that's a frightening notion.

Like every generation of parents, this one looks at kids and wonders why they can't listen to something nice. And like every generation of kids, this one wonders how parents can be so out of it.

Everybody agrees singer Axl Rose is to blame for what happened last Saturday, that his early exit triggered the outburst. But for the purposes of argument, we will separate these people into two camps: the ones for whom Axl is a bogeyman (read: parents) and those for whom Axl is either a troubled hero or just a jerk (the fans). Of the two, the latter has a better understanding of Axl Rose's place in rock tradition.

Anyone out there remember Bill Haley? Few who attended the Gunners show do, but back in 1955, Haley inspired riots wherever he went. Seen through the sepia mist of nostalgia, film footage of 1950s kids trashing concert halls is quaint, but it is evidence that rock 'n' roll had a violent birth.

In 1992 we have Axl, who, in a more brutal age and circumstances, has to be proportionately more obvious, angry and ugly in order to stir people up.

Still, people who grew up with Haley can't make the Axl connection. The anti-Axl editorializing, head-shaking and tut- tutting carries a not-so-subtle anti-rock bias. To parental detractors, Axl Rose and his gang are vicious, irresponsible, greedhead punks. Axl is the bogeyman; his lyrics are quoted out of context to prove it.

But to someone with any knowledge of rock, Axl is an angry, volatile, charismatic, spoiled, egocentric, selfish, talented singer. Or maybe just a jerk.

But the kids do not fear him.

They know Axl's horrid history of child abuse at the hands of his parents. They know he's unbalanced, that he's in deep psychotherapy, trying to bring his rage under control. They know the context. They've grown up in a world where sex is death (AIDS), where rain is poison, where the sun gives you cancer. If they fear anyone, it's the people who built that world.

Give kids credit for their comprehension. They know that, no matter how many times Axl writes "turn around bitch" or "squeeze your head tight in my vise," he is no more likely to rape anyone than, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger is to grab a bazooka and level a city.

They know those lyrics are intended to offend mom and pop, and to express inchoate rage.

Those in the anti-Axl cadre might defend themselves by suggesting the riot would never have happened if kids could like nicer music. Nothing would have happened at a Phil Collins concert. Right. Nothing would have happened at a Phil Collins concert.

No, you play with fire when you cram 57,000 young people into a concrete toilet bowl, fire them up with 126 decibels of unsanitized aggression, and leave them hanging - twice - on the edge of rockus interruptus.

In the wake of the Guns disaster, the miracles are that nobody was really hurt, and that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Why not? Because rock usually polices itself.

How about a band from Guns N' Roses's own genre? How about Metallica? Two hours before Axl bailed, Metallica's set was cut short when James Hetfield was burned in a pyrotechnics accident. The band explained to fans - three times - why they were cutting the show, that they would return soon to make up the date.

No riot.

There is a moral code to rock 'n' roll. The code is strict enough to insist bands live up to the promises they make to fans, but loose enough to tolerate Guns N' Roses's bursts of nihilism and anarchy.

Metallica lived up to it. GNR didn't. That's the real tragedy, but it could be set right.

How? Axl can do what Aerosmith did a few years back. When a few fans were busted for drug possession at an Aerosmith show, band members bailed them out. It's part of part of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle and part of the code.

Likewise, Axl should hold a news conference right now and tell the world how he supports his fans enough to open his very large wallet and pay Big O damages of $250,000 - tip money to an Axl Rose.

Like every fan, Rose knows the knocks against him and his band are part of a tradition of parents bashing their kids' tastes that goes back to Sinatra and Elvis.

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/years+later+from+archives+Guns+Roses/7058354/story.html#ixzz231ibtSVR

Other stadiums to hear OIB’s version of riot at rock concert

MARK LEPAGE
THE GAZETTE

The head of the Olympic Installations Board is drafting a letter to managers of other stadiums across North America, describing events “as we saw them” after a concert last Saturday by the heavy metal group Guns N’ Roses.

Pierre Bibeau will send the letter to two organizations — the Stadium Managers Association and the International Association of Arena and Auditorium Managers — next week.

“It is not revenge against Guns N’ Roses," Bibeau said yesterday of the group he has banned from returning to Olympic Stadium. The ban won't be rescinded, Bibeau said, even if the group's lead singer, Axl Rose, signed an oath promising good behavior.

Bibeau has said he blames Rose for causing a riot among some of the 57,000 fans by cutting short his performance after just 55 minutes, without offering an explanation.

After Rose left the stage, about 10,000 angry fans remained on the stadium grounds, setting fires in garbage cans, breaking police-car windows and looting an Expos souvenir boutique.

Rose's exit has since been blamed on a throat ailment that prompted cancellations of previous shows on the tour.

Metallica, the group that played before Guns Ν' Roses, also cut its act short when singer James Hetfield was burned by a pyrotechnics display.

But Metallica is not affected by the OIB ban, Bibeau said. "They behaved responsibly and respectfully," informing fans of the reason for their early exit from the stage, he said.

The ΟΙ B was contacted Monday by its counterpart at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium and by the New Mexico police in the wake of the post-show violence.

Both Vancouver and Las Cruces, N.M., had been on the Guns Ν' Roses/Metallica tour itinerary, but the shows were cancelled because of Hetfield's injuries.

Damage estimates to the Big O are not yet official but range from $300.000 to $400.000 — which does not include vandalism of food concessions, cars on display or the Expos boutique. The OIB will send a bill to promoter Donald K. Donald's insurers.

Despite the incident, Bibeau said, “we have complete confidence in promoter Donald K. Donald."

The promoter is standing by his decision not to offer refunds.

All the controversy hasn't hurt Guns Ν' Roses where it counts — on the charts. The band's Use Your Illusion I album leaps back to No. 1 in next week's issue of the Quebec rock industry trade paper, Radioactivité.

Axl Rose and group sued by police

Sue the rioters

It is with surprise that I have read that the MUC police lawyers plan to sue Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses for damages incurred in the riot following their short-lived concert Aug. 8.

That is almost as if to say that the rioters had just cause in their actions. If this kind of thinking goes on, Brian Mulroney will have a ton of lawsuits on his hand because, it seems, the increase in crime these days seems to be due to the recession and he’s responsible.

These kids and their rioting seem to try to justify themselves with apportioning blame: injustices against blacks, now a short concert. What’s next?

There are other ways to voice objections. Vandalism to public and private property hurts everyone.

Please! the MUC police should be suing the rioters or their parents.

Monique McCullough
Kirkland

Guns Ν’ Roses fans should look at their motives

I am 17 years old and I really like Metallica and Guns Ν' Roses.

I like them because their lyrics are truthful, real and easy to relate to.

So when I read about everything that happened at the Olympic Stadium concert, I was outraged. No, not because of the short times the bands were on stage. Because of the so-called fans.

Guns N’ Roses is a great band. Why do we like them? Because of their music, right? Because of how we can relate to it, because we enjoy it. The songs satisfy our cravings for great music.

So what does Axl's running off stage because his vocal chords busted have to do with it? Does it change the music? Do we suddenly hate the songs now? Are we no longer fans, but enemies?

You don't have to be fans of Axl and Slash to like their music. The first reason you probably liked Guns Ν' Roses was because of their music. And that doesn't have to change.

But I do think that the least Guns Ν’ Roses could have done was explain the situation to the crowd before they look off. We deserved an explanation.

I know you're mad but try to see exactly what you're mad at. Was it Axl's fault if his vocal chords gave out? What could he do? Are you maybe not really made at Guns, but mad about the fact that they weren't able to play a complete set?

If you were and are truly very mad, that means you must really like them: to be this mad that they couldn't play longer.

If you didn’t like them at all, you wouldn't be mad, you wouldn’t care. Think about it.

UZEMA JEENA
Longueuil

Good riddance to Guns N’ Roses

This letter is in response to Uzema Jeena (Gazette, Sunday, Aug. 30).

Why am I mad at Guns N’ Roses? If Axl Rose had a sore throat, he should have stayed home with some Halls. But that would have meant rescheduling (what trouble) or worse, refunding everyone (God forbid). No, far better to come out, sing six songs, and disappear, taking everybody's money with him.

The people who slept outside the night before the tickets went on sale? The kids who saved up for
weeks so they could buy a ticket to the show'? The ones who paid double-and-a-half the cost of a ticket for seats closer to their idol? Screw them. Who cares?

Maybe not Axl. But I do. I didn't have a ticket to that show. I couldn't get off work. But my sisters did. My friends did. And for them, it was a slap in the face.

I'm deeply saddened by Ms. Jeena's devotion to a selfish pig who is so obviously oblivious to it. She doesn't matter one bit to Axl.

The rioting? Awful. Unnecessary. Immature and frightening. But then, so was the performer. Anyone who could so blithely stomp all over the people who put him where he is today is more than frightening. He's dangerous.

He should get off his high horse. And Ms. Jeena should get off her cloud.

Axl came here to prove to us one thing: every Rose has its thorn. Then he left all his fans bleeding and went on his merry way. I say good riddance, Guns Ν' Roses.

NATALIA DEL SIGNORE
Rosemere

24 Years Ago, Guns n' Roses and a Cry Baby Axl Rose Turned Montreal into a Riotous Wasteland

Putting Guns 'n' Roses and Metallica on the same tour was the greatest of bad ideas.

By John Semley

Nothing undermines the Canadian myth of politeness and boring civility like our propensity to riot.

And I’m not talking about civil disorder attributable to political unrest, student protests, and labour tensions. I’m talking about our tendency to get loud and shirtless and stupid every time a hockey team advances to the next playoff bracket. In 2008, while living in Montreal, I remember sitting in a downtown bar surrounded by people draped in multiple layers of multi-coloured t-shirts and hoodies, looted from an American Apparel after the Habs beat the Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup quarter-finals. In its dumpy, idiotic way, it felt historic; part of a tradition of Canadians (and perhaps Montrealers especially) seizing on any excuse to break some glass and flip over some cop cars. At the time, it reminded me of another riot, also coursing through the streets of Montreal—one that belongs not the annals of sports fandom, but to the anarchic spirit of rock ’n’ roll.

On July 17, 1992, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica—two of the biggest American bands of the era, if not ever—set out on a co-headlining tour. GnR was promoting their mammoth, seven-times platinum-selling, sort-of-double-album Use Your Illusion I & II, which cemented their status as the most popular hard rock act on the planet. Metallica, meanwhile, had burst into the mainstream with their self-titled fifth record (a.k.a. “The Black Album”), which saw the band turning from thrash metal heroes to radio-friendly rockstars. “Both of them touring, with each other, at the same time?” says Patrick Emond, who was a student at Montreal’s Concordia University at the time. “It was like, ‘Sold. I’m done.’ It’s not a concert you’re going to get nowadays. Who in the world at that high a level is going to share a tour with someone else at that high a level? It would be, like, Beyonce, and then someone else four steps down the food chain. And the tickets would be like $500.”

Emond remembers lining up in the parking garage of a local mall, camping out overnight to get tickets. He remembers saving a day’s wages for the $35 ticket. He even remembers one of the old full-page ads taken out in the local newspaper to promote the show. “It was so deliciously ironic,” he says. “The tagline was something like, ‘The Concert They Said Would Never Happen!’” They said it would never happen. And when the concert tour rolled around to Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on the evening of August 8, 1992, with openers Faith No More in tow, it didn’t happen. Not quite, anyway. Montrealers were promised the biggest rock concert of the year. They got a riot instead.

It went like this: early into Metallica’s set, a piece of pyrotechnics malfunctioned, singing singer/guitarist James Hetfield. “It happened so quickly, that nobody realized what really happened,” remembers Emond, who was 20 at the time. “Next thing we know James Hetfield is running off stage. Then the band keeps playing on for five, ten seconds. Then they get a signal or something and go off stage. Everybody’s like, ‘Okaaaaaay. What just happened?’” The band left the stage and, Emond recalls, drummer Lars Ulrich came out to explain that the show would be cut short, as Hetfield had to be taken to the hospital to have his burns treated. Metallica’s unplanned exit meant that Guns N’ Roses would have to take the stage early. But they refused. At the time, frontman Axl Rose was in the full throes of the arrogant rock decadence that would become his brand. Before hitting Montreal, Rose had already: puked on stage, been hit in the testicles by a lighter thrown by a “fan” during a performance of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and diagnosed with vocal damage. He was also, some fans remember, dabbling in the occult.

“What we heard in the media at this time was that he was seeing somebody who told him, ‘Don’t play in a city where the first letter starts with an M, like Minneapolis or Montreal,’” remembers Jean-François Blais, who was 21 at the time of the infamous Montreal concert. “Montreal was the only place he was playing in the area, so the producer didn’t want him to cancel. So he played. He decided to give the show. But he was not really happy to give this show.” After what Blais recalls as a “fuckin’ long” break, Guns N’ Roses took the stage. But it was obvious that Rose didn’t want to be there. “We were all taking drugs, LSD,” Blias recalls, referring to himself and the group of pals he rolled to the show with. “So when Guns N’ Roses arrive on the stage, the band looked a little bit weird. Axl Rose was singing songs on the edge of the stage like he was totally bored to be there.”

"The story I heard afterwards,” says Emond, “was that was they didn’t have time to get the monitors the way he wanted it. He wasn’t happy with the sound, so he pretty much storms off stage. You could tell his attitude that he wasn’t really into it. When a lead singer, a frontman is into it, you know: they’re running all over, they’re having a good time.” After just a few songs (five, Blias estimates; newspaper reports peg the set ending after something like 55 minutes), Guns N’ Roses left the stage. “We were really high, in bad seats, very high up,” Blias says. “But we can see backstage. I saw a car come. A limousine came to the back of the stage. Then the car backed out of the Olympic Stadium. Then I told my friend, ‘Fuck! Guns N’ Roses are gone! The shows over! There’s no more songs! They’re gone!’”

Shortly after, the screens at the Big O flashed with the statement, “The show has been cancelled. Please check the media for news.” And that’s when things went sideways. “This was the show we’ve waited however many months for—or even years for!” says Patrick Emond, his rage and annoyance still palpable, over the phone, some 24 years later. “Not only did we only get part of Metallica, we barely got any Guns N’ Roses because Axl was having a hissy fit!” Emond’s disappointment and anger was shared by many of the 50,000-plus fans in attendance. Some fans called for the heads of Guns N’ Roses, chanting, “Kill them! Kill them!” Others threw beer bottles and tore up stadium seating. On the floor, in what might have been the mosh pit, some ripped-off fans piled t-shirts and other merch into piles and set them ablaze, lighting up the stadium with ad hoc, if pricey, bonfires. Soon, the Olympic Stadium was in the throes of a full-blown rock ’n’ roll riot. Blias refers to the scene of violence, property damage, and destruction, in densely accented Quebecois english , as “the mess-up.”

Soon, the chaos poured out of the arena floor and into the corridors of the stadium, and then into the streets. “We waited until the Olympic Stadium was empty,” says Blias . “Because we knew if we left we would be in big, big trouble. Because we were all on drugs. We waited maybe half-an-hour. When we got out, there was a big open area, and there were all these bottles of beer that people were launching. It was really dangerous. There was a car on fire. Like a Chrysler car that they had turning on a platform. It was turning, but it was on fire!” More stuff was smashed. A young woman, swept by a charge of rioters, was pushed through a glass case. Souvenir stands and concession booths were looted. “People were bee-lining for the souvenir stands,” Emond remembers. “Because duh. If you’re going to riot, you might as well loot. But none of my friends were really the, ‘Okay let’s go light stuff on fire and steal a dozen Expos jersey’ types.”

Some 300 cops were dispatched to the Big O to contain the riot and cordon off the nearby Metro stations, in addition to the 400 security guards already in attendance (double the typical deployment for a concert of this size). “When we got outside of the Olympic Stadium, then we saw the police,” says Blias. “There were three police cars, tipped over, on fire. There were people everywhere. I told my friends, ‘We have to get out of here.’” Police estimated that something like 10,000 Guns N’ Roses fans—or ex-fans—took part in the riot. By the time things wound down around 1 a.m., in the early morning of August 9, 1992, twelve people had been arrested. Charges ranged from theft and disturbing the peace, to assaulting a police officer and possessions of prohibited weapons. Subsequent Canadian dates were cancelled with the show in Toronto rescheduled to September. Some disappointed fans consoled themselves by trekking to the Kingwood Music Centre at Canada’s Wonderland to take in a comeback concert by sleepy prog-rockers Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. There were no reports of unrest or upheaval.

In hard-rock-loving Montreal, the experience left a sour taste. While Metallica made good on a reasonably priced makeup concert at the Montreal Forum, Guns N’ Roses weren’t so gracious. It probably didn't help that the concert’s promoter refused refunds for tickets to the concert-cum-“mess-up.” “Guns N’ Roses was no longer my go-to band,” remembers Emond. “For awhile I wanted nothing to do with them. Their cassette went to the back of the box.” And yet, for someone who wasn’t there, who has only heard about this rock riot in whispers and read about in the archives of old newspapers, the whole scene seems weirdly romantic. Perhaps especially so with the mostly reformed Guns N’ Roses—including Rose, guitarist Slash, and bassists Duff McKagan currently touring together for the first time since 1993 on their “Not In This Lifetime” tour—making its first Canadian stop in over two decades this Saturday. Chances are it’ll just be another bloated, expensive, very fun cash-in reunion tour. But there’s that outside chance, that danger, that something might spark off.

On “Get in the Ring,” the hilarious call-out track from Use Your Illusion II, Axl Rose howls, “You may not like our integrity! We built a world out of anarchy, yeah!” It’s the sort of dumb lyric that would easily pass as self-aggrandizing arena rock pompousness, had it not proved true. Guns N’ Roses did build a world out of anarchy. And on the evening of August 8, 1992, those simmering anarchic undercurrents, catalyzed by beer and good old fashioned dissatisfaction, boiled over.

Fans not only ripped apart a stadium, but they also burned t-shirts and scraped with police. They turned against the band themselves. It was like the spirit of riotous, anarchic rock ’n’ roll turning against rock ’n’ roll itself. It wasn’t about integrity. It was about the lack of it—about the utter arrogance and entitlement of rock music itself nd Axl Rose specifically. As a former fan, Patrice Lapointe put it to the Toronto Star at the time, “They’re spoiled. They made too much money too fast and now they don’t give a damn about their fans.” “Those guys better not show their faces in this city again,” Lapointe told the newspaper. “We’re going to kill the bastards.” Guns N’ Roses has never played Montreal since the disastrous Big O show in 1992. And they appear to have no plans to play a much-belated make-up show. Not in this lifetime, anyway.

John Semley is a writer in Toronto.

Craig Duswalt wrote:
On one of the legs of the Guns N’ Roses World Tour was a three-month stint when Guns N’ Roses and Metallica shared the stage in large stadiums all across North America. We played Arrowhead Stadium (my favorite, being a Chiefs fan), Giants Stadium, Texas Stadium, the Superdome in Louisiana, and the Houston Astrodome just to name a few. I had personally never seen anything like it.

The lineup that night in Montreal was Faith No More, then Metallica, and then Guns N’ Roses closing the show.

Everything started out great.

Faith No More’s set was awesome, and Metallica took the stage pretty much on time.

But about sixty minutes into Metallica’s set, something went horribly wrong.

Apparently the band members of Metallica were warned about some new pyrotechnic cues before they took the stage that night. Obviously there was some miscommunication, because during the song “Fade to Black,” James was caught in the middle of a stream of flames that left his left arm badly burned. Metallica had to stop their show.

Because Metallica’s set had ended about sixty to ninety minutes early, the crowd had to wait longer than normal for Guns N’ Roses to take the stage.

About two hours later Guns N’ Roses took the stage, and the crowd went nuts. It was a great beginning of the set.

But something was just “off” that night. Obviously everyone was concerned about James and his injury, but also Axl had been experiencing throat issues for a few weeks before this show.

In my opinion, Axl trashed his voice every night because he put everything into his shows. He screamed and hit some pretty high notes on a consistent basis. No matter how much he warmed up, his songs were very difficult to sing live a few nights a week. Now, as a professional speaker, especially during the three- to five-day events when I speak for ten to twelve hours a day, I expect to lose my voice for a few days. So I can sympathize with Axl. It takes a toll after a while.

That night in Montreal, I think Axl hit the wall. About fifty-five minutes into the set, Axl just walked off the stage. Unfortunately it happened the same night that something happened to James, but I was there, and I truly feel it was just a coincidence. One incident had nothing to do with the other.

Well, the crowd got pissed because they felt like they didn’t get an entire show, and about one or two thousand fans took their aggressions out on the stadium seats and the stores, and they smashed windows and set fires.

That night is now known as the Montreal Riot.

There was the previous St. Louis Riot, which I was not there for, but every music fan pretty much knows what happened there.

So this was now riot number two.

While we were backstage we were informed that a riot was starting in the concourse, and that we should leave the stadium immediately.

We did.

Within hours it was all over every news program. MTV had updates every hour on the hour. GNR was getting some really bad press. And to make matters worse, the next two weeks of the tour were canceled while we waited for James’s wounds to heal.

Disappointed Guns Ν’ Roses fan seeks refund in class-action suit

A St. Sauveur college student wants Donald K. Donald Productions and the Olympic Installations Board to pay about $1.4 million to 54,054 fans at last August’s controversial Metallica-Guns Ν’ Roses show at the Olympic Stadium.

In her request for a class-action suit against Donald K. Donald and the OIB, Maryse Clavel estimated that since those who attended the heavy-metal concert Aug. 8. were denied two-thirds of the show, each deserved a two-thirds refund on the $40 ticket price. The total comes to about $1.4 million.

The concert began at 5:30 p.m. with opening band Faith No More. Metallica followed on schedule but instead of playing the scheduled 18-song set, the band stopped playing after only seven songs with the explanation that lead singer James Hetfield had been burned during a pyrotechnics display.

The fans waited 2-1/2 hours for Guns N’ Roses, again expecting about an 18-song set. Again they were disappointed.

Guns N’ Roses left the stage after playing only 55 minutes.

Clavel's lawyer, Nabil Kamel-Toueg, argued that Gavel and her group met all the requirements for a class-action suit. They are a homogeneous, identifiable group — all people who held tickets and attended the concert and, it would be im-. possible for Gavel to reach all the other fans except through a class-action suit.

Kamel-Toueg argued that both Donald K. Donald and the OIB are responsible.

They had a contract with the fans to make sure the show went as planned, the lawyer said.

Kamel-Toueg noted that in cases where concerts are cancelled, ticket-holders are usually reimbursed.

The lawyer brushed off the vandalism that occurred after the show, saying it was normal that some of the fans would express their frustration in that way.

About 10,000 destroyed and looted the Expos baseball boutique and burned a car that was on display. They also set fires in garbage cans, broke police car windows and slashed tires and threw stones and-bottles at police officers who moved in to try to contain the melee.

The lawyer representing the Olympic Installations Board, Nica Gingras, said Clavel should not be granted permission to go ahead with her suit because it is not evident she missed two-thirds of the show.

Gingras said the press clippings Gavel used to bolster her claim are dated after she bought her ticket. Therefore, the anticipated length of the show could not have been a reason she bought the ticket.

Gingras also said Gavel is not eligible to represent the group she claims to represent because it is unknown how many of the fans were satisfied with the show.

Gavel also can’t know how many would be satisfied with less of a reimbursement than she is claiming.

The hearing continues today.

Disgruntled rock fan wins right to launch suit

CATHERINE BUCKIE
THE GAZETTE

A St. Sauveur college student yesterday won the right to launch a class action suit against Donald K. Donald Productions and the Olympic Installations Board to compensate heavy-metal rock fans for a concert that was cut short Aug. 8.

On that day, 54,054 fans filled the Olympic Stadium to see popular rock 'n’ roll groups Metallica and Guns Ν' Roses. Many were disappointed, however, when Metallica cut short its set after only 55 minutes.

Lead singer James Hetfield had been burned during a pyrotechnics display and could not continue.

Fans waited patiently for two hours until Guns Ν' Roses took the stage, but again the performance was cut short. Lead singer Axl Rose made an obscene gesture to the crowd and then told them to get a refund on their tickets.

“We’re out of here,” Rose said.

Maryse Clavel, who is behind the class-action suit, argues that she and other ticket-holders deserve two-thirds of the ticket price back because they got only one-third of a show.

Tickets sold for $28 to $35.50.

In his 22-page decision granting Clavel the right to go ahead with the suit. Quebec Superior Court Justice Daniel Tingley ruled that she and her group met all the criteria of such an action.

“Their right to claim a partial refund will depend upon identical findings of fact and of law by the (rial judge and will be conditioned by their holding a ticket and having attended the concert,” Tingley ruled.

Tingley said that the fact that the reverse side of the ticket indicated there would be no refund does not prohibit Clavel and others from claiming one.

Tingley made no mention in his decision of the looting and vandalism by some concert-goers when they left the stadium.

About 10,000 fans looted and destroyed the Expos baseball boutique and burned a car that was on display.

They also set fires in garbage cans, broke police car windows, slashed tires and threw stones and bottles at police.

Promoter Donald K, Donald Productions, run by president Donald Tarlton, refused to reimburse ticket holders.

Voice-over: In the spring of 1992, a summer tour was planned featuring Metallica with Guns N’ Roses.

Kirk Hammett: We wanted to get the two biggest bands together on one bill and do a stadium tour across America.

Lars Ulrich: I’d always had an infatuation with Guns N’ Roses, always had an infatuation with bands that are unpredictable and dangerous.

Jason Newsted: We learned a lot that summer. We learned what not to do as a rock band.

Voice-over: The tour was plagued with cancellations and last-minute changes due to the recurring throat problems of Guns N’ Roses singer, Axl Rose. Then, on August 8th, 1992 the two bands were performing at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, when a double dose of disaster struck.

James Hetfield: During Fade to Black I’m up there playing the part, and these colored flames are going off. I’m a little confused on where I should be, I walk forward, I walk back...

Newsted: We have these flashes of magnesium that burns at 1200 degrees, 1800 degrees, who knows, but hot enough to melt metal.

Hetfield: The pyro guy doesn’t see me that I walk back out there... A big colored flame goes right up under me and instantly, you know, I squint and turn...

Ulrich: James Hetfield looks like that torch that they carry up the stairs to light the Olympic fire.

Hetfield: So I’m burnt, all my arm, my hand completely down to the bone, side of my face, hair gone, part of my back...

Hammett: I said, “You’re alright, man?” And he looked at me and he’s shaking, and he brought up his hand and I could literally see the skin rising off his hand and blister.

Newsted: We see some guy come up and dump him with water, and then cover him.

Hetfield: Well, that felt great for a second, then I looked down and watched the skin just rising and things going wrong.

Ulrich: It’s whole confusion, and adding to the mix, you know, 50,000 people...

Hetfield: This is in Montreal, French-speaking everywhere and we’re trying to explain what’s going on: “Can we get to the hospital, please?” (mocking French accent) “Hospital, yes”.

Newsted: His skin is bubbling like on the Toxic Avenger.

Hetfield: They’re calling for ambulance and, you know, the security guys are kind of walking around and one guy bumps into my hand, I remember, and I just lost it. I screamed, I punched him right in the nuts.

Newsted: I’m going, “Oh my God, it’s over. Oh my God, our band is done.”

Voice-over: Lars took the stage to calm the disturbed and agitated crowd.

Ulrich (on stage in Montreal): There was an incident with the pyrotechnics. Unfortunately James is on his way to the hospital right now, and we’re sorry but we can’t continue the concert for you guys tonight.

Hetfield: This is pain I’ve never felt in my whole life. This and it won’t go away. I’m freaking at this point, anxiety, you know, we’ve got to get moving.

[...]

Voice-over: James had sustained second and third degree burns to his left hand and both arms. He had stepped into a 12 foot high, 3200 degree tower of flame and survived. His future with the band was uncertain, at best. Meanwhile, back at the Olympic Stadium a tense crowd waited for Guns N’ Roses to perform.

Ulrich: Guns could come out and save the day by going on playing a three-hour blistering set.

Hammett: That didn’t happen. He took his whole band off stage, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

[Break]

Ulrich (on stage in Montreal): We promise you one thing from Metallica, and you know that we’re always good by our words. We will come back, and finish our concert and play again for you as soon as we can within the next couple of months. Thank you, Montreal, we’re sorry, okay?

Voice-over: On August 8th, 1992, James Hetfield sustained severe burns after stepping into a tower of flame at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Hours later, concert headliner Guns N’ Roses took the stage with singer Axl Rose.

Hetfield: He could have been the hero of the day, you know? “We continue the show” and, you know, “the band plays on and we’re up here to bring music.” And he throws this fit.

Ulrich: Axl’s monitor system wasn’t to his liking, then he [bleep] stormed (?) and it kind of happened.

Hammett: He said something into the mic, and then just threw it down and walked off stage. Axl didn’t want to be outdone, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

Newsted: So the kids start freaking, turning over cop cars, fighting the police, burning everything inside.

Hammett: People just storming into the grandstands and destroying everything. Some cars are on fire, there are people hurt, and we couldn’t leave.

Hetfield: I go and light myself on fire, and he upstages me (laughs).

Hammett: And so we went into the dressing room, you know, and they’re acting like nothing happened.

Newsted: Axl’s down there with the cigarette holder in one hand and the champagne glass in the other, and he says, “My voice is giving me trouble.” If your voice is gonna give you trouble, you shouldn’t probably be drinking and smoking.

Hammett: It reminded me of what it must have looked like when Rome burned and Nero played a fiddle.

Hetfield: We couldn’t relate to Axl and his attitude, you know? So we learned quite a bit on what not to do (laughs).

Lonn Friend: Isn’t it funny how history has almost erased Guns N’ Roses? One of the great frontmen in the past twenty years disappeared. Yet Metallica continues to play anywhere in the world in front of any mass of people, comes out with a new record which will always go platinum, they are the Led Zeppelin of this generation.