The band was amazing that
night but what I remember most was what happened before they took the
stage. This must have been the first "punk"
show at Roseland because they seemed unprepared for the crowd (unlike
the goons at other venues).
The stage was only about
three or four feet high so as the crowd pressed against it many people,
including myself, were pushed onto the stage which resulted in
the stage collapsing on one side, bringing down part of the lighting
rig. My friend Cindy, who was next to me, was suddenly gone.
Someone came on stage and
threatened to cancel the show, but after a long wait, during
which I managed to get back into the audience, Keith
walked onto the tilted stage and played solo for what seemed like a
long time before Johnny joined him for a great show.
Halfway through the show
I saw my friend Cindy watching from backstage - she had crawled under
the stage and wound up talking her way out of being thrown
out of the backstage area.
Also… the soundcheck
for this gig is on youtube (filmed for Channel 5 News).
I thought I might be crazy for remembering that the lighting rig fell,
but the soundcheck video shows that the lighting, which consisted
of two panels of white light behind and above the stage, along with
conventional theatre lighting was connected to the stage.
Stephen Brown |