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Raymond Jaravaza/Wayne Chiridza

From the corner of his eye, he spots something unusual — shiny objects being waved in the air — but cannot allow himself to be distracted from the job at hand.

It’s in the middle of a show and the sight of an appreciative crowd is enough to give an artiste performing live at a show, renewed energy to belt out one hit after another.

But something doesn’t sit well with the artiste.

“As the show went on, I noticed that other fans were slowly moving away from a section of the venue where a group of guys were dancing and waving objects that I later learnt were machetes.

“But because I was performing, I couldn’t afford to let the incident affect my performance so I continued as if everything was running smoothly,” the artiste tells Saturday Leisure.

It is almost five months after the incident, which occurred in Gwanda, but it is evident that the artiste, who prefers to remain anonymous since he still frequently performs at the same venue, was left shaken to the core.

He says trouble erupted when he decided to take a brief break, which would also allow an up-and-coming artiste to take to the stage.

“Without warning, bottles started being thrown onto stage as the young artiste was getting ready to perform and the missiles were coming from the corner of the venue where the rowdy guys were dancing and waving machetes.

“It’s our duty as artistes to try and pacify restless fans so I had no choice but to go back on stage and plead with them to stop throwing objects. Violence has no place in live shows or anywhere for that matter and it’s unfortunate when a few rowdy fans disrupt an otherwise perfect night of fun,” he says.

The rowdy revellers were eventually thrown out by security but according to the artiste: “The incident must have left the other fans rattled because no one wants to have fun with an eye watching over their backs for fear of being attacked”.

Another artiste, sungura king Alick Macheso who has over 20 years in the music industry has also seen it all; the good, the bad and the ugly. Last year, he came face to face with the ugly side of rowdy fans at a live show when chaos broke out a Chegutu venue. Reports are there was an electric fault at the venue that saw the malcontents — who were outside — try and force entry, resulting in clashes with the security. 

As a result, his Orchestra Mberikwazvo vehicle had its windows destroyed in the melee resulting in eight people being arrested.

Winky D has also not been spared the ugly face of hooliganism at his shows. In December 2018, he was forced to abandon his show at Kwekwe’s Solomon Lifestyle Cafe after hoodlums started pelting the stage with missiles. He was said to be getting ready to come on stage when bottles and stones started flying. Luckily, he managed to sneak out of the venue unharmed.

The few lucky artistes such Madlela Skhobokhobo count themselves fortunate enough not to have encountered violent skirmishes at their shows. 

“I’ve never had any problems at places that are considered to be frequented by rowdy fans as my shows have always gone smoothly,” said Skhobokhobo.

Promoter Terminator Makoni said violence at shows negatively affects the industry as the business is all about attracting large numbers of revellers at live concerts.

“Violence at live shows turns away people because they tend to be fearful for their lives and that definitely affects the industry. Shows are meant for people to have a good time and not for violent acts.

“As promoters, we’re working hand in hand with law enforcement agencies and will continue to rid our shows of violent individuals,” said Makoni.