Fans who had forced their way to the front of a packed Leeds First Direct Arena to see Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) were pulled from the crowd before he walked on stage.
"We're here for a good time but everyone's got to be safe," said support act iann dior as bottles of water were thrown into the crowd for those who needed them. At least two people were hoisted from the standing section of the arena before MGK's set. Music was paused on both occasions.
Thankfully, all seemed okay as they walked away from the show - doubtless heartbroken that they would miss the main event.
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MGK made his dramatic entrance clinging to a ladder attached to a model chopper above the stage. The high-octane opener set the tone for the set.
Barely 10 minutes into the concert, the American artist brought a fire-breather on stage to light his cigarette. He chugged alcohol as the crowd chanted 'down it' and even brought a street musician on halfway through a chaotic but spell-binding gig that was briefly interrupted by a small technical hitch.
Among others, fans were treated to 'my ex's best friend', 'I Think I'm OKAY', 'maybe' and 'forget me too'. A highlight came when MGK stopped the music to introduce his band members, who each gave a snapshot of their musical genius.
MGK displayed his unique ability to mix rock with rap throughout his Yorkshire instalment of the Mainstream Sellout Tour on Thursday (October 6). To his own peril, he asked the crowd 'how far is Manchester from here?' and was greeted with loud jeers and chants of 'Yorkshire, Yorkshire'.
In another break in the set, MGK told fans: "I feel so loved here in the UK, it's really an honour to be here tonight." Despite the earlier troubles, 'mosh pits' formed in the standing section of the crowd. MGK was so impressed by one man's antics that he asked for his pink cowboy hat before performing two songs while wearing it.
As he closed the show, MGK told the crowd he has big dreams of headlining Leeds Festival in the future: "Hold us down here in the UK," he said. "This is a place where we got a lot of big dreams, man. We played Wembley Arena, we sold it out, that was a huge accomplishment for us. One day I want to headline the Leeds and Reading Festival; we wanna [sic] play Wembley Stadium, we got a lot to do here. We're just getting started so hold us down, please."
Fans here in Yorkshire will no doubt hold him to the promise of gracing the stage at Leeds Festival after a near flawless performance at the First Direct Arena.
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