An estimated six to eight concertgoers were injured by a falling ceiling tile during Dada Life [15]’s Westcott Theater [16] performance early this morning.
The ceiling tile came loose and fell on part of the crowd towards the end of the electro-house duo’s set. At least three injured attendees arrived at Upstate University Hospital [17], where they were treated and released.
Broadcast journalism senior Richie Calabro, one of the injured, suffered multiple cuts to his head and required staples.
Concert attendee Allie Baynes tweeted, “The roof literally just came down at the Westcott and knocked a kid out” from the show at the time of the incident. She followed that tweet with a picture [18] of the plaster chunks left behind from the shattered tile, alongside a shot of the damaged Westcott ceiling.
Shortly after finishing the show, Dada Life tweeted from their official account, "We literally brought the roof down, so they shut us down early and we didn't have time to play 'Feed The Dada.' Hope everyone is OK!"
Initially slated to open for superstar DJ Tiesto [19] at the OnCenter [20] last night, Dada Life’s Westcott Theater performance was scheduled after Tiesto postponed his show due to a back injury.
Inspectors from the city of Syracuse and the local fire department inspected the Westcott Theater this morning. The venue is currently waiting on word on when the theater can reopen. Dubstep artist Datsik [21] is scheduled to perform at the venue tonight, with Indie pop duo Matt & Kim [22] planned to perform on Thursday.
The Westcott Theater has released the following information addressing the incident via their Facebook page [23]:
"As many may have heard, last night a drop ceiling tile on the right side of the venue came down during the concert. We at the Westcott Theater pride ourselves on providing a safe environment for all our patrons to enjoy live music and are truly sorry that something like this had to happen at one of our events. We hope that any patrons affected are okay. The theater is a leased 100 year old building, and with that comes unforeseen issues that we are working to remedy immediately. The safety of our patrons, artists and staff has always been a top priority and we are working closely with the Syracuse Fire Department, the codes Department and a structural engineer to ensure that the area under the drop ceiling is safe to continue to conduct business. Please check out our Facebook page throughout the day as we'll be posting updates about the status of tonight's show."
