In the case of Daphne and Celeste at Reading, I like to think of it as “liquid criticism”.
(Got to love the banner right at the start of that clip, too 
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Heh, I was going to post this video, too – it must rank up there with the great moments of badassery in rock. The crowd gets pissed at the thrower, but you’d think that in such a small space with so many people, somebody would have spotted who did it and commenced a beating.
Well let’s see.
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The greater the number of people, the greater the probability of assholes. It’s just basic arithmetic here.
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For some people, they simply want the attention. Good or bad matters not. This is the same mentality that compels a certain breed of dipshits to run out onto the stadium during sporting events.
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Others simply want to play the “what happens next?” game. What will happen if I throw a bottle onto the stage? What happens if I hit someone? What will the performer’s reaction be? Unfortunately there really is only one way to truly find out.
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Voicing one’s displeasure. Simply booing a performer probably won’t get the job done. For some this leads to an alternate course of action.
Now take any of these scenarios and add massive consumption of booze to the equation and question = answered.
I know people have thrown bras and underwear at Jeff Tweedy. He always chastises them gently, “Thank you, but I’m married.” and tosses them back to the crowd.
Many years ago (around 1987, I’d guess) I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The venue has/had mostly bleacher style seats, and someone had passed out some seat cushions for the show (either free or dirt cheap). During the encore, someone threw one down on the stage like a frisbee, then someone else. Within 20-30 seconds, it was raining seat cushions. I was down pretty close, and I remember this kind of bemused look on Stevie’s face as he looked over at one of his band mates and shook his head.
To be capable of throwing something at the stage, you have to be such an asshole that any other reason, excuse or justification pales in comparison.
Who is the frontman most prone to throwing shit back when pelted with something from the crowd? I seem to remember that Sebastian Bach got in trouble for throwing a bottle back into the crowd.
FWIW, I’ve tried to avoid saying “throwing shit at bands” in this thread lest someone make a terrible pun with it, but that reminds me that someone once did throw an actual piece of shit at Twisted Sister:
*There’s that famous story that Dee told about Donnington in our episode of “Behind the Music.” We had a Scottish roadie working for us and he said, “Hey man, somebody threw a piece of shite on the stage!” And we didn’t know what he meant. “A shite, man! A shite!” So we asked him, “What’s a shite?” So he said, “A SHIT, man! Somebody threw a piece of SHIT!”
So Dee made that great comment about, “How much do you have to hate a band to throw shit at them? And when you do, where do you get it from? Do you ask your friend to pile one in your hand? Or do you do it yourself?” But that’s Donnington for you, they always throw stuff at the stage.*
Hilarious!
What strikes me is that this was probably planned out, which makes it even more bizarre since the perpetrator paid for a ticket to see the show.
That’s what I’ve always found weird about the whole throwing stuff thing. You pay money to hurl something at a band which, in turn, will no doubt result in your ass getting kicked or you being removed from the show. You’re basically paying someone to kick your ass. I’ve never understood it.
As for Dee’s comment, the actual clip from the episode of Behind the Music was priceless. Something like:
“where did he get the shit? Did he find it on the ground? Did he make it himself?! And, if he did make it himself, how pissed off do you have to be to take a shit and then pick it up, steaming hot, and hurl it at a band?”
The wisdom of Dee Snyder.