Pitchfork

There was no Tony Starks (or A.J. Pierzynski) to save the day when a near-riot broke out at a Ghostface show in Chicago Friday night. According to Pitchfork Advertising Director Chris Kaskie, who attended the chaotic event, there were only panicked concertgoers, spiteful MCs, bloody gashes, broken bottles, and bile by the barrelful. Details remain sketchy, but we do know the following:

Ghostface was slated to perform Friday, October 14 at Joe's Sports Bar, located on Chicago's Near North side. After a substantial delay, as well as a parade of opening acts (including Swollen Members and the Molemen), the antsy capacity crowd's collective consciousness adopted the mantra "Ghostface or bust." So "bust" it was when this battering ram of anticipation met with yet another opening MC: recent Roc-a-Fella signee Tru Life.

Tru took to the stage, flanked by a rowdy retinue of hypemen, some five hours after the doors opened, and the crowd wasn't having it. The rapper's entrance was greeted with a volley of frustrated boos, to which the emcee retorted by insulting the crowd and Chicago. Matters escalated from there.

Kaskie shares the ugly play-by-play:

"Tru Life and crew began to empty their water bottles on the crowd, then started throwing them, full and empty. I got drilled right in the face with a full water bottle, and everyone around me was drenched. While this was happening, someone tossed a full water bottle and hit Tru Life directly in the face, knocking him to the ground. The crowd was excited about this, and everyone around us began to throw not water but beer bottles at him while he was down. His crew threw back, and then went to the upstairs balcony overlooking the whole room."

Tru Life's posse then "began having target practice on the crowd below, hitting people in the faces/heads/bodies with bottles. The crowd threw back, and the people upstairs kept hitting the ceiling with bottles, which would then explode and fall on the crowd. There was a rush for the exits, people yelling about guns, etc. As people ran, and we ran, bottles were continually being thrown at us from above. My friend was running, and got drilled in the head with a broken bottle, opening up his head."

Kaskie recalls that the Joe's security staff seemed helpless, and the club had "no organized exit plan." "There was no help whatsoever. We were sitting ducks at the mercy of the people above."

Finally, "the cops rolled in and kicked EVERYONE out."

Kaskie's friend wound up in the hospital with several staples in his head. Another man in their company had multiple head wounds and required an MRI. According to the police, four people were treated and released from Northwestern and Lincoln Park hospitals, although Kaskie estimates that it was far more than that.

As of right now, no arrests have been made, nor have any charges been filed. Joe's Sports Bar and various publicists did not return repeated calls.

Apparently, Ghostface did indeed eventually perform later that night.

* Ghostface: http://www6.defjam.com/site/artist.php?artist_id=485