Stage falls: They happen to even the best rockers out there.
Sometimes, they’re hilarious. However, there are times when a tumble will literally have you scream, “OH, SH*T!” out loud.
A great example of this happened to Tom Morello during Rage Against The Machine’s July 23, 2022 show in Toronto. The guitarist took a nasty spill from the stage, but the incident wasn’t really his fault. A fan ran up on the stage, and when security tackled the fan, Morello was taken out in the process. Singer Zack de la Rocha briefly stopped the show to make sure his bandmate was okay. Fortunately, Morello popped back up and was clearly not fazed. He then proceeded to whip the crowd up into a frenzy. After all, this was a Rage show.
Among the stage falls that can be classified as “funny” is this one from Kirk Hammett during a May 2019 Metallica show in Milan. Mid-solo on “Moth Into Flame,” Hammett slips on his Wah Wah pedal due to heavy rain that was passing through. He wrote in an Instagram post showing the slip, “It rained so much I felt like I was playing guitar in the shower.” (Side note: Please never play your guitar in the shower! It seems like a terrible idea. However, peep Hammett’s “guitar face” just before slipping on his Wah Wah pedal. Dude was feeling it during that solo!)
And then, there’s Steven Tyler. The Aerosmith frontman has fallen off the stage a lot in his storied career. One of the worst times occurred in 2009 when Aerosmith played Sturgis. In the clip below, you can see Tyler walking toward the end of a catwalk and bust a few of his trademark moves before falling of the catwalk, much to the shock of the crowd.
Per Rolling Stone, Tyler was then airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for head, neck and shoulder injuries. Understandably, the show was cut short. After all, it’s kind of difficult to do an Aerosmith show without the Demon of Screamin’.
Rolling Stone noted that during this 2009 Aerosmith tour, Tyler injured his hamstring two months before the Sturgis incident, which resulted in seven shows being postponed. Also, guitarist Brad Whitford missed a significant chunk of that 2009 Aerosmith tour after he needed surgery for bumping his head while getting out of his Ferrari. (Rock star problems, amiright?)
Without further ado, here’s a look back at some of the nastiest stage falls over the years, ranging from funny to painful.
