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A melee erupted at an Everlast show in Detroit on February 2nd, leaving three security guards injured. Everlast was performing at Detroit's St. Andrew's Hall last Friday when a group of people stormed the club between 8:20 p.m. and 9 p.m.
"Officers arrived on the scene and security advised them that there were about fourteen black males at St. Andrews Hall that started pushing people around," said a source at the Detroit Police Department. "A complaintant was at the left side of the stage and was struck in the head with a microphone stand. Other security personnel came to assist and all fourteen people fled the location. They got into three vehicles and drove away in different directions."
According to a source at Tommy Boy records, the group assaulted a security guard at the door en route to rushing the stage. Three or four members of the group managed to get on stage but Everlast and the members of his band were safely escorted from the stage, though the assailants began to smash their equipment.
A specific cause for the incident has yet to be definitively identified. Everlast had just finished playing "Jump Around," a holdover from his House of Pain days, when he began a tirade which took aim at chip manufacturer Pringles (who recently incorporated the song into a commercial), Smash Mouth and hometown rapper Eminem, among others. According to reports, Everlast made some remarks from the stage about Eminem's side project D-12, before saying, "The mike is open if there's someone from Eminem's camp who is here."
As Everlast began his next song, the group of attackers took over the stage. The security guard who was struck in the head is reported to be in stable condition. Two other security guards were injured but refused EMS assistance.
Despite a rumor that witnesses spotted members of D-12 at the show, the Eminem side-project was far from Detroit the night of the show. "All six members, and that includes Eminem, are in Europe," says a source at Interscope Records. D-12 had a February 3rd date in Belgium and their itinerary will keep them in Europe through February 12th.
According to Detroit police, no arrests have been made, but the incident is currently under investigation.
ANDREW DANSBY
(February 6, 2001)