The Download Festival in the UK used to be a notorious battleground for all kinds of acts getting bottled off of the stage.
Not just that festival, but numerous UK festivals it wasn’t an anomaly for crowds to absolutely pelt performers with bottles. Back in 2004, rapper 50 Cent had a set at Reading and Leeds fest that ended up in disaster, the entire audience seemingly pelting him and his G-Unit compatriots off of the stage in quick order.
In 2006, My Chemical Romance faced the wrath of an angry UK crowd. See, before they broke up and wound up becoming one of the most beloved rock bands of their generation, a huge contingent of rock and metal fans absolutely despised My Chemical Romance. Be it for their more mainstream attention, aesthetic whatever, metal fans were not down with what My Chemical Romance was doing.
When they took the stage at Reading Festival, the audience made their feelings heard immediately. Countless members of the crowd began showering the stage with bottles while MCR chugged through Three Cheers cut “Cemetary Drive.”
Despite the all-out assault, the band went hard during their performance, welcoming the fans’ animosity and getting fuel from it.
Eventually, the salvo of bottles began slowing down, and numerous fans realized they were actually a force to be reckoned with when it came to their live performances.
Singer Gerard Way eventually ended the set by telling the audience “This is gonna go down as one of my very favorite shows of all time. I want to thank you so very much for that.”
A year later, they went through the same rigmarole at the more heavy metal-leaning Download Festival. The onslaught of bottles might have been more severe at this gig, but the band’s resolve remained unshakeable, Way laughing at the crowd’s attempts and telling them to “give me everything you’ve fucking got.”
Nothing but respect for taking it in stride and delivering some absolutely killer performances. Check out footage from both gigs below.