Multiple magnesium flares went off in the crowd at Soundwave 2013 in Sydney on Sunday, injuring at least one festival-goer. According to MusicFeeds, a fan lit at least one flare during Metallica’s set at the fest, and the same fan might have lit at least two flares during an earlier set by British metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon. However, a promoter’s claim that a young woman hurt by one of the flares was “disfigured” turns out to be false, according to what appears to be the woman’s Tumblr (via FasterLouder), so a healthy skepticism is warranted until we see some kind of official report.
Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah says the “moron” who lit the flares will be handed over to the police. “There were 75,000 people at what was a great show,” Maddah told the Age. “It took one dickhead to ruin the day for everyone. Thanks to smartphones, we’ve had at least a dozen people send us photos of this moron’s face and his name and details. But just to demonstrate his complete stupidity he’s gone home and bragged about it on Facebook.”
Instagram user Stereodan has posted a dramatic photo of one of the flares Sunday — in accordance with his “all rights reserved” wishes, check out the image here. Check out YouTube footage from a second flare during the Bring Me the Horizon set below. Twitter user @DanielTome tweeted, “Some idiot just lighted a flare during Metallica #soundwave he got hosed down.”
The close call with disaster is startling considering the pyrotechnics-caused fire that consumed a Brazil nightclub happened just last January. The anniversary just passed of the terrible fire that killed one hundred people during hair-metal band Great White’s February 20, 2003, show at the Station in Warwick, Rhode Island (see Horror Show: A Close Look at the Decade’s Live-Music Tragedies).
It’s a huge relief that one guy’s foolish love of pyrotechnics didn’t cause worse injuries at Soundwave.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LYJCs0NU8w0%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_detailpage
