The Flaming Lips have brought down the house – quite literally. Barely three weeks after a stage collapse which saw audience members and the band Cheap Trick cheat death in Canada this time it’s been the Flaming Lips’ turn to count their blessings. The band were playing a gig at the Tulsa Brady Block Party in their home state of Oklahoma on Sunday Australian time when after a day of temperatures in the high 30s, suddenly a huge wind and rain storm lashed the city. As the band were about to take the stage, roadies immediately cut the electricity and watched in horror as the band’s video projection screen crashed down. As the band attempted to cover their gear and flee to safety, the audience also fled.
Bassist Michael Ivins, speaking to Rolling Stone the next morning, said “We were all on stage thinking, ‘What are we actually going to do, here?’ It was just pouring down rain. Then the screen started moving. There wasn’t a lot of space between the screen and an eight-foot drop. I basically had to leap over one of the legs [of the screen] to get out of the way. It was definitely pretty crazy.” Miraculously no-one was hurt in the incident, which the band’s management blamed on a freak weather occurrence rather than incompetence or poor safety precautions.
Check out the dramatic footage here
