WEEZER's scheduled performance tonight at Boston's Agganis Arena is "not happening," according to a LiveNation press release. No further details were immediately available about refunds or a rescheduled date; it appears the band has cancelled all of its December dates. (Update: the show has been officially "postponed," but no replacement date has been announced; refunds are available at point of purchase.)
Weezer frontman RIVERS CUOMO was taken by ambulance to an upstate New York hospital yesterday morning with cracked ribs and "mostly minor but very painful" internal injuries, after his tour bus struck an icy patch, plowed through a guard rail, and skidded off the road into a ditch, while en route to the Boston show.
Today at 7:18 AM EST, about 40 miles West of Albany on I-90, the weezer
tour bus carrying Rivers and his family and assistants lost control as
it hit a patch of black ice. The driver employed every ounce of skill
he had in fighting to keep the bus upright, as the vehicle violently
fishtailed over the highway. And while the bus did indeed go off the
road, plunging about 8-10 vertical feet into a muddy ravine off to the
right of the Thruway thus coming to a very abrupt stop, it did not flip
or roll, despite having plowed right over a guardrail, flattening it.
Kudos to the driver for somehow keeping things as level as they could
be - surely this story would have been far more tragic if not for his
actions.
Nonetheless the damage was severe, and everyone on the
bus was either terrified or injured or both. The bus contained Rivers,
his wife and daughter, their nanny, and Rivers' assistant Sarah. Both
Sarah and Rivers' wife were pitched out of their upper level bunks onto
the floor 5 feet below. Somehow Rivers' wife was uninjured, but Sarah
sustained 2 fractured ribs and a fractured lower vertebrae. The baby
daughter was in her crib unit and was fine, as was the nanny who was
sleeping near the floor in her bunk at the time. However in the back
lounge, Rivers was tossed around violently, waking up as he landed back
on his mattress. He recalled not hitting anything, but later we learned
that he must have, as he cracked 3 ribs and sustained some mostly minor
but very painful internal damage, as well as hurting his lower leg
somehow.
The interior of the bus was a chaotic mess with broken
glass, smashed glasses and plates, food and clothing items strewn
everywhere, as well as the refrigerator flying off the wall and many
drawers coming right out of their slots, spewing their contents
everywhere. On top of it the sliding interior doors were fused shut and
the bus's electronics were ruined, so no one could get into the back
lounge where Rivers lay immobile and unable to speak due to the pain in
his ribcage. To top it off, the front door was jammed shut with 5 feet
of heavy wet mud up pressed against it so there was no way to leave the
bus.
Finally, using the jaws of life to remove a rear window
bar, the local EMTs and firefighters got a ladder across the ravine to
the rear bus window, where they could get to Rivers, eventually getting
him and Sarah out on stretchers and into an ambulance. Meanwhile they
dug frantically in the mud at the front of the bus, clearing the front
door so everyone else could come out. To access the rest of the bus
from Rivers' lounge, the fused sliding door was destroyed by the
firefighters.
The other buses pulled up within 20 minutes of
the accident, and already a long line of firetrucks and EMT vehicles
were on the scene. I threw on my shoes and walked up just as the jaws
of life were being turned on, catching a glimpse of Rivers lying inside
on his back surrounded by EMTs. I couldnt believe what was happening in
front of me, as Rivers lay so helpless, shivering in the center of the
chaos, and meanwhile the sun was coming up and revealing an utterly
beautiful light covering of snow on the surrounding trees. I dont know
how to describe the wave of awfulness that gripped me as I watched, but
adrenalin took over and the next thing I knew I was in the passenger
seat of an ambulance transporting Rivers and Sarah to the hospital in
Amsterdam, NY, about 10 miles from there. That adrenalin would sustain
me all day, as everyone's did, from family to band to crew - everyone
pitched in to help however they could all day as things unfolded.
Fast
forward to now - Sarah was discharged, a 3-4 week period of extreme
pain awaiting her as she heals from her injuries the only way possible,
with time and gritted teeth. Rivers was transported to a larger area
hospital where he remains under observation. He is resting about as
comfortably as could be expected now, and we were relieved to hear that
surgery is unlikely. Hopefully tomorrow the docs will have more info.
You don't fool around with internal injury. Whatever happens, we forsee
some gritted teeth in his future too.
We are sorry to say that
the rest of the December Raditude Tour has been cancelled - when we can
reschedule the dates we will, of course. I have no ticket or refund or
whatever info at this time, but stay tuned to this site and the
ticketing websites for more info. For now its a waiting game for all of
us. Thanks for your kind thoughts and good wishes, we need them!