A Traralgon performance by Frankston hip hop artist Illy turned sour on Saturday night when a drink container was allegedly thrown onto the stage, hitting the performer in the face.
On his Facebook page yesterday, Illy told of how he cut the Inferno Nightclub show short, five songs in.
“Someone threw a glass that hit me about an inch under my eye,” the post stated.
Apologising to the 500 fans who attended, he said there had to be “zero tolerance” for that sort of behaviour.
“We’re on stage to smash, but not at the expense of personal safety. If that hit me square in the eye and broke, who knows? It wasn’t far off.
“It takes a lot for me to not put you guys first, but this was one of those times. In fact, it’s the first time in my music career.”
Illy stressed the incident did not reflect badly on the rest of the town.
“Traralgon I’ve got bulk love for you,” he said, vowing to reschedule the show at no extra cost.
Inferno nightclub owner Andrew Panayiotou said the venue was negotiating with Illy’s agent for some sort of compensation for fans. He said staff were using CCTV footage and the venue’s ID scanner to identify the perpetrator and would then hand the information over to police.
Mr Panayiotou said the person would then be banned from the venue indefinitely.
“That sort of person is not allowed in our venue anymore. There were 499 fans there that love this artist and this person just spoiled it for everybody,” he said.
Mr Panayiotou said the container was a plastic cup and described Illy’s injury as a small cut.
“I went out the back and made sure he was okay. He was pretty upset. We got the first aid kit.”
According to Traralgon police this morning, the incident had not yet been officially reported.
