On Wednesday August 12, 2015, three people were injured at a Theory Of A Deadman concert, when a portion of the venue’s ceiling came crashing down.
The incident occurred during the band’s concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at concert at the First Avenue club, according to the local ABC affiliate KSTP. Fire officials say that a section of the ceiling – approximately 30 feet by 30 feet – collapsed over the venue’s balcony and DJ booth that’s located near the back of the dance floor. The ceiling started coming down onto the crowd while Theory Of A Deadman was onstage, at about 10 p.m., and it “sent the band running from the stage and forced the evacuation of about 750 fans,” according to Blabbermouth.
Two of the three people that were injured when the ceiling came down were transported to local hospitals, and are said to be in “satisfactory condition” with non-life threating injuries, according to NME and Blabbermouth.
After the fans and the band were evacuated from the scene, the cause of the collapse was possibly traced to a leaky pipe, according to Blabbermouth, who cite KSTP.
Venue general manager Nate Kranz has made statements that appear to back up this possible cause of the collapse. Stereogum reports that he said, “A large portion of the ceiling fell and took out water pipes with it. We have no idea why or how it happened. We won’t know anything about this until tomorrow. It was a terrible surprise.”
Take a look at the KSTP coverage of this collapse, including footage from inside the club as the ceiling fell, below.
First Avenue opened as a music venue in 1970, and is famous for being the location where Prince filmed the music video for “Purple Rain,” according to NME.
Blabbermouth reports that the band issued the following statement, after the collapse. It reads:
“As some of you may be aware or may have witnessed, there was a partial ceiling collapse during our show last night at the First Avenue music venue in Minneapolis. At this time, we have been provided no details as to the cause of the collapse.”
“As with all of our shows, our primary concern is for the safety of all involved; our fans, our crew, the venue staff and anyone and everyone else who may be in attendance. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who may have been injured or otherwise adversely affected by this unfortunate incident.”
“Our sincerest thanks go out to the First Avenue staff, the Minneapolis Fire Department, the paramedics and all the other wonderful people who lent their swift assistance in helping others during the aftermath. We wish the injured a full and speedy recovery. We wish First Avenue a quick turnaround in re-opening the doors of their legendary venue.”
“We look to returning to Minneapolis as soon as possible to play for our amazing friends and fans.”
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