Possible Cheap Trick Injury at Ottawa Bluesfest

[Infrasonik B.]

A flash thunderstorm hit Ottawa during the Bluesfest music festival today.

Playing on the main stage during the event was Cheap Trick and the stage collapsed in the wind.

There are currently reports of multiple injuries but no specifications on the band themselves.

I know a lot of you are big Cheap Trick fans so I thought I'd post to give you a heads up.


Here's a link to the only news report I can find at this time (happened just about an hour ago).

Bluesfest stage collapses in storm

Stage collapses at Ottawa Bluesfest - Canada - CBC News




Wishing all the best to the injured and their families.

[Infrasonik B.]

So they apparently made it out alright. How's that for an outdoor gig story!

Bravewords.com > News > CHEAP TRICK Escape Stage Collapse At Ottawa Bluesfest

[Warfender]

So glad they are okay. Bummer deal for them. CT rocks!

[Rocky55]

That is scary as this is one big-a** stage. It hosted Iron Maiden, Rush Keith Urban, etc. last year. I played one of the smaller stages on Wednesday and saw Steve Miller and Blue Rodeo in the last week My girlfriend and I were debating heading there when the storm hit. Since we were on the motorcycle, we opted to stay in. According to local reports, There was 1 person who suffered a broken leg, but no other major injuries. Glad the band and crew made it out safely and that the instruments were saved. I hope they have good insurance for the staging/lighting and P.A.

For those of you outside of Ottawa, this is the biggest festival of the year in our city. 12 days, 6 stages, 200 acts.

[Infrasonik B.]

Originally Posted by Rocky55

Since we were on the motorcycle, we opted to stay in.

We were at the beach with bikes and saw the storm coming in. It was a 130km/h ride home and we luckily go here just in time. I can only imagine being on the highway with winds that fast!

[jmlee]

Apparently three people injured, one relatively seriously. Cheap Trick has a FaceBook site and confirms that none of them were hurt. This is the second stage collapse here in Canada in recent years. The last one was out a the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. That one nearly took out Kevin Costner. (Wait a minute...is that good or bad...)

I'm old enough to remember when Leslie Harvey with Stone the Crows was electrocuted during a rain storm after he touched a mic that wasn't grounded.

Don't screw with Mother Nature.

[gjbassist]

Glad to see no one in the band was hurt. Hope those who were injured recover soon.

One question though, why was Cheap Trick playing at a bluesfest?

[Rocky55]

It started many many years ago as a blues festival but has grown into much more. In recent years, we've seen bands like Rush, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Keith Urban, Blue Rodeo, Tragically Hip, Old Crow Medicine Show, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, the White Stripes, Buddy Guy, Metric, George Thorogood, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, Metric, Van Morrison, Donna Summer, the Black Keys, Joe Cocker, Alexisonfire, the B52s, Joan Jett, The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire, Crowded House, Weezer, plus a whole bunch of smaller touring acts as well as local bands.

Joe Satriani and Deathcab for Cutie were supposed to be on after Cheap Trick. Apparently Satriani was backstage during their show.

It's been a running joke here... I managed to see 2 or 3 blues bands on the 3 or 4 nights I was out this year.

[jaywa]

Really glad the band is OK. Supposedly they were physically thrown into the air by the impact.

The gear is replaceable (even Rick and Tom's vintage axes which hopefully survived... Human lives, not so much.