The band lived up to their name during the wild scene in Melbourne

The Brian Jonestown Massacre fight on stage
The Brian Jonestown Massacre fighting on stage in Melbourne [GMAC/YouTube]

Last night in Melbourne, Australia, members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre lived up to their name. The group had a tense exchange on stage a few nights ago [November 16] at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney. After a heated argument on stage between frontman Anton Newcombe and guitarist Ryan Van Kriedt on Tuesday [November 21], the incident erupted into a fist fight that took multiple crew members to break up.

Music photographer Lucas Packett was in attendance shooting the show, and shared his account of the incident on his official Facebook page. On November 16, there was a tense exchange during the band’s performance at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney (video below), which in hindsight served as a springboard to the fight that ensued last evening in Melbourne.

“A night of insanity,” he stated. “What started with a handshake greeting in the pit with the main man, ended in a maelstrom of chaos, violence, airborne guitars, fists thrown, safety curtain coming down, beers pelted onto stage, booing and a band fractured, leaving the stage far too early. Unfortunately, this is what we’ve come to expect of The Brian Jonestown Massacre…pity.”

See fan-filmed footage of the incidents below.

A tense exchange during the band’s November 16 performance at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney:

The all-out brawl on stage at The Forum in Melbourne on November 21: