Music

Ceiling collapse at Theory of a Deadman show injures three

by Jeremy Mersereau

Three people were injured last night after part of the ceiling collapsed during a show at First Avenue, the iconic Minneapolis venue featured heavily in Prince’s 1984 movie Purple Rain. “Damn, a band rocked so hard they demolished the Purple Rain club? Surely it been have been some exemplar of rock like AC/DC, or at least someone thematically appropriate like Morris Day and the Time,” I hear you thinking. Close! It was Theory of a Deadman!

The BC rockers were midway through their headlining set when a 30-by-30 foot section of the ceiling gave way and fell onto the DJ booth and the rear section of the dance floor around 10 p.m. The show was immediately stopped by venue staff and the 1000 or so fans were evacuated by the fire department and paramedics, with two of the three injured being taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

“We have no idea why or how it happened. It was a terrible surprise,” First Avenue general manager Nate Kranz told the Minneapolis Star Tribune (presumably speaking on the collapse, not on how Theory of a Deadman was booked). Kranz said the club will be closed today as inspectors assess the damage and the cause of the collapse, and that he hopes shows can resume as normal promptly, especially since R&B megastar Miguel is scheduled to play a sold-out show at First Avenue on Saturday. Hopefully that will go on as planned and Miguel can rein in his own destructive tendencies.

Local band 3 Pill Morning were in the audience after their opening set, and caught the collapse on video, which they promptly uploaded to their Instagram:

Theory of a Deadman has since issued a statement on the incident:

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.

Stay safe out there, Theory of a Deadman fans, lest theory turn into fact at the next show.