NOFX fan 'Alex' shows off his swollen lip on Twitter after allegedly being hit by NOFX lead singer 'Fat Mike' Burkett during the band's gig on November 5, 2014 in Sydney.
Never interrupt a proper old school punk while he's doing his thing. Ever.
A fan named Alex jumped on stage during respected Californian punk band NOFX's gig at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday and copped a brutal right hand/right boot combination mid-song, after startling 47-year-old lead vocalist "Fat Mike" Burkett. Big mistake.
The young stage-invader slung his arm around an unprepared Burkett, who reacted by backhanding Alex, knocking him over with a king hit then kicking him in the face.
Alex was dragged off stage by security guards. From the look of the punch and kick he endured it was just as well.
"Alex" later generously defended Burkett in a Twitter conversation, saying he took responsibility because he had "hurt" the singer after Burkett had told the crowd that he was in pain.
A contrite Burkett tweeted an apology to Alex (after a stream of abuse over the assault):
"I'm sorry too Alex, I was in terrible pain all night. When you grabbed me by the neck I defensively reacted... offensively." Burkett later offered to buy Alex a beer at the next show.
Aggressive-looking mosh pits and stage antics are par for the course at punk gigs, especially those of pre-1990 bands, but most of the action is exuberance rather than naked aggression. Usually the gigs are much safer than they look - unless you surprise one of the band members.
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