Light Falls During Concert

[Jby007]

By Suzanne Kayian / LiveDaily Contributor

official link
Styx, REO Speedwagon concert sidelined by falling stage lights >> LiveDaily


Styx and REO Speedwagon canceled their Saturday (5/23) night concert at Konocti Harbor Resort in Northern California after the overhead lighting standard began to fall down during opening act .38 Special first song, according to a Santa Rosa Press Democrat report.

Witnesses said a lighting unit dropped suddenly from the outdoor stage's roofing several seconds into the band's opening set.

Venue officials immediately began to evacuate the stage and called-off the remainder of the show. Konocti president and general manager Greg Bennett told the newspaper that nothing fell to the ground, no one was hurt and the show is being rescheduled.

 

[derekleffew]

The following account, from Lighting standard drops, concert canceled at Konocti | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA, seems to indicate a chain hoist failure.

A drop in the overhead lighting standard canceled the second night of a three-day summer kick-off concert event at Konocti Harbor Resort on Saturday night.
<style>.art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; </style>
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A worker scrambles up the lighting standard to try and dtermine what caused it to drop during the opening moments of a Saturday night concert. MIKE WHITTON

"They just started jamming and it just started to fall down,” said concert-goer Norma Hodges. “It was going to be a good [concert].”
Witnesses said a lighting unit dropped suddenly from the outdoor stage’s roofing several seconds into the performance by .38 Special, the first act, first song.
“Bam! The left side of the roof collapsed six or seven feet,” said Mike Whitton who attended the concert with his wife. “They immediately began to evacuate everyone.”
Groups Reo Speedwagon and Styx were also to perform but never took the stage, witnesses said.
Greg Bennett, Konocti president and general manager of Konocti, said the show was canceled because of a roofing issue.
Nothing fell to the ground, he said, and the show is being rescheduled.
Whitton said the roof was still precariously hanging as crew members attempted to replace a defective electric motor. But that could not be confirmed.

 

[waynehoskins]

I'm no expert, but that looks not good.

 

[NickJones]

Heads up....

 

[SAWYeR]

Fail rigging is fail...

 

[al9]

Timbeeeerrr!!!

 

[BillESC]

Correct me if I'm seeing things but the up right section of scaffold seems to be out of whack.

 

[mrb]

I love when reporters write about something they have no idea of, and use random words that sound appropriate to them....

what the heck is a "overhead lighting standard" ?

 

[MSLD]

Not again!!!

 

[fredthe]

That looks like whatever was holding up that corner of the roofing structure (actually part of the venue, not specific to the concert) is what failed.

-Fred

 

[taylortheatrical]

Sorry I'm late for the party but I just joined, word around SFO is a chain broke. Not sure who the vendor is rumor has it they are having trouble finding riggers for fear of substandard gear.

 

[Derrick]

By way of Styx's LD. She indicated a chain did indeed break. The roof structure was raised with the chain hoists and instead of dogging off the structure by pins, the hoists were left to support the total weight. Said chain was rated at 5 tons. Don't think it (the chain and hoist) was suppose to hold roof, rigging, truss and lights altogether.

Good thing no one got hurt!

 

[VanJohnson112]

Someone is in trouble...