Australian Stagecrasher Takes Guitar to Face From Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson

Robinson didn't find the man who rushed the stage at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne too hard to handle

Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes performs at Wizink Arena in Spain.
Rich Robinson sent an Australian stagecrasher sprawling at a Black Crowes show.
Javier Bragado/Redferns

An Australian rock fan who attempted to be part of the show during a Black Crowes concert at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne over the weekend likely needed a remedy and was seeing things after taking an axe to the face courtesy of guitarist Rich Robinson.

Robinson, 53, didn’t find the man who came in his direction after initially taking a run at bassist Steve Pipien too hard to handle and sent him packing with blows to the face and chest during an aborted rendition of “Stare It Cold.” As Robinson’s brother Chris got in on the attempt to get the man talking to angels by hitting him twice as hard with the mic stand, the stagecrasher was pushed off the stage and into the pit before the incident escalated any further.

As security converged on the man, Rich exclaimed, “Hey, you throw that motherfucker out,” according to Jambase. With the disturbance resolved, the Crowes composed themselves and restarted “Stare It Cold” and concluded the tune without further incident.

The stop in Melbourne was the finale of the Crowes’ first visit to Australia since 2008, so Robinson didn’t have to be too concerned about having his guitar in working order for the next night of the tour. Expect stage security to be a little tighter when the Robinsons return to the stage with the Crowes for a two-night stand in Las Vegas at the Pearl Concert Theatre kicking off February 10.

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