Canadian heavy metal breakout Spiritbox has zero tolerance for crowd violence. Last week, vocalist Courtney LaPlante abruptly stopped the band’s live performance, refusing to sing another note until security removed an aggressive attendee who was actively hurting people in the audience.
Spiritbox is currently trekking across the country as a supporting act for rock heavyweights Evanescence, sharing the bill with Nova Twins. During their July 15 tour stop in Phoenix, Arizona, a concertgoer began causing physical harm to surrounding fans, prompting a swift intervention. While the chaotic incident took place last week, video footage capturing the frontwoman’s fierce on-stage response only recently began circulating online.
The tense situation unfolded near the very end of the band’s setlist, right before they were scheduled to launch into their heavy closing track, “Soft Spine“. Alerted to the dangerous crowd activity by Spiritbox drummer Zev Rose, Courtney LaPlante brought the music to a complete halt. Refusing to ignore the chaos, she informed the packed venue that the show would remain paused until she knew everyone on the floor was safe.
Seeking help from the audience to locate the instigator, she commanded the room (via Loudwire):
“So I need you guys to be tattletales — who’s the f**king freak that’s hurting everybody? Point them out.”
Dozens of fans immediately raised their hands to single out the perpetrator. Looking directly at the unruly concertgoer, the singer delivered a blunt message:
“Well guess what, f**ker? We all saw you, we know where you are and your a** is gonna get kicked the f**k out.”
After the confrontation, the vocalist crouched down at the edge of the stage to speak directly with an audience member who appeared to be a victim of the man’s aggressive antics. She checked to make sure they were unharmed and apologized for putting a spotlight on them. As venue security finally grabbed the violent individual and escorted him off the premises, Courtney LaPlante offered a final piece of advice to the crowd:
“This isn’t the damn gold medal karate match, okay? This is a rock ‘n’ roll show.”
Eyewitness accounts shared in the comment sections of the viral social media clips shed more light on exactly what the ejected fan was doing near the barricade.
“Some dude was getting a little too violent up front. So they found him and kicked him out. Could see it from our seats lol,” one attendee noted.
Another concertgoer provided a much more alarming breakdown of the unprovoked aggression, writing:
“He straight punched a couple of people, too. In the middle of a crowd and not even in the pit, he was pushing into groups just to try and mosh in them. Had the entire middle to mosh pit and instead was just trying to shove people around.”
Evanescence 2026 World Tour Dates:
- Jul 23 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
- Jul 25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
- Jul 28 – St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
- Jul 30 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
- Aug 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
- Aug 2 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
- Sep 8 – Leeds, UK @ First Direct Arena
- Sep 10 – Manchester, UK @ Co-op Live
- Sep 11 – Birmingham, UK @ Utilita Arena Birmingham
- Sep 13 – London, UK @ The O2
- Sep 16 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
- Sep 18 – Paris, France @ Accor Arena
- Sep 19 – Frankfurt, Germany @ Congress Center Messe Frankfurt – Festhalle Frankfurt
- Sep 20 – Dortmund, Germany @ Westfalenhallen Dortmund
- Sep 22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
- Sep 23 – Hamburg, Germany @ Barclays Arena
- Sep 25 – Berlin, Germany @ Velodrom
- Sep 26 – Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
- Sep 28 – Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
- Sep 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Hallenstadion Zurich
- Oct 1 – Barcelona, Spain @ Palau Olimpic Badalona
- Oct 2 – Madrid, Spain @ Palacio Vistalegre
- Oct 4 – Lisbon, Portugal @ MEO Arena
- Oct 26 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
