Woman injured in World Cafe Live stage dive gets $1.4 million
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"A federal judge found that Fishbone's Angelo 'Dr. Madd Vibe' Moore has shown little remorse."
A 46-year-old woman from New Jersey just won a big settlement for having her collarbone broken when the frontman of Fishbone jumped into the crowd from the stage of that well-known hardcore venue World Cafe Live, according to the AP:
A federal judge found that Fishbone's Angelo "Dr. Madd Vibe" Moore has shown little remorse and hasn't stopped stage-diving despite frequent injuries to concert-goers.
Kimberly Myers, of Voorhees, N.J., was injured during a performance at WXPN's World Cafe Live in February 2010. She lost consciousness when she was knocked to the floor, yet the band "continued to perform as if nothing had happened," U.S. District Judge Jan DuBois wrote in Wednesday's ruling.
I can kind of empathize with the band with regards to that "continued to perform as if nothing had happened" statement — there's actually video of that show on YouTube that shows Moore crowdsurfing, and it seems like it would have been really hard for someone onstage to immediately tell that someone was injured.
Moore is very well known for stage-diving, but the lawsuit said that Myers was "not familiar with [Fishbone's] music, stage craft or performances." That plus a Daily News report at the time suggests that she was likely there to see a less stage-divey band at one of the least stage-divey venues in Philly:
Neil Sulkes, general manager of World Cafe Live, said Fishbone was the opening act for another band, The English Beat, and that he's not aware of any performers ever before stage-diving there.
And the issue she had with the venue and booking company (both of whom have already settled) was that she should have been warned.
The fan site fishbone.net had some interesting reactions to the lawsuit's initial filing in 2010:
This is a travesty, I was squashed by Dre on tuesday and it made my year. Getting squashed by Angelo is like being licked by Jesus. This person has no clue what Fishbone is about, to sue. I'm appalled.
The post that went up there this morning with regards to the settlement is simply titled "Well fuck..."
RELATED: This Sunday is the world premiere of metal doc Lamb of God: As the Palaces Burn at the Troc. It is:
... a feature-length documentary that originally sought to follow the band and their fans throughout the world ... However, during the filming process in 2012, the story abruptly took a dramatic turn ... when lead singer Randy Blythe was arrested on charges of manslaughter, blamed for the death of one of their young fans in the Czech Republic.
