There were embarrassed looks and much apologising backstage at a Matchbox Twenty gig on Sunday night after frontman Rob Thomas accidentally clobbered one of his bandmates.
The incident happened at the Illinois State Fair on Sunday night. Thomas was – as he does – swinging his mic stand around when he let go, and it hit his colleague Paul Doucette in the head. Footage from the concert shows the multi-instrumentalist, who was playing guitar at the time, having to leave the stage to seek assistance.
Needless to say, Thomas was mortified, telling the crowd: “Every night I’m over here, and I’m throwing this Goddamn thing around. It nailed him. It nailed him hard. My best friend in the world, and I think I almost killed him, and I feel really bad about this.”
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“By the way, it felt like a really good idea right up until now,” he added, “I feel like an ass.”
After a short interlude, Doucette returned to the stage clutching what looked like a glass of wine, and jokingly said: “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you about swinging that f***ing thing. I knew it was only a matter of time. It’s been 30 years. Now, admittedly I’ve been in the back [meaning on the drums] for the first half of that and maybe I’ve gotta go back there because obviously it’s safer.”
Thomas then promised, “I think I know one thing I’m gonna stop doing.” Footage taken from later on in the gig shows the singer apologising once more to Doucette, saying: “I’m so sorry. I’m gonna keep apologising to you, like, all month.”
Doucette was clearly unhappy at the incident. Later on he posted a video to Instagram that shows him on the band’s tour bus with people examining his ear, using tweezers and the flashlight from a phone.
Doucette can be heard saying: “So here’s what’s happening right now, Rob took me the f*** out with his swinging the f***ing mic stand during that show, and I have bits of my in-ears – which he f***n’ smashed – in my ear,” Doucette said as someone removed a fragment from his ear. “Oh, I f***ing feel that. That is not fun. That is not fun. Please don’t move the bus.”
After the broken in ear piece was removed, Doucette shouted to the camera, “F***in’ Rob!”
