Disturbed’s Mike Wengren Denies Claims of Pyro Damaging Chicago Bulls Championship Banners

Disturbed drummer Mike Wengren has refuted recent reports that the band’s pyro display damaged six Chicago Bulls championship banners during their March 8th show at the United Center in Chicago, IL. The Chicago Tribune previously linked the damage to the band’s performance, stating the banners would be removed for repairs.

Speaking with MetalUniverse.net (transcribed by Blabbermouth.net), Wengren dismissed the allegations:

“That’s actually false. One of the stagehands ran with the story, and now it’s turned into something… We didn’t burn anything. If you think about the size of it, even if you watch the show tonight, you’ll see how high it is. We have extensive pyro and the flames are very high, but it gets tested every day. The fire marshals look at it… Everybody looks [at it] before [the concert] during the day. There’s no way we could come even close to the banners. So it’s bullshit.”

He further expressed frustration over the situation:

“On one hand, the fan perspective is, ‘Wow, their pyro is that incredible, so I’ve gotta see the show,’ so maybe that’s kind of cool. But on the other hand, every building we go into is now nervous about us causing damage to their building.

We’re big sports fans, especially myself. We were at the game last night. We would never be disrespectful to anyone’s building. We are hometown Chicago boys. Why would we desecrate our own team? It’s ridiculous.”

Wengren ultimately dismissed the claims as “fake news.”

Disturbed’s pyro-heavy live performances—particularly during “Inside The Fire”—have previously triggered water sprinkler systems in two separate venues in 2023. The band is now gearing up for the next legs of their 25th-anniversary tour for The Sickness, with the following dates scheduled:

With Daughtry & Nothing More:

03/29 Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
03/31 Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
04/02 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
04/04 Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
04/05 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
04/07 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
04/09 Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
04/12 Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
04/14 Raleigh, NC – Lenovo Center
04/16 Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at The BJCC
04/18 Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
04/23 Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena
04/25 San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
04/26 Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
04/28 Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center
05/05 Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
05/07 Portland, OR – Moda Center
05/09 Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
05/10 San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
05/13 Inglewood, CA – Kia Forum
05/15 Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
05/17 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena

With Megadeth:

09/28 Copenhagen, DEN – Royal ARena
10/01 Dusseldorf, GER – PSD Bank Dome
10/03 Stuttgart, GER – Schleyerhalle
10/04 Zurich, SWI – Hallenstadion
10/06 Budapest, HUN – Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena
10/07 Prague, CZE – O2 Arena
10/10 Krakow, POL – Tauron Arena Krakow
10/12 Paris, FRA – Zenith
10/14 Amsterdam, NET – Ziggo Dome
10/15 Brussels, BEL – Forest National
10/17 Munich, GER – Olympiahalle
10/18 Berlin, GER – Velodrom
10/20 Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham
10/22 Dublin, IRE – 3Arena
10/24 Manchester, UK – AO Arena
10/26 London, UK – The O2
10/28 Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro

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