In a sad indictment for a certain sector of society in the capital, singer Randy Blythe was set upon by a gang of youths in Dublin just before he was due to perform a gig in the 3Arena on Sunday night.
The singer was taking some photographs around Dublin city centre when a group of teenagers approached him. One of the youths allegedly hit him over the head to stun him and the rest took the chance to rob the man.
Luckily for Mr. Blythe, a cab driver came over to help and managed to scatter the gang, who made off with some of the singer’s possessions.
The singer was thankfully not seriously hurt, and managed to do the gig as scheduled, but did have some strong words to say via his blog about the incident.
“Sometimes doing what you love comes at a price: here’s the Samuel Beckett bridge in Dublin, Ireland. Last night around midnight I walked one block away from my hotel to take some long exposures- right after I shot this very frame, I looked up & saw 5 or 6 teenage dudes (16 to 18 year olds?) in hoodies & track pants spreading out around me. “Well, crap, I guess it’s on” I thought.
I started stepping quickly into the street away from the little cul-de-sac where I was (it was a bad spot to be trapped), trying to keep my eye on all of them at the same time. One kid drew up to my left getting close & BLAM- someone else hit me in the head from behind with something (I think they had a stick or whatever)- I saw stars for a second, then I heard car horns & a cabbie was driving at these kids & I was standing in the street trying to shake it off, because that little fucker had rang my bell pretty good. Like all cowards & weaklings all over the world, they came at me in numbers and struck from behind. I never even had a chance to smash one of the little shits because the cabbie (thank you, whoever you are) scattered them while I was regaining my wits. So now my glasses are gone (but I have contacts), my new Surf City hat w/the Black Flag bars is gone (but I brought another hat), my new e-cig is gone (but I have others), & I have a split open elbow & a bit of a headache (but it could have been much, much worse- I could have caught a knife).
I remain grateful- I’M FINE. I’ve been in some of the sketchiest neighborhoods on earth & escaped unharmed, but last night I got distracted & forgot my street smarts for a couple of minutes. That was very, VERY stupid of me, & I paid the price. So lesson learned here is STAY ALERT, y’all. And Dublin- I still love you, I’m NOT afraid to come here, it’s a lovely city, BUT… please neuter & spay your feral children, because next time they might club someone whose head isn’t as hard as mine & kill them. They didn’t even try to rob me, they just wanted to hurt someone, anyone – it was nothing personal for them- this makes me very SAD for these children. So Dublin, sorry if tonight’s show was a little rough- I did my best for y’all…”