Throwing articles of worn clothing on stage at an artist is generally kinda gross. There are the age-old stories of bras being thrown on stage at rockstars that we've all seen countless times over the years, but still – ain't nobody wants your sweaty clothes thrown at them while they're doing their job. Unfortunately Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss was the victim of one clothes-throwing incident at a show in 2021 that was a little more vile than usual.
Strauss recounts the time some dude in an unnamed-in-the-story city decided to take his boxers off between "Teenage Frankenstein" and "School's Out," and chuck 'em at her mid-song. The throw missed, everyone in the band laughed their asses off, and the boxers were thrown back… hitting someone in the head who they didn't belong to. Gross.
"Boxers on the stage: a cautionary tale ??♀️? Since my comment on a recent Blabbermouth Facebook post seems to be getting a lot of attention, I shall share the long version of the boxers on the stage story.
"The year was 2021. The city will remain nameless. Touring had just started back up post lockdown, and the band and fans were in a good mood. In the front row, around my side of the stage was a group of a few younger guys. They were having a ball. Singing the words, headbanging along, shaking their fists in the air and raising the horns at all the appropriate times. One of the guys in particular was trying to get my attention throughout the show, blowing kisses and making that heart-hands symbol every time I glanced in that direction. 'A bit much,' I mused, but I was happy to see people at a show having fun and didn’t think much of it.
"'Teenage Frankenstein' rolls around, the second to last song. I glance down. The guy is gone. Smart! Probably beating the traffic out of here. 'School’s Out.' The guy is back. His friends are cracking up. I was wrapped up in the show and didn’t notice something wadded up in one of his hands. 'No more pencils, no more booooooks…'
"Suddenly, a gray, sweaty UFO hurtled onto the stage and landed on the center riser, between me and Alice. We all immediately BURST into uncontrollable laughter. The guy’s boxer briefs were brazenly laid out on the riser, showing ALL the after effects of being worn all day at a hot, outdoor August show. Mercifully, [bassist Chuck Garric] or maybe [guitarist Ryan Roxie] hooked the waistband of the boxers onto their headstock. Everyone knew which guy it came from. Chuck (or maybe Ryan) deftly lifted the undies up and flung them back in the guy’s direction- but since headstock tossing is notoriously inaccurate- overshot the throw by a couple rows.
"As a result, an innocent bystander a few rows back who had his hands in the air and mouth wide open, probably screaming 'WELL WE GOT NO CLASS, and WE GOT NO PRINCI-' suddenly got a face full of front row guy’s sweaty underwear. The 'AAAAGGHHHHHH' was audible over the concert noise ??? and I think that was one of many times I actually fell down from laughing so hard.
"The moral of the story is this: Don’t throw your boxers at a girl unless you’re prepared for them to go places you didn’t expect. (Or, ya know… maybe just don’t throw your boxers at a girl in general ?)"
