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Dave Mustaine Shuts Down Disrespectful Fan During Chris Cornell Tribute

By Victoria Miller
Published on: 07:38 PST, May 21, 2017

Dave Mustaine is mourning the death of his close friend, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. The 52-year-old Soundgarden and Audioslave singer was found dead in a Detroit hotel room last week and his death was ruled a suicide. A few hours after news of Cornell’s sudden death was announced, Mustaine paid tribute to his late friend during the encore of a Megadeth Dystopia World Tour concert in Tokyo, Japan. But Dave Mustaine’s poignant tribute was interrupted by a heckler who had some not-so-nice things to say about Soundgarden, according to Guitar World.

For the encore during the Tokyo show, an emotional Dave Mustaine told fans he wanted to take a moment to remember Cornell.

“Chris Cornell from Soundgarden died today,” Mustaine told the audience.

“When I found out, I was so, so sad.”

At that point, someone in the audience shouted out something about Cornell’s band, Soundgarden. A clearly agitated Mustaine repeatedly asked the fan what he said.

“You, what did you say?” Dave asked as he pointed at the audience member. When the fan repeated what he said, Mustaine told him, “Don’t be uncool.” Dave then told the fan to “shut the [expletive] up, a**hole.”

Mustaine went on to describe the late Chris Cornell as a friend of his, “a friend to all of us.”

“We have lost one of the most beautiful voices in rock history, and I don’t even know what to say other than that we’re going to dedicate this next song to you, our friends in Tokyo, because we’re here with you and we want to celebrate Chris’ life,” Dave said to the crowd.

Dave Mustaine warned the audience that he can’t sing at all like Cornell, but that he was going to try to perform one of his songs, the Soundgarden classic “Outshined,” as a tribute to him.

“I love you, Chris. I’ll see you one day in heaven, buddy,” Mustaine said before he began the song. You can see the video of Dave’s tribute at the end of this article.

https://www.facebook.com/Soundgarden/photos/a.496741280599.301895.271730225599/10152584727470600/?type=1&theater

While it is unclear exactly what the concertgoer said that got Dave Mustaine so upset, the thrash metal legend later responded to fans on social media who asked about the incident. Dave confirmed that the fan said something inappropriate about Soundgarden and that he didn’t want to repeat it. Dave also made it clear that he could understand what the heckler said because the guy wasn’t Japanese.

In a separate tweet, Mustaine admitted that his rendition of Soundgarden’s 1991 single, “Outshined,” was “pretty bad,” but he said he had to pay his respects to his friend in some way. Dave thanked a fan who praised his performance and for keeping calm in his delivery to the crowd, adding that he “could have done better, but it also could have been worse from what the guy said.”

Dave Mustaine is one of many rock stars and bands that paid tribute to Cornell in the days following his sudden and unexpected death. In addition to Mustaine, Heart singer Ann Wilson performed the song “Black Hole Sun” on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Ryan Adams performed the same Soundgarden classic in concert in Auckland, New Zealand. Linkin Park dedicated one of their songs,” One More Light,” to the late grunge singer, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed Cornell’s solo song, “Seasons,” at a show in Indianapolis. And Cornell’s friend and fellow Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello wrote a poem for the late star and posted it on Instagram.

Take a look at Dave Mustaine’s tribute to Chris Cornell in the video below.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA]

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