Guns 'n Roses Riot, 1991, by Marcus Williamson
From MemoryArchive
Who: Marcus Williamson, Student What: Guns'n Roses Riot Where: Riverport Ampitheater, St. Louis, MO When: 2 July, 1991
While most people expect to be entertained while attending a rock show of any caliber, the concert "performed" by Guns 'n Roses in the summer of 1991 was truly one to remember. While the act was tagged as one of two parts with the band sharring the headline role with Metallica, there was more than I could have ever expected to see on that warm, fateful night.
A group of high school friends and I made the trek from our suburban Kansas City hometown across the state of Missouri to attend the show. Five of us piled into a two door Ford Escort and set off on our journey. Complete with the immature car-games that only a group of teen age boys can come up with in a crammed hatch back, our four-and-a-half hour journey came complete with us getting lost in downtown St. Louis, and finally finding our way back out to the pavilion.
With the idea of a promised new album due out later that year, most fans were in a frenzy to see one of the last hopes of the 80's metal era before the new wave of "alternative" music took over the scene. In support of our heros, my group of friends had decided to take the plunge and try to see everything in its full and glorious splendor.
While to the trained eye, the writing was already on the wall for Guns 'n Roses with two major changes in their crew. Gilby Clark had replaced Izzy Stradlin on the guitar front, and Matt Sorum was now on the drums. There were obvious conflicts within the band, and those struggles were beginning to branch out to their audience as well.
While the concert was amazing during the opening acts, we all knew why we were there. From our view in the cheap seats, the standard concert policies in effect, we were ready for it. A roaring crowd greeted the band, and we were off. While recording concerts and sharing copies of the music has always been common with some generes of music, it has never been so with those in the hard rock area. The Metallica conflict with Napster is now famous, and apparently Axl had the same views. From the lawn section, towards the back of the ampitheater, we could see the typical running around on stage, and then Axl Rose, the front man for the band, dive out into the crowd. Not as a stage dive, as we all first thought, but in an attack toward a fan who we later found out was taking pictures. The rest was insanity.
As we tried to understand what was going on was not part of an act, but rather the beginning of an assault on the crowd, the enjoyment of the whole situation continued. We soon found out what was really happening. As this fact began to dawn upon our little minds, it didn't take long for us to think about leaving. This was actually a hard thing to do, personally. It wasn't because of the masses of people growing steadily angrier, but the fact that we had just driven across the state to get to see one of our favorite bands. Once the true danger hit us, that thought quickly faded.
Making our way through the crowd back to where our car was parked, my friends and I soon became separated. It was basically every person for themselves. Looting of the various concession and t-shirt stands became a common site as people were looking for any item to pillage. Anything that was glass or could easily be broken was an instant target too. I can remember people throwing rocks into plate glass windows and sides of police cruisers. The police cruisers were actually the most fun, come to think of it.
As we got back to the car where we had parked one by one, we exchanged our stories in an excited banter. Making our way out of the lot was as crazy as it was inside of the Ampitheater, but once we were out with only a few dings we decided to go to the closest Perkins restaurant to unwind and relive our experience.
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Categories: All Memoirs | Concerts | Guns n' Roses | 1991 | Riots
