Chris LaRocque really, really wanted to see Anthrax earlier this week in Toronto.
The Oshawa, Ont. resident received Level 300 tickets to the Slayer concert at Budweiser Stage – a show that included Anthrax, Lamb of God, Testament and Behemoth – for his birthday.
But, his pal left his ticket in their Uber on the way to the venue so LaRocque bought two general admission tickets instead.
According to witnesses who commented on social media, LaRocque allegedly started “pushing and shoving a bunch of people” and they claim they saw him “shoulder check a security guy.” (LaRocque said he “got the boot for usual metal head s**t.)
He was escorted out of the venue before Anthrax hit the stage.
But, LaRocque had to rock. So, he jumped in to the frigid and murky waters of Lake Ontario and tried to swim back to the venue – which is accessible by a bridge. It wasn’t a well thought-out plan.
LaRocque was rescued from the water, treated by paramedics, and questioned by police.
His attempt to return to Budweiser Stage was captured by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, who shared photos on Instagram. “Fan of the tour. He got kicked out and tried to swim back in,” he captioned the images, adding the hashtags #commitment #allin and #hypothermia.
In the comments, Gary Holt of Slayer said: “I tried to have someone let him back in! A for effort!!
“At first I thought he was some dude who didn’t have a ticket so I wanted him in! Then I found out he has been thrown out!”
On Instagram, LaRocque said it wasn’t the first time he’s been kicked out of a concert and, although the unexpected dip in the lake damaged his Galaxy S7, he said the “water was great!
“I was wearing $200 worth of concert shirts in the water. Ya really got to dress in layers!”