Editor’s note: The videos included in this article contain profanity.
The Illinois State Fair kicked off recently in Springfield, with a series of concerts scheduled at the Grandstand stage.
A performance over the weekend turned some heads on social media. Fans filmed Matchbox Twenty singer Rob Thomas hitting the band’s guitarist in the head with a mic stand.
Rob Thomas hits Matchbox Twenty member with mic stand
A video shared on Facebook shows Thomas swinging the mic stand in a circle over his head during one of the band’s songs, throwing it off to the side before continuing to sing.
While swinging the mic stand, Thomas whacked guitarist Paul Doucette in the back of the head without noticing, causing Doucette to crouch down and make his way off stage.
Later, clips show Thomas playfully addressing the incident during a brief intermission, saying, “Every night I’m over here and I’m throwing this (expletive) thing around. Oh it went, it nailed him. … My best friend in the world and I think I almost killed him and I feel really bad about this.”
Doucette returned to the stage to widespread applause with a drink in his hand, jokingly saying into the microphone, “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you not to throw that (expletive) thing. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
The two then agreed that Doucette should return to the back of the stage and stay out of the “danger zone” for future performances.
Paul Doucette addresses mic stand accident on social media
Later Sunday evening, the guitarist shared a playful video on social media appearing to show someone plucking pieces of the guitarist’s in-ear monitor out of his ear on the band’s tour bus.
“Here’s what’s happening right now,” Doucette says in the video. “Rob took me the (expletive) out with swinging the (expletive) mic stand during that show. And I have bits of my innards, which he (expletive) smashed in my ear, that are now in my ear.
The video shows a final piece being pulled out of the guitarist’s ear, prompting Doucette to say, “(Expletive) Rob.”
Thomas joined in on the fun by sharing a video on Instagram with the caption, “After 30 years of mic swinging, Rob claimed his first victim.”
The video includes various clips of the accident from different angles interspersed with parts of Doucette’s reaction video.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘I feel really bad about this’: Singer addresses accident at Illinois fair
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Hudnall, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
