Ministry show in Toulouse (France/2008-06-24) was stopped one hour after its beginning. The official version is a man comes on stage with pepper spray or teargas and another guy hurt Tony Campos (bass guitar) ! Aaron Rossi, Ministry and Prong drummer, tell us the event : an exclusivity Radio Metal. Radio Metal gives the version of Underclass Manager too, Florian Sliwa. The problem is to know who used teargas : the security or a man in the audience ? Radio Metal tries to understand the situation for you.

Interviews conducted by Doc
City : Lyon
Date : 2008-06-25



Aaron Rossi tell us the events. An exclusivity Radio Metal.


Aaron Rossi

Radio Metal : I understand there was a problem in Toulouse yesterday. Can you explain the situation?

Aaron Rossi : We probably had a thousand people in the audience, and we knew it was going to be a crazy show. The opening band told us it was like a hundred degrees in there, very hot. We prepared for that – we got more water on stage. We were playing, and the show went very well, but all of a sudden, I saw Tony run off the stage. Then I saw my drum tech, who was starting to unplug things, and he said: “you have to get out of here”. When he said that, I took a deep breath, but I couldn’t breathe, and my eyes started to water. We ran outside, and everybody poured water on our heads and our eyes. They said it was pepper spray or teargas, something like that. It was pretty scary. We went back out to play again, but one of the fans jumped upon the fence we have on stage and pulled it down. On the other side of the fence was the bass player, Tony, and he was caught underneath the fence. Finally, Al Jourgensen said “no more, this is it”. The crowd was being very disrespectful, and he said: “we’re done, let’s get out of here”. We left as soon as possible.

So it was Al who decided to stop the show. But what was your opinion?

I love to play, but the conditions of the venue were very bad. There wasn’t much security, and for a final farewell tour, safety is a must, especially for Al. Some of the fans get really crazy. I follow whatever Al says, whatever songs he wants to play, whatever show he wants to do or cancel, I have to go with him. The only other time we had to cancel half-way was in Hamburg, because the audience were throwing cups at us. My drum-riser was covered in beer, and I had cups hitting me. This was disrespectful, so we got out of there.

It is sad to conclude a Ministry tour in France like this. But when you left the stage, did you understand that there was a problem with someone in the audience?

Yeah. You see, in the United States, we had the murder of Dimebag Darrell from Pantera. Since then, security has to be very tight. We thought we had everything under control, but last night the conditions were just so terrible that it just became unsafe. We poured water on our heads, but Al Jourgensen has dreadlocks, so no matter what he did, it was dripping down into his eyes. I think the fan was just crazy. I heard he was yelling things about God, like “where is my God?” and this and that. I want to think that everybody out there is really nice, but you never know, there are some loonies out there.

Florian Sliwa, Underclass Manager, followed the Ministry french tour. He was in Toulouse too for the show. His testimony is essential to understand the situation.

"The security staff at the Havana venue can absolutely not have used teargas, simply because it’s forbidden and illegal. If a staff member used teargas, he would immediately be fired! However, a guy in the audience used a teargas grenade, I saw it with my own eyes. The grenade, which we managed to find at the end of the show, was very small, just about two-inches tall. I was standing on the side of the stage when it all happened, and I saw a member of the security staff grab the guy by the arm, but it was too late. Those who claim that the staff used teargas are lying. To me, the various venues are simply trying to settle their scores."