A new crop of concert throwers — people who intentionally throw things at performers on stage — and they’re getting dangerous.
English singer Harry Styles became the latest in a growing list of victims of concert throwers recently. During a performance in Vienna on July 8, someone threw something at him and hit him in the eye. Video of the incident showed the impact and his reaction.
Styles is apparently no stranger to such foolishness; another fan — I’m assuming it was a different bonehead — hit him in the eye with a Skittle last year.
Back in June, a singer named Bebe Rexha required stitches when someone hit her over the eye with a thrown cell phone during a performance. She later posted a photo on her Instagram account showing her shiner. The man accused of throwing the phone faces criminal charges. As well he should.
Kelsea Ballerini was likewise struck by someone throwing what was described as a friendship bracelet at her. It hit her in the eye.
Then, there was the fan who threw an odd object at singer Pink. It turned out to be a bag containing the fan’s mother’s ashes.
I mean, seriously, throwing objects at people’s faces is bad enough. Now concert throwers are tossing human remains at performers?!?
When has our society ever been more stupid?
Concert throwers have gotten more daring, more dangerous
When I was a kid, performers like Tom Jones, Elvis Presley and the Beatles faced concert throwers, too. But back then, the most common thing thrown on stage were the panties of female admirers.
Occasionally some hotel room keys were thrown on stage as well. (I never did understand that; how were they supposed to get back to their room if the singer never showed up?)
But even those who threw keys didn’t seem to set out to strike the singers in the face. Certainly not in the eye.
During a recent edition of CBS Mornings, Gayle King said she things the answer is for performers to just stop the show, walk off the stage and not give refunds. I can see two problems with that: first, the thousands of fans who weren’t dumb enough to throw things on stage lose out. Second, when those innocent folks lose their ticket cost and the show they paid to see, how long would it take for mob mentality to take over, leading them to beat the hell out of the thrower?
Maybe that’s the idea. But you’d think those who are around the throwers would rat them out right away anyway.
Perhaps a better idea would be a law requiring harsh penalties for concert throwers. If they face a penalty similar to, say, attempted murder, that might help them curb their ridiculous enthusiasm.
Otherwise, you’re going to start seeing your favorite performers working from behind plexiglass. I can’t imagine fans will be happy about something like that!
Concert throwers won’t interrupt my good time, at least
I don’t really have a dog in this hunt, to be honest. That’s unless you count the opportunity to point out the absurdity of the situation in which we find ourselves, which I’ll always happily accept.
I don’t go to concerts. There are too many people and the music is always too loud. I’m not willing to damage my hearing to see and hear a performance I’d enjoy less than watching my favorite video from the same musician on my laptop from the comfort of my recliner. I’ve never seen the appeal of concerts. I just haven’t.
There are a handful of performers I’d love to meet. But seeing them live and battling all of the craziness one has to battle — not to mention those wild ticket prices — and I take a hard pass on that.
I suspect part of the problem here might be people’s desperate need to be famous. If they throw something — especially if they actually hit their target — they have a chance of being the next social media “sensation.” Even though they probably won’t be seen, they’ll be responsible for the “moment” being shared.
That’s apparently enough to allow some to engage in criminal activity.
It’s a shame we’ve reached that point.
Maybe there’s an easy way to solve it, though. What if concert throwers were banned from the internet completely for 10 years? That would have to include any videos in which they appear. Maybe that’d slow them down.
Back in my day (Yes, I old enough to say that) the girls threw their panties up on the stage and now…
But it isn’t just concerts, it is across the spectrum from Board of Education meetings, to sports events, to parades. Since COVID it seems like there is more aggression, people are acting out their anger and not restraining themselves.
And ditto…
“I don’t go to concerts. There are too many people and the music is always too loud.”
It is not that I fear going to large events it is just too much of a hassle. Starting with the parking, standing in lines to get in and like you said the loud music. At wedding you want to talk to relatives you have seen in a while but the music is too loud!