If you’re going to catch Bruce Dickinson and you need to smoke, you’re probably going to want to not be in the same room as the dude, as he once again lost his cool over people smoking during his set. The latest incident happened over the weekend at the Opera Hall in Brasília, Brazil, where he was playing with his solo act in support of The Mandrake Project.
Unlike the last time he blew up on people for smoking weed, this time it seems like the classic ol’ tobacco smoke got the best of both Dickinson and bassist Tanya O’Callaghan, who were both apparently coughing through the set.
“I do apologize for coughing. Some of you fuckers are smoking, all right? I can’t sing if you’re gonna smoke, all right? [Tanya’s] coughing her guts out, I’m coughing, my fucking wife is going, ‘Blargh,’ in the back there, all right? It’s kind of disgusting, all right? But if you wanna be disgusting, do it outside, all right? Not in here. My throat’s got work to do. You pay good money to hear me fucking sing, not [cough my lungs out], all right?”
Later on in the show, Dickinson also complained of people using pepper spray during the show, which was causing him some major problems while singing. According to Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda’s review of the show, as well as the video you can see below, Dickinson even sang at least one song of the set off stage because of the conditions he was complaining about.
“Somebody down here has been using pepper spray. Some fucker has been using pepper spray, which is why people can’t fucking breathe down there, right? So, you know, if you figure out who the fuck it is, I just don’t care what happens to them after the show, all right? In the meantime, we will try and do the best we can.”
According to initial reports, concert security used pepper spray to break up a fight that broke out during the show. That claim was later refuted by MCA Concerts, who said their security personnel don’t use pepper spray. Some believe the “pepper spray” sensation was caused by an exploding vape device.
MCA Concerts issued the following statement about the incident to Blabbermouth.
“[Saturday] night over 2000 fans filled the Opera Hall in Brasília to see Bruce Dickinson on the third show of his, critically acclaimed, first Brazilian solo tour for over 20 years. An incident occurred towards the end of the show where noxious fumes were released, causing severe issues for the band members on stage and the crew and audience in the auditorium. Subsequently many members of the crowd have taken to social media to corroborate the incident that caused them breathing difficulties.
“As video footage shows, Bruce did his best, with limited knowledge of the situation, to explain the effects to the crowd but subsequently found out that several band members, including himself, were affected by the fall out and a member of the crew had to be treated with oxygen by a doctor. The footage also shows Bruce departing the stage to perform part of the encore after being seen visibly struggling to breathe and pitch his vocal.
“Tour promoters MCA are still working with authorities to understand the full impact of the incident and understand how the noxious fumes affected not just the audience and crew but also the band onstage.
“Fortunately, everyone has been checked out by medical staff and given the all clear.”
While we had a little fun at Dickinson’s expense when it came to calling out weed use during an Iron Maiden show, this sounds like it was genuinely frustrating to deal with.