It’s been more than a decade since Puddle of Mudd were putting out hit after hit on mainstream rock radio, but somehow we can always count on singer Wes Scantlin for a good headline every six months or so. In his latest onstage meltdown, the frontman seemed to barely get the words out to the band’s hits, complained that the lighting is blinding him, and abruptly ended the show after just four songs.
Scantlin has been a fixture on TMZ for the past several years due in large part to a number of run-ins with the law. Highlights include such classics as forcing a bomb squad to come out when he seemingly rigged up his car with detonators, and the time he took a ride on the luggage conveyor belt at the Denver Airport.
During Puddle of Mudd’s show at the EPIC Event Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday night (November 20th), Scantlin covered his face as he repeatedly complained about the lighting. “I don’t know why the lights have to be blinding me for this whole show. Now I can see all you people. But if you guys were standing up here where I’m at right now, it’s like a f**king flashlight blinking in your f**king head, and I don’t think that’s f**king cool, really.”
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At one point he appeared to address the venue’s lighting technician, exclaiming, “Sounds like a f**king motherf**king idiot to me. F**k you, motherf**ker. Out of nowhere, here’s another f**king douchebag f**k. I’ve got a flashlight too, motherf**ker.” (Save those poetic words for lyrics to a new song, Wes!)
Fan-filmed footage also shows Scantlin slurring his lyrics and almost talking through the songs instead of singing them. After the fourth tune, the frontman abruptly walked off the stage.
We have some guesses as to what led to Scantlin’s erratic behavior, but maybe the singer was just kept up too late by groupies, which he recently used as an excuse for his poor vocal performances.
Scantlin’s newest meltdown comes after a bizarre interview earlier this year in which he freestyle rapped in the middle of the conversation and claimed he’d contracted COVID-19 three times. He also said he hopes that Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst (who helped discover Puddle of Mudd) makes a movie about him.
Things were actually looking up for Scantlin and Puddle of Mudd a couple years ago when they scored a Top 10 rock hit with their comeback single “Uh Oh” in 2019. But it appears the singer is still dealing with some personal issues.
Watch footage from Puddle of Mudd’s show in Green Bay below.
