The Boston Pops kicked off its new season with a bang — and perhaps a pow! and a boom! — Wednesday night, after a barroom-type brawl interrupted the music concert.
A knock-down, all-out fight broke out between two men seated in the balcony section of Boston's Symphony Hall, halting a performance of a musical medley from the film Gigi by the orchestra and its special guest, singer-songwriter Ben Folds.
According to witness reports, the audience was first alerted to the kerfuffle by a loud scream.
At that point, conductor Keith Lockhart reportedly looked up at the balcony but continued to lead the orchestra. He paused, however, when the two brawling men began knocking over chairs and a second, louder scream rang out.
Several local television stations, which had sent cameras to record footage of the season opener, caught the fight on film.
Lockhart briefly stopped the performance as ushers and police officers working security for the concert broke up the fight and escorted the two men — including one whose shirt was torn open in the violent struggle — off the property.
