'Bump of Chicken' groupies crash through concert floor
SAKURA, Chiba -- Fans jumping in unison at a concert here caused the floor of the concert hall to collapse, it has been learned.
The accident occurred during a live performance of the popular rock band "Bump of Chicken" at the Sakura civic gymnasium on May 29. The performance was temporarily suspended, but no one was injured so the show went on.
Officials said the collapse appeared to have occurred after fans jumped up and down in time with the music.
City officials said the live concert was held free to mark the 50th anniversary of the city's organization. A total of about 4,900 people gathered for the concert.
The collapse occurred about 15 minutes after the performance started. An area about 10 meters away from the stage gradually caved in by up to 30 centimeters as people were jumping.
The city took emergency measures to support the floor after the collapse. Officials said metal support poles under the floor were bent, adding that they would spend about 31 million yen to correct the damage. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, June 18, 2004)
4 years of studying Japanese has left with me a healthy fear of all things involving Japanese pop culture and/or music. Unless it's Bomb Factory. It's okay to like them.
I would stay away from them, Ben. Just on principle.
