Ape Vermin, the formidable 3-piece act hailing from the depths of Valdese, North Carolina, USA, is gearing up to conquer the cosmos with their latest sci-fi-infused album “Andromedas Colossus” on May 17, 2024, with a US tour to follow the release.
Well so the story goes that Alice had an illness that day but we all know that in the 80's he had a serious drug and alohol problem.
That hot and humid night in Toronto when 13,000 of his loyal fans came to see him play, Cooper's lead guitarist Dick Wagner took to the stage to confirm that Alice would't, in fact, be attending the show that night, but Zon would be more than happy to come back out and play some more space jams.
Before Wagner had even finished his ballsy peace offering, chairs and stubbies started flying and the tinderbox of pissed-off metalheads exploded into a frenzy of pent up violence.
With only 25 or so policemen and Exhibition Place security staff on hand, a crackle came over the radio for all available Toronto Police officers to proceed directly to the CNE - the great Alice Cooper riot of 1980 was in full swing.
For roughly 30 minutes, the Grandstand became a pitched battleground. Mounted police were the first to arrive, storming the floor area of the stadium and pushing the chaotic mess of Canadian tuxedo-wearing fans towards the opposite side's exit.
While chairs and bottles rained down with escalating urgency, fistfights began to break out as crowds heaved away from the mounted units and came dangerously close to being crushed.
As more police arrived, troublemakers taunted them to draw their weapons and made sport of vexing them at every turn.
As the rowdy scrum exited the stadium, it became open season on the CNE midway as stalls were looted and food trucks tipped. A defenceless 511 streetcar was even ransacked by a breakaway mob.
In total, 12 fans, five policemen, and a security officer were seriously injured in the melee, and 31 people were arrested. The Toronto Star reported: "Thousands of rioting fans tried to wreck the Grandstand last night.
They bombarded 268 policemen with bottles, chains and other missiles during a 30-minute rampage that will cost at least $175,000 to repair.
They tore out 200 seats welded to steel posts and bolted to concrete. They ripped out steel turnstiles, smashed windows and ticket booths and the Grandstand restaurant, and damaged several cars outside the stadium".
Public outrage followed the next day as the city awoke to news which pretty much confirmed Alice Cooper and his ilk were the spawns of Satan.
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