Axl Rose Throws Microphone At Drum Kit Before Walking Off Stage In Argentina

Guns N’ Roses vocalist Axl Rose seemed upset about the band’s sound during their show on Saturday (18 October), when he threw his microphone at and kicked Isaac Carpenter’s drum kit.

Carpenter was named the replacement for longtime drummer Frank Ferrer in March. On Saturday, the band performed their second of two shows at Estadio Huracán in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

During the show’s opening song, Welcome To The Jungle, Rose seemingly lost his temper. He finished the song’s chorus and then threw his microphone at the drum kit, took off his leather jacket, and left the stage. As NME notes, Rose also kicked the bass drum later in the show.

“So, I’ll just try and wing this,” he told the audience in footage from the incident that’s been posted online.

At the time of publication, it’s unclear if Rose was upset with his bandmates or the sound on stage. According to fans at the concert, Rose’s earpiece and microphone were “messed up” and he was reportedly signalling to the sound engineers to fix the issue. The band ended up playing a full show, despite the early issues.

The band hasn’t yet issued a response about the incident – you can watch footage below.

Early in Guns N’ Roses’ career, Rose developed a reputation for having on-stage meltdowns. However, since the band’s reunion with Slash and Duff McKagan in late 2015, and their massive tours and festival appearances, Rose has been on his best behaviour.

In December 2022, Rose vowed to stop throwing microphones into the audience after a punter who attended their show in Adelaide was injured from the traditional on-stage antic.

The Sweet Child O’ Mine singer addressed the incident via social media. “It’s come to my attention that a fan may have been hurt at our show in Adelaide, Australia, possibly being hit by the microphone at the end of the show when I traditionally toss the mic to the fans,” Rose wrote.

He added, “If true, obviously we don’t want anyone getting hurt or to somehow in any way hurt anyone at any of our shows anywhere.

“Having tossed the mic at the end of our show for over 30 years, we always felt it was a known part of the very end of our performance that fans wanted and were aware of to have an opportunity to catch the mic.”

In the interest of protecting fans (and the band from lawsuits), the long-standing Guns N’ Roses concert tradition came to an end. Rose concluded, “Regardless, in the interest of public safety from now on, we’ll refrain from tossing the mic or anything to fans during or at our performances.”