Continuing our exploration of Cheap Trick fan experiences, here’s news about how, on July 17, at the Ottawa Bluesfest the main stage collapsed during Cheap Trick’s set.
Obviously, watching the YouTube video above is quite an alarming spectacle to behold.
Sure, tornadoes and high winds can rip down a stage in a matter of seconds. But we’re wondering what else contributed to this traumatic incident?
And according to this Pollstar article, here’s a few reasons why the stage collapsed as Bluesfest. The responses come from Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan and Stéphane Berger of Groupe Berger / Mega-Stage, the company who owned the stage, each answer a few questions about the incident.
“Honestly, what we’ve been told, it was a very unusual situation,” Monahan said. “The fact that [the storm] brought that stage down and nothing else came down in the park is just a freak situation.”
This isn’t the first time Mega-Stage has had issues with a stage, however. One of the company’s smaller stages collapsed during a comedy festival in Quebec City in 2009.Berger said that collapse was linked to defects from a third-party manufacturer, and added that in his 35 years in the business, it was the first time anything like that had happened.
“This was a defective component from a chain manufacturer,” he said. “We got certified chains and the chains broke.”A provincial workplace safety commission cleared the company of wrongdoing following an investigation into the Quebec incident.
“We hereby can confirm that Groupe Berger has taken all necessary precaution to avoid any undesirable incident and to assure public safety,” the commission wrote. “It is the hoist mechanism itself, despite the fact that is was certified by the manufacturer, that should be blamed for the incident.”
Will Concert Stages Survive the Summer?
Considering this Cheap Trick stage collapse and what happened at Rihanna’s Dallas concert, it’s been quite a crazy summer for stages so far. And we hope the stages, artists and fans can make it through the summer safe and sound without any more fires or collapses.
Were You There?
Were you at Ottawa Bluesfest? Have you witnessed a crazy and traumatic event at a show before? We invite you to share your concert experiences in the comments below, so they can be included in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.