1991.07.10 - Geffen press release about halted show in Dallas and St. Louis riot

Many thanks to @troccoli for sharing this with us, and for the amazing collection of GN'R memorabilia he has made available on his site. The original images of the press release can be found here:
http://www.troccolitm.com/HaltShowPress.html

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GEFFEN RECORDS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 1991

GUNS N’ ROSES HALT SHOW OVER BOTTLE THROWING

(DALLAS, TX, JULY 10, 1991) – W. Axl Rose called a halt in the Guns N’ Roses concert at the Starplex Amphitheater last night to admonish the audience about safety after someone in the audience pitched a whiskey bottle onto the stage.

“Stop! Stop! Stop! Some selfish, stupid, idiotic motherf----er just threw this on stage!” began Rose who sat down on the drum riser and held up the empty bottle. “I want to make it real clear: if you throw stuff on stage we will leave. This is not about us being badder than you or anything. It has to do with being responsible – both to the band and to yourselves.

“I got my philosophy on this from Lemmy in Motorhead (a British metal band) who told me ‘don’t let them throw shit at your show ‘cause it could happen at the next band’s show and someone could get hurt.”

The incident happened 25 minutes into GNR’s performance which began at 9:30 pm and concluded at 11:40 pm.

In an exemplary example of cooperation between band and venue security, the bottle thrower was identified, removed to the backstage area and handed over to Dallas police who placed him under arrest.

“The guy deserves to go; he could have injured someone,” commented one of the officers as they took the bottle thrower away.

The start time of the previous night’s sold out show at the 20,000-seat Starplex was delayed due to equipment problems stemming from a riot that erupted at the conclusion of GNR’s show last Tuesday in St. Louis, MO. Most of the band’s music, sound, video and lighting gear were destroyed or stolen in the melee, causing cancellation of shows July 4 in Chicago, IL and July 6 in Bonner Springs, KS. The Dallas shows marked the resumption of the tour.

Yesterday GNR manager Doug Goldstein denied allegations the band precipitated the St. Louis riot and cited a breakdown in security at the new venue as the cause.

“I don’t think their security people were trained in how to deal with a spontaneous rock show. It wasn’t just about an illegal camera, as has been widely reported.”

Goldstein said there was a proliferation of bottles, cans, knives and cameras in the audience – all items banned at the Riverport Performing Arts Center. Duff McKagan, GNR’s bassman, was hit by flying bottles twice and Goldstein himself observed a fan jump on stage in the melee, wielding a six-inch knife blade over his head.

“The primary problem at Riverport in St. Louis was a motorcycle club that was intimidating people in the audience. One of them also happened to have a still camera. Axl could see them from the stage and he kept asking local security to get rid of them. I found out after the show these guys were all friends with local security, which could explain why security wouldn’t deal with the problems they were causing. Axl has never been one to stand by and just watch an injustice being done to his fans.”

Goldstein also noted lax controls on liquor sales at the Riverport venue, both in carding people and in limiting the number of drinks they could purchase.

“We don’t like to condone or condemn the use of alcohol at the shows, and in fact, in our contracts with all promoters it specifically states that if the building or promoter decides to sell alcohol at the venue, they assume complete responsibility for all damages and actions because we really feel alcohol has a tendency to accentuate problems at a venue.

“We don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” declared Goldstein. “Toward this end, in the future, GNR’s own security director will be advancing all our shows to meet with each promoter about security provisions. If we feel the promoter is not properly equipped, we will bring in professional security people.”

GNR’s first headlining arena tour was launched with a pair of sold-out concerts at the 40,000-seat Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, WI, followed to date by 20 predominately sold-out performances. The first leg of the world tour will conclude August 3 with a set of four sold-out shows at the 18,600-seat Forum in Los Angeles. After a month of already sold-out European dates in August, the band will resume touring the States in September. GNR, which has released one album and one EP totalling 17 million units in sales, are putting the finishing touches on two albums, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, set for simultaneous release, possibly early in September.

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CONTACTS: Bryn Bridenthal
                 Roxanne Youssef