Brittany Hickman will remember her trip to a Steve Aoki show three years ago in San Diego’s Hard Rock Hotel for all the wrong reasons. During the show, the DJ jumped 20ft from the venue rafters on to an inflatable life-raft in the audience and proceeded to crowdsurf.
Unfortunately for Hickman, she was underneath the raft and was allegedly knocked unconscious by the falling DJ. She ended up with a broken neck and is now suing Aoki and the venue for damages, with the case going to trial in August.
Other cases taken by fans have often been for less physical reasons. Back in 2003, a group of Limp Bizkit fans sued the band after Fred Durst and co quit the stage 20 minutes into a show in Stickney, Illinois. Similarly, a couple of fans of grunge band Creed sought a refund after what they claimed was a drunken or drug-impaired performance by singer Scott Stapp in 2002. The judge rejected their case, but did say the fans had a possible case for “frustration of commercial expectations”.
There are sure to be many Irish fans who’ve been frustrated (to put it mildly) over the past few years after shows by Cat Stevens/Yusaf Islam (Dublin O2, 2009); Guns N’ Roses (Dublin O2, 2010); and Neil Young (Dublin RDS, 2013) who might wish they could seek similar recourse to the law. Now, that would make for an interesting few days in the courtroom before a judge.
