Last night, Guns N' Roses returned to St. Louis for their first performance in the city since 1991. Why is this significant, you might ask? Well, the last...
Last night, Guns N' Roses returned to St. Louis for their first performance in the city since 1991. Why is this significant, you might ask? Well, the last time Guns N' Roses performed in St. Louis, it didn't end terribly well.
Their performance in the then-new Riverport Ampitheater ended in a riot that left 60 people injured, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to the venue.
The ruckus began when Axl Rose noticed a fan taking still photographs of the band (cameras were explicitly banned from the show) and became agitated. Rose asked for the venue's security team to confiscate the camera, which they never did. Never one to back down, Rose then decided to take matters into his own hands.
The frontman leapt into the crowd, getting into it with both his target, other fans, and the venue's security team. Furious, Rose then abandoned the stage, with the band quickly following suit.
The abrupt end to the performance led thousands of fans to charge the stage, causing the injuries and the damage to the venue, and leading the band to avoid St. Louis for over a quarter century.
Last night though, Rose seemed in good spirits, and the band's performance went off without a hitch. You can watch some clips from the show, and the original MTV News report of the riot, below.