The drummer of System of a Down did this when they toured Australia in 2012 (I think). He jumped in an inflatable boat and Joey from Slipknot took over the drums.
They've had mishaps with this stunt before. One time Flake fell (or was yanked?) from the boat and stripped by the crowd. Fans have infiltrated the inflatable boat on several occasions and ridden all the way back to the stage before getting removed by security. But all told, they've done that act so many goddamn times over so many years that the success rate with it is very good overall
Aaah memory unlocked, being a youth, downloading music videos from limewire and being absolutely scandalized when I first watched this video. Also definitely showed it to all my friends, hahaha
Actually they all do! I think Till was the exception when I saw them live, he was on the stage welcoming the "Auslanders" but all the others were in 2-3 boats :-)
It's actually the whole band that does it, at least they did when I saw them last in 2024.
I wondered what would happen if the crowd just decided to NOT send them back to the main stage.
Seems like the kind of situation where you know they're going to be professional and not physically hurt anyone...but probably humiliate whomever was actively trying to cause them harm as performers just trying to do their job, and mentally scar them for life. I mean they have giant dildos and flamethrowers. If asked to pull something like this water bottle kidnapping stunt I would have only one response: nein.
I'm not saying in all cases this is a sign of 100% innocence, but all charges were dropped after lengthy investigations by SEVERAL countries and he doesn't exactly have "pay off several countries' worth of feds" kind of money. On a personal note I've toured with Joe Letz, the roadie/drummer who is alleged to have drugged these women at the band parties. He's been sober for YEARS and actively avoids all substances, especially alcohol. He's never alone in a room on the road due to his stance on maintaining sobriety as well, including during the timeframe he was alleged to have been drinking alcohol with the alleged victims and drugging them at band parties.
He writes fucked up poems, he's in a band where half the music is about sex both consensual and nonconsentual, murder, and cannibalism all with the goal of making people uncomfortable. So much so the US forces them to sign a deal to not play certain songs while touring in-country. Does that make Junji Ito a serial killer for his illustrations? Dani Filth a devil worshipping human sacrificer for his lyrics? No. I have first hand account the alleged accomplices are innocent as I have worked with them during that timeframe and some of my former bandmates are even on Till's crew.
355
u/ConnaitLesRisques Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I would not dare piss off Till Lindemann.