Security is an essential part of any live music performance, whether it be at a big-time festival or a small local gig, and for the most part, they do their essential job without any cause for concern or criticism.
But occasionally one bad apple will emerge and it’s then up to absolute heroes like Jake Taylor, frontman of Aussie metalcore outfit In Hearts Wake, to step in and tell everybody, especially the security guard, to chill.
That’s exactly what Taylor did during a recent stop on the Vans Warped Tour in the US. In Hearts Wake were performing when Taylor noticed a fan allegedly being choked out by a security guard and stopped the show.
“What the f**k are you doing to this guy? He does not need a head brace,” Taylor tells the guard in footage from the incident. “Get the f**k off him… He can’t breathe, bro, let him breathe. He is not a UFC fighter.”
Taylor later took to the band’s official Facebook page to reveal the details of what happened, insisting that the overwhelming majority of security guards are as we described above, but they unfortunately encountered that awful “0.1%”.
“Security guards are 99.9% helpful but it disgusted us to witness the 0.1% at Warped Tour in Dallas, (a local security guard not an official Warped security) who was built like ‘Duke Nukem’ restrain and choke a fan in the crowd for ‘moving towards the barrier’,” he wrote.
“His head was literally turning blue and all we could read on his lips were, ‘I can’t breathe.’ It was completely unnecessary, we did our best to intervene, pulling on his arm to try allow air in whilst every other guard just stood back.”
“If you’re a security guard reading this you need to understand that this is a metal show, not a UFC death match. And if you’re in the mosh, enjoy yourself and be respectful but you also need to be aware of the consequences – which shouldn’t be the possibility of being put into submission to the point of unconsciousness.”
“Please take care and look out for one another. If anyone else has any videos or photos please let us know so we can help find justice.” You can check out footage from the incident, via Alternative Music Closet, in the embed above.
