Music Times was on hand at Governors Ball this weekend when Slim Jimmy of Rae Sremmurd fell off of a speaker and injured his leg, reportedly involving a "big ass piece of glass" stuck in his leg, based on his microphone reports from behind the stage, where he was being treated. The emcee took to the injury rather well, not returning to the stage but calling for anyone in the crowd who captured the incident on camera to "post that sh*t on Instagram." The good news is that the paramedics on the scene were able to patch Jimmy up well before taking him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared to be in stable condition. The hip-hop duo isn't expecting to miss any time on the road as a result. It wasn't the first incident involving onstage injuries during 2015. Here are five other mishaps, from Enrique Iglesias to Britney Spears, ranked from least to most frightening.
05) David Lee Roth (March 31)
Jimmy Kimmel Live spent a lot of money to bring in Van Halen for a live performance during March, needing to close down all of Hollywood Boulevard for the eight-song set...and it all almost came to nought. Roth puts the "show" in showman and he came onstage hot, twirling a lengthy metal rod as the rest of the band warmed up. Suddenly he left stage...not returning as the band played for a minute, confused. Many in the crowd were confused as well, as nothing seemed amiss. The damage would later be shown in slow motion by Kimmel, who pointed out to viewers that the end of the rod had just barely clipped the vocalist's nose, quick but heavy enough to bring forth a stream of blood (which, alas, the crowd didn't get to see). Roth would appear back onstage soon after declaring that "I f*cked my nose up on the microphone here so I'm going to wear the Band-Aid and we're going to start the whole thing over for ya, and we're going to give you a little extra for your patience here." Obviously the damage wasn't too bad, if a Band-Aid was enough to patch things up and prolong the show.
04) Jason Costa (Early May)
Few musical genres evoke performances as intense as those from metal musicians. Those listening to All That Remains expect the drum intensity to be coming from the feet of drummer Jason Costa, based on the band's faster-than-hell bass percussion. It was the action going on aboveground that led to medical emergency for Costa however, as one of his drumsticks snapped during a May show and, by freak accident, flew up and hit him in the mouth. He completed the show and then played few more but eventually he conceded and revealed that he would need to undergo surgery for a cracked crown. He didn't spend too much time away from the band but he did leave his kit for a few gigs with Whitechapel's Ben Harcleroad filling in. Heh, fillings. Teeth joke.
03) Britney Spears (April 29)
Britney Spears has made a heck of a lot of money performing as part of her "Britney: Piece of Me" residency, and the promoters at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas about had a heart attack when they saw the pop star go down onstage during April. We don't give pop stars such as Spears enough credit for the brutality of their live shows: Although the music itself might not be that intense, choreographed dance numbers make these among the most physically-taxing concerts in the business. Spears only made things more difficult by wearing significant heels as part of her costume (we would estimate four inches) and one misstep brought her toppling down. Although the video does make it look just awful, the performer did a quick stint in a boot for ankle support and was able to get back onstage after only canceling two performances. The worst fallout from the incident was to Spears' ego, as she cited "embarrassment" for her first-ever stage fall.
02) Enrique Iglesias (May 31)
If you looked exclusively at photographs without any context, you would probably assume that Enrique Iglesias's injury just more than a week ago was by far the most brutal. Although smiling onstage following the incident, the pop star's white tee was covered in blood, looking as if he had offed someone before coming in to perform. Then again, if you based your judgement on how he reacted to the whole incident, you might assume that his injury was completely mundane, as the performer came back onstage after some quick treatment and finished his Mexican show. What happened? He attempted to grab a drone (being used to project video on the big screens at the concert) for a "selfie" of sorts, but got his fingers caught in the blade...causing the seemingly torrential blood. We relaxed, as did he, but later medical reports would reveal the damage to be much more serious than any of us would have guessed. It was announced later that he had undergone "reconstructive hand surgery" after the accident but it seems he'll be alright to play his next show in Mexico this July.
01) Florence Welch (April 15)
Most people make their Coachella performances worthwhile by bringing surprise guests, but Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine made her first stop at the California music festival relevant by breaking her foot. She hopped down from the stage to get on level with fans—a move popular among performers—however she landed awkwardly and broke her foot in the process. Although it seems much less grotesque than some of the incidents we listed previously, the damage had Welch off her game for nearly two months, forcing her to shorten performances and remain stationary during the second Coachella weekend. It seems that those with tickets to her other big gigs this year—including Lollapalooza and Glastonbury—will be in luck, as she performed without aid at Governors Ball last weekend.
