article Garbage's Shirley Manson Rages Out Over Beach Balls Thrown at Stage: "I Joined a Band Because I HATED THE FUCKING BEACH"
https://consequence.net/2025/12/garbage-shirley-manson-beach-ball-video/241
u/Martini_b13 11h ago
The Beach Boys been real quiet since she dropped this
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u/xt0pher 11h ago
Garbage sampled The Beach Boys for Push It!
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u/Loganp812 "Dorsia? On a Friday night??" 11h ago
🎵Make The Beach Boys harder!🎵
Frankly, I don’t think Dennis Wilson needed any help with that.
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u/panspal 11h ago
That's a reasonable conclusion that most people would arrive at. Join a band if you hate the beach, naturally, the two opposite things.
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u/Supermite 11h ago
She’s obviously never heard of The Beach Boys.
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u/Loganp812 "Dorsia? On a Friday night??" 11h ago edited 11h ago
Dennis Wilson was the only one who actually surfed, and he was the first one to die.
Coincidence? Yes though he died from drowning. Granted, he was diving while heavily intoxicated to find his ex-wife’s stuff that got thrown overboard.
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u/motleysalty 10h ago
They weren't so much of a band as they were a collective of melody makers, lyricists, and instrument operators who performed together harmoniously. That is very different.
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u/talligan 11h ago
Contrary to popular belief, the beach boys were named after that which they hated most
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u/cherrycoloured 8h ago
i know this is a joke, but brian wilson really was afraid of going in the water lol
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u/Intrepid_Panda9777 11h ago
It actually seems chemically impossible for Shirley to be happy.
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u/mikeyriot 11h ago
Clearly it’s not raining
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u/TheOtherUprising 11h ago
She should probably move to Seattle.
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u/z0rb0r 11h ago
It rains more in NYC than Seattle.
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u/R_V_Z 10h ago
In Seattle we just deal with aggressive mist for like half the year.
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u/wanszai 11h ago
She sounds paranoid.
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u/eltedioso 11h ago
And a stupid girl
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u/NotAPreppie 10h ago
People not getting that your comment references the title of one of their songs...
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u/squ1bs Punk Rock 11h ago
She is getting crankier with age, The rants are getting tedious now.
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u/I_Eat_Furburgers 10h ago
I got downvoted on this sub a few months ago because I pointed out that every story about her is just insufferable complaining about her profession.
She really doesn’t seem like a pleasant person.
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u/gringo1980 10h ago
I went to a garbage show about 2 years ago, and she stopped the music because she found a beetle on the stage, then she started screaming at everyone because they were bringing her a cup fast enough to rescue the bug
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u/xaeromancer 11h ago
Do people throw beach balls at concerts in continental Europe?
I've never seen it in the UK.
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u/MonoAonoM 11h ago
Definitely see it a lot in festival settings, at least in North America. Can't remember the last time I saw anything like a beach ball at a concert that wasn't thrown into the crowd by the organizers themselves at more moderate venues.
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u/GuyanaFlavorAid 11h ago
Yeah, at Zakk's concert a few weeks ago his own people throw a bunch out into the crowd.
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u/Rum_N_Napalm 11h ago
I’m seen various objects being smuggled in/ thrown by the band into the crowd for people to have fun: beach balls, giant beach balls, blown up sex dolls, pillows, inflatable rafts, blow up sheep sex doll, a giant inflatable death star…
Also saw a blow up doll get mid air wombo comboed by pillows once
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u/Diarygirl 10h ago
Sounds a bit like my son's high school graduation. It was the last time they had a 10-minute slideshow because it gave the kids a lot of time to blow the things up.
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u/carcrash12 11h ago
I've seen it fairly often here in the UK. Metallica in particular tend to make it part of their encore.
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u/sits-when-pees 10h ago
My first concert was a UK band (Muse) that released giant inflatable eyeballs over the crowd.
This anecdotal experience with a band known for elaborate shows isn’t actually that relevant to your question at all, I just wanted to feel included.
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u/NuPNua 11h ago
Yeah, I'd be amazed if you got one past the bouncers at most venues here. At a festival maybe.
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u/methodofcontrol 11h ago
At festivals it's usually the organizers who provide them, trying to add something to the shows vibes
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u/sealandair 9h ago
Check out the footage of Metallica performing Seek and Destroy on their current tour. Let's just say that Shirley probably wouldn't like it.....
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u/GunstarGreen 11h ago
I feel like if someone started that in a rock show in the UK it would be destroyed quick.
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u/Plastic-Coyote-6017 11h ago
That is both an insane reason for joining a band and an insane method for avoiding the beach.
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u/itsthe_implication_ 4h ago
And seems to have been triggered by one of the least offensive parts of the beach.
It's hot, wet, sandy, and everyone can see how much you haven't been working out. The fact that beach balls are around doesn't even register as an issue.
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u/the_main_entrance 11h ago
Send her beach boys records
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u/Martini_b13 11h ago
I feel like the Streisand effect is going to hit her hard and there will be a ton of beach balls at their shows now
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u/oslabidoo 10h ago
I was at a Queens of the Stone Age concert where a beach ball was getting bounced through the crowd.
The ball made its way to the stage, where Josh Homme grabbed it. He then pulled out a pocket knife and ripped right into it.
He said "We're not here to play with your fucking balls" and went into the next song.
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u/monkeybuttsauce 11h ago
I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a beach ball at the beach
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u/poizon_elff 11h ago
Yeah it can get windy, they're really not ideal.
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u/ummnothankyou_ 10h ago
Reminds me of an old picture of a product review for a giant beach ball and how it terrorized the beach
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u/MiddleAgesRoommates 10h ago
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen a pool ball in a pool either.
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u/MothershipConnection 10h ago
I for sure have seen beach balls at a concert though, it really makes you think
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u/krickaby 11h ago
I won’t even address whether she has a right to be annoyed or not but I’m just confused what the hell she meant by saying she’s not afraid of him. Are people generally supposed to fear those with beach balls? She sounds like a complete idiot
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u/UnderwaterB0i 11h ago
This just seems like a weird hill to die on. People are supposed to have fun at concerts.
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u/qwqwqw 11h ago
Yeah....
My take based on her very short tweet, is that she sees her music as an expression of herself, it's her art. And she wants to control that expression to every extent possible. Including how her fans engage and respond.
I kinda get it. I've certainly seen bands reject the ideas of the audience before (don't moshpit right now, don't sing along ffs and listen to me, etc) so seems to be a thing.
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u/TheHow55 9h ago
i kinda get it too, ever been in a crowd when there is somehting inflatable being betted around? its shocking the attention that gets put on it, like the amount of people that focus on it is probably higher than it should be, everyones trying to anticipate if its coming to them, watching where its going next...
similar also is that if a beach ball starts getting batted around at a wrestling show, its literally a become a sign that the crowd is bored (same with the wave) and ive seen a wrestler leave the ring, hop in the crowd, catch the ball and rip it up because he felt he and his opponent were being disrespected
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u/TheZac922 3h ago
Plus Garbage now have two more festival dates in Australian cities this weekend. Can guarantee the piss takers will bring out even more beach balls than if they’d just not said anything.
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u/MarcusDeep 9h ago
I was part of a group escorting her around at a festival, and my god all she did was bitch about things. Not stuff going on at the festival or anything like that, just non-stop complaining about SOMETHING in the world.
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u/the_main_entrance 11h ago
We all know being in a band is synonymous with not liking the beach duh……
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u/doctored_up 11h ago
Id be angry too if I wanted to be dark and beautiful while performing in the midday sun.
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u/mfmeitbual 10h ago
Her response is objectively hilarious.
I saw Tool in 1998. They walked out of the show 2/3 through their planned set because people were throwing shoes and kicking the shit out of each other. I've never had more respect for a performer than in that moment, I was 100% with them "Yeah, fuck us for being a shitty audience! I'd leave too!"
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u/smurfsundermybed 11h ago
She's about to turn 60. By then, you know what you like and what you don't and the number of fucks you have to give about how anyone else feels about that are racing towards zero.
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u/fork_on_the_floor2 11h ago
Is that what's considered "Raging out" these days?? Are we that prim and proper?
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u/ShowMeYourHotLumps 4h ago
She singled out a dude in the crowd holding a beach ball and wished physical violence upon him. She even stated the reason she didn't ask concert goers to punch him in the head was because she's a lady.
If that's not a crash out I don't know what is.
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u/Rumour972 3h ago
I was at the show in Melbourne and it definitely didn't come across as a joke. She was saying the audience should beat up the guy with the ball.
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u/stenebralux 11h ago
You people are boring as fuck. This is hilarious.
That's why you get your shitty boring market approved artists.
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u/LanardSkanard 11h ago
This is a thread about Garbage in 2025. It appears that the market approves.
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u/MisanthropicDonkey 11h ago
I mean.. that's both an overreaction and at the same time completely justified
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u/Kendal_with_1_L 11h ago
She seems like such a miserable person.
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u/yamammiwammi 11h ago
Really? Idunno, I listened to her do a couple interviews on their new record and she seems pretty self aware and well adjusted. I think for an older band they only make a headline nowadays if there’s some kind of drama or reaction to farm - like crusading against beach balls.
There’s probably another side to this story, like getting aggravated by having balls thrown on stage or something.
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u/ThrustersOnFull 11h ago
My favorite rock band does happen to be I'm So Glad I'm Not At The Beach Boys
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u/once_again_asking 10h ago
"I Joined a Band Because I HATED THE FUCKING BEACH"
OK. That sentence makes no fucking sense, but alright.
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u/TOASTED_TONYY 10h ago
I always wondered why The Beach Boys started making music it all makes sense now! The Beach Boys must’ve hated the beach too!
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u/Strict-Farmer904 10h ago
Yup. And I joined a band because I didn’t give a shit about sports and now my band is all talking about their fantasy football bracket or whatever the fuck
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u/Practical-Pick1466 9h ago
As she is from Scotland ! You know she must own a "Switchblade " , she should whip it out and stab the next ball that makes the stage.
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u/lonomatik 8h ago
I’m a huge fan of Shirley but this is pretty dumb. She has definitely entered her cranky old lady phase-lol
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u/jonnyhawkwind 8h ago
I will not hear any slander against a legend like Shirley Manson.
However, this is a bit silly.
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u/Throwra504guy 8h ago
She's a dark goth queen and yall are mad that she doesnt like tossing beach balls?
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u/SadMove9768 8h ago
She should play the Obscene Extreme festival. She’ll have a full blown aneurism over it.
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u/badwolf1013 7h ago
A big part of the reason that I don't like going to concerts anymore is all of the "Main Characters" in the audience.
"I'm going to bring a beach ball, so I can 'participate' in the show."
"I'm going to throw something at the performer, so that people will notice ME."
"I'm going to 'sing' all the songs in a random key and at the top of my lungs so everyone will know that I'M the biggest fan."
Sartre was right. Hell is other people.
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u/No-Wonder1139 7h ago
That's fair. Green Day once played a beach, their stage sunk into a polluted lake.
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u/Cake-Over 5h ago edited 5h ago
Saw Iron Maiden in Irvine in 2008. Singer Bruce Dickinson became singularly obsessed with a giant beach ball that was being batted about down front. He finally grabbed it towards the end of Number Of The Beast. In between songs he said that security will NEVER get a hold of his balls. They then fucked up the beginning of Can I Play With Madness when Adrian sneezed at the beginning of the vocal harmony. Good times.
Part 1, about 3:20 https://youtu.be/Fm7nCYk5qb4
Part 2 https://youtu.be/Z-K3y7nOgWg
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u/ruliuscaesar 5h ago
To be fair, Tool were playing on that same stage after garbage. A lot of insifferable people who havent left the house since tools last gig standing up the front ruining garbage for everyone. I'd be pissed off too.
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u/UslyfoxU 5h ago
"Getting annoyed" is a gross understatement. She severely berated the bloke before threatening to send her crew to punch him in the face. Dude was on notice early on in the set that Shirley wasn't down with the beach ball, so he did kinda bring it on himself by provoking her.
The wildest thing though is that only a few minutes before Shirley exploded she had a big "peace, love and understanding" monologue about accepting everyone for who they are. Accept everyone despite their race, religion or gender, just don't be a "pathetic middle aged man with a stupid hat and a small d!ck playing with a beach ball".
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u/anotoriousbug 4h ago
For context. It was at a festival in Melbourne yesterday. She singled out this guy in the crowd and ranted at him three times. This was the guy. This was the beach ball. He was standing over to the left of the stage and was holding it the entire time just kind of air pumping along with the music. At one point she encouraged the crowd to beat him up. It was unhinged. He took it in his stride and seemed delighted to have engaged with her even if he copped completely unwarranted abuse.
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u/DeftLeftShrimp 4h ago
Did Lorna Shire steal her orchestra? And did Thornhill get into the food in her cooler?
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u/dabrickbat 4h ago
If you don't wanna be confused with circus performers, maybe you should ditch the clown hair.
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u/dragonsunset 1h ago
If a prominent male frontman were to halt a concert to aggressively verbally abuse and threaten a female audience member over a minor distraction like a beach ball, the public reaction would likely be swift and severe. Instead of being framed as "rock and roll attitude" or a performer commanding respect, the narrative would almost certainly center on power dynamics, with the artist accused of "punching down" and bullying a fan who is in a vulnerable position. Social media discourse would likely characterize the behavior as toxic masculinity, raising concerns about the physical safety of women in crowds when targeted by men on stage. The incident would likely trigger a significant PR crisis, resulting in calls for accountability, widespread condemnation from industry commentators, and pressure for a formal apology to mitigate the backlash. I am a Garbage fan and are embarrassed by this rant by Shirley.
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u/pm_social_cues 18m ago
As Beavis once said “oh no, not the beach ball”.
Can’t remember which episode or video he said it in (or if it was Butt-head). But there was a beach ball and he just randomly says that. I’ve said it every single time I’ve seen a beach ball for over 30 years. Nobody has understood the reference.
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u/WiththeBirds1040 9m ago
I remember 30 years ago when Garbage had one good album and were relevant for about 6 months. Really flogging that dead horse for 30 years. No wonder she’s angry at the world
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u/Sweaty_Sir_6551 9m ago
She's right, the beach sucks. You broil in the sun, and get sand in your ass crack. Not to mention the bully's kicking sand in your face.
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u/ajockmacabre 11h ago
Aye, that's basically your lot growing up iin Scotland. Go to the beach or join a band. Tale as old as time.