Concertgoers were left reeling this weekend after it was discovered that a fellow audience member had left a smelly, er, surprise in the middle of the mosh pit.
Unsurprisingly, this uncalled for defecation on the dancefloor saw proceedings grind to an instant halt on Saturday night at a gig in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s South Island.
Heavy metal band Devilskin were reportedly a few songs in when the stench hit nostrils – or the squelch made contact with soles – and everything paused.
Footage from the gig posted on social media saw lead singer Jennie Skulander finding out on stage what had happened and exclaiming: ‘Poo! Ew!’
But it was too late by then, alas, with attendees revealing that the excrement had been unwittingly spread everywhere by enthusiastic dancing – across the floor and up people’s legs – with some fans then vomiting in realisation over the offending mess.
One witness dubbed it a ‘night-ruiner’ as he revealed his fiancée had smelled it before they realised what had happened.
‘The guy who was directly in front of me proceeded to shake a log down his leg,’ Damian Radburnd explained to Kiwi outlet Stuff, saying that he had watched him try to kick it away before standing in it.
‘We shuffled to the side a metre or three, then I realised that I needed to alert security. One guard came over, and verified with me the culprit and saw the offensive material on the floor,’ he added.
Radburnd also revealed that Skulander had initially halted the show because she was worried someone was sick, before Radburnd – to cut through the noise – ‘proceeded to demonstrate the act so that Devilskin understood what had happened’.
Another witness told the publication of the fallout: ‘I think the smell triggered lots of people to then vomit.
‘The smell obviously hit them and then people started spewing in response to that.’
A separate concert-goer, talking to ODT (Otago Daily Times), said: ‘It was a rock and metal concert, so there was a lot of jumping.
‘And then eventually someone must have, like, looked down and noticed that there was just a huge mess of s**t, just completely spread all in the mosh pit, like, all over the floor.
‘It’s on people’s feet. People are wearing skirts and s**t is up their legs and stuff, and then one girl went bleh — just vomited on the s**t — and then everyone else starts vomiting.’
She also said she had spotted the deposit on the floor before it was stepped on, describing it as ‘huge’, so much so that she ‘hadn’t seen one that big before’.
This witness said that the concert was paused while ‘some poor souls cleaned it all up’, with attendees in the foyer driven to hysterics meanwhile.
‘You would have thought someone had died. They were just bawling their eyes out — they were just hysterical.
‘There was one lady with vomit in her hair, s**t on her legs, and just crying, crying, crying.’
Once the gig resumed, she said, everyone left a large empty circle by the stage out of fear for going back where it had happened, while another attendee simply described the whole situation as ‘feral’.
Band Devilskin also saw the funny side of things, later posting a mocked-up advert to their Instagram for a specially made concert nappy, which promised to be leak proof and boasted an odour filter.
‘After some unique feedback from our gig in Dunnydin, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to provide Devilskin fans with the ultimate companion for your Be Like The River 10th Anniversary Tour experience!’ the caption began.
‘Devilskin’s “Diaper of Doom” has you covered front-to-back, start-to-finish. Catch us on tour while you can!’
This brings to mind Olivia Rodrigo recent revelation that she can sometimes ‘smell’ the nappies of fans closest to her at her shows.
Promoting her latest album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, the pop star told KISS Radio about being at festivals where fans opt to do that, adding: ‘That’s been an experience as a performer that I’ve smelled.’
‘I think about it kind of often,’ she admitted, while singer Noah Kahan had to issue a plea to fans after one of his shows, tweeting: ‘If you have to poop at a show please dear god just go to the bathroom lmao.’
The Stick Season singer continued: ‘I’ve pooped my pants as much as the next 29-year-old but you guys gotta understand there’s a venue worker out there with a 1000 yard stare after dealing with that.’
This came after the debate rages on around the etiquette of wearing nappies at concerts by die-hard fans in a bid to be at the front of the crowd for major performances – and not miss a moment.
However, the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA), which operates the venue, said that Saturday night’s events in Dunedin were ‘an unfortunate medical incident and should be respected as such’.
‘The individual involved remained fully clothed throughout, and this was in no way a deliberate ‘code brown’ situation. They were willingly escorted from the venue by security once staff had assessed the best course of action,’ OUSA president Daniel Leamy told Stuff.
‘Staff evaluated and managed an unforeseen and sensitive situation safely and professionally.’
Police also confirmed to the outlet that no arrests were made either.