Antemasque Accused Of Throwing Boiling Water At Fans
The former At The Drive-In and Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler Zavala is famous for his theatrical onstage freakouts. At a recent festival show in New Zealand, Bixler Zavala may have taken this tendency way, way too far. According to people at the show, he hurled boiling water into the show’s front row, injuring a few fans in the process.
The New Zealand Herald reports that Antemasque, Bixler Zavala’s new band with former At The Drive-In/Mars Volta bandmate Omar Rodríguez-López, were playing at Westfest, a big rock festival at Auckland’s Mt. Smart Stadium. During his band’s mid-afternoon set, Bixler Zavala threw a plastic kettle into the crowd. Fans are claiming that the liquid inside was boiling hot, and it splashed on some of them, injuring them. Festivalgoer Hugh Smith told the Herald, “We were standing about four-five metres back. I threw my hand up to catch it before it collided with my friend’s face… this bruised my hand and then splashed hot water all over him and my face… It bloody hurt. My friend’s arm went all burny pink.” The Herald has a picture of his bruised arm.
The Herald also reports that Bixler Zavala was agitated throughout his band’s set. He threw speaker stacks, packing cases, and his own mic stand. Here’s footage of him throwing that kettle.
A spokesperson for Westfest says that the festival is investigating the incident.
