Stone Temple Pilots play Worcester Friday, 28 years after brouhaha at Gardner show

When the Stone Temple Pilots hit the stage at the Palladium in Worcester Friday night, some might be reminded of the band's infamous place in Central Massachusetts music history.

On July 31, 1993, the band took the stage at the Polish American Country Club in Gardner for a show still talked about — not so much for the music, but more so for the melee and the well-publicized court proceedings that followed.

The offstage dust-up ended with two band members facing charges that they beat up an audience member.

The Stone Temple Pilots performed to an estimated 6,000 concertgoers during an outdoor concert at the social club. Also on the bill were the Butthole Surfers and the Flaming Lips.

During the Stone Temple Pilots set, singer Scott Weiland accused music fan Scott Brown, who was in the mosh pit, of mouthing off to him and throwing objects at the stage. Weiland made a motion to part the audience, and then he and bassist Robert DeLeo, as well as members of the band’s entourage, went into the crowd for vigilante justice.

A short melee followed, with Brown, 22, suffering head injuries, presumably when he was struck by a guitar.

The rockers were summoned to court.

Court appearance

On May 6, 1994, in Gardner District Court, Weiland admitted to sufficient facts in the assault and battery charge. On April 20, 1994, DeLeo also admitted to sufficient facts on the charge of assault and battery, as well as to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a guitar).

In court, Brown testified that he was kicked and punched several times by Weiland at the concert. Brown said he was also struck on the head with a bass guitar, presumably by DeLeo. He said he suffered a fractured skull in the attack and, as a result, experienced numerous medical problems.

In court, the musicians denied striking Brown. Rather, they said, they grabbed him and pulled him toward security people because they thought he was throwing shoes and other objects at the band.

Brown, a Mount Wachusett Community College student, said he threw nothing during the concert.

Weiland and DeLeo agreed to pay restitution to cover Brown's medical expenses and lost wages resulting from the incident. They also agreed to play a free concert at Gardner High School the following autumn to fulfill a community service requirement.

There was more trouble. Weiland was excused by the court from his community service sentence after DeLeo made "inappropriate" comments while talking to students at Gardner High School, according to Timothy S. Hillman, first justice of Gardner District Court. There was never a concert.

'Inappropriate' remarks

"We just didn't feel Weiland would have been an appropriate person for the community service because of a prior experience," Hillman said at the time. He declined to specify the "inappropriate" remarks made by DeLeo.

Brown, who had asked in court that Weiland and DeLeo receive "the maximum penalty under the law," said at the time he was disappointed both by the sentences in the case and Weiland's release from having to perform community service.

The charges on Weiland and DeLeo were continued without a finding for a year before being dismissed.

Three years after the incident, in October 1996, Brown told the Telegram & Gazette that the assault's legacy includes ongoing dental work, a dent left in his head by an electric guitar and a condition in which his jaw frequently pops out of place.

Brown was also still upset that, as he sees it, Weiland and DeLeo were barely punished for launching a vicious assault.

The Stone Temple Pilots broke up in 2003.

Band gets back together

Weiland went on to front Velvet Revolver, which featured former members of Guns N’ Roses, including guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. Velvet Revolver played the Centrum on Nov. 9, 2004.

The Stone Temple Pilots eventually reunited in 2008, but the group split again in 2013.

On Dec. 3, 2015, Weiland, who was dogged by substance abuse problems throughout his career, died in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota. He was 48.

In addition to DeLeo, Stone Temple Pilots consists of two more of its original members, including guitarist Dan DeLeo (the brother of Robert DeLeo) and drummer Eric Kretz, as well as Weiland’s replacement, singer Jeff Gutt, who's been with the band for four years.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Stone Temple Pilots Worcester Friday 28 years after brouhaha Gardner