From the outside looking in, life on the road working alongside an iconic rock star seems like a dream gig.
But it’s not always glamorous – just ask Bruce Springsteen’s tech Kevin Buell. The Boss hit him in the head with a flying guitar after his classic onstage rock star move went wrong.
The incident happened during Brice Springsteen & The E Street Band’s show at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on February 3, according to TMZ.
As the crowd roared with approval while the legendary rockers were ending a song, Springsteen turned around and threw his Fender Telecaster back about 20 to 25 feet to his guitar tech, like he probably had done many over the years.
But, apparently Buell fumbled the catch and it hit him in the head and he then proceeded to stumble and fall on to the floor of the stage, which was just to the left of drummer Max Weinstein.
Scary moment: Bruce Springsteen, 73, accidentally hit his guitar tech in the head when he did the classic rock star axe toss during a show in Atlanta, Georgia on February 3
Band members in that vicinity of the stage, including Weinstein and keyboardist Roy Bittan all looked on with worry for a moment, as did other members in the band did when they took notice of the mishap.
Springsteen quickly walked to the back of the stage to check on Buell, and then put everyone’s worry at ease when he smiled and walked back to his lead microphone, where he joked with the audience: ‘One man down.’
Once that happened that tense moment seemed to lighten up and be back into the joyous celebration that a Springsteen show with the E Street band has become over the decades.
The good news: the roadie, Kevin Buell, didn’t appear to suffer any kind of serious injury, and in fact, he was well enough to perform his duties for The Boss and the Bans’s next concert that was held two days later in Orlando, Florida.
One fan commented that Buell has been working with Springsteen as a guitar tech for over 30 years and counting.
The so-called Springsteen And E Street Band 2023 Tour, which marks the first time since 2017 that Springsteen and the E Street Band have toured together, kicked off on February 1 in Tampa, Florida, and is scheduled to conclude on December 8 in San Francisco.
Just two days ago, some new dates were added to the tour that takes them around North America and Europe.
When those new shows were posted on Springsteen’s Instagram page, many fans expressed their outrage over what they consider to be high ticket prices.
Rock star move: As the E Street Band was ending a song, The Boss turned to throw his Fndr Telecaster to his tech, something h probably has done hundreds, if not thousands of times
Fumbled: The guitar tech missed the catch and the Fender hit him in the head
Mishap: Initially, Springsteen had a worried look on his face in the seconds after nailing the guitar tech in the head
Concerned: The Boss quickly walked to the back of stage to check on his guitar te
All good: After seeing that his tech was not seriously injured, Springsteen made his way back to the lead microphone at the front of the stage to address the incident to fans: ‘One man down,’ he joked, after realizing the tech was uninjured
‘I saw a publication that put it best: do you think it’s ironic that your music is supposed to be ‘the sound of the working man’… yet no working man would ever be able to afford tickets to your concerts?’ one fan wrote in the comments section, which seemed to sum up what many others were thinking.
‘Bruce, what is going on? Love, love.love, your and E Street band amazing music but these prices are a bit out of my category. I am only from a simple middle class family. Most of the people that can afford those seats don’t even know your music and just pay the $$ to say they got to see you. I am very sad,’ another person shared on Instagram.
In November, The Boss addressed the sky-high prices for the band’s 2023 tour.
For the first time in his career, the New Jersey native, 73, told Rolling Stone that he opted to use Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model to sell tickets, which allows for extreme inflation based on demand, as reported by Page Six.
But fans were not pleased with the varying ticket prices — some reaching up to $5,000 — when they went on sale in July.
Two days ago, new dates fr the tour were announed on Instagram, but many fans expressed outrage over the high tick prices in the comment section
Blue collar complaints: Comment after comment blasted The Boss for being a ‘working man’s musician’ with ticket prices that working men and women can’t afford
Outrage: Some outraged fans expressed the only rich people can afford to see Bruce now
“What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, “Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less.” That’s generally the directions,” he explained to the magazine. They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we’ve been playing, we’ve pretty much been out there under market value. I’ve enjoyed that. It’s been great for the fans.
“This time I told them, ‘Hey, we’re 73 years old. The guys are there. I want to do what everybody else is doing, my peers.’ So that’s what happened. That’s what they did,” Springsteen explained.
‘PLEASE Bruce stop giving us the ‘whatever my peers are doing’ excuse and make this leg affordable for you lifelong fans!’ another fan shared. ‘ I can’t afford to go to any shows this spring. What aren’t you understanding about how crushed so many of us are?’
There was yet another fan who summed up others by writing, ‘… I can’t afford these ticket prices. Over $1000 for 2 obstructed view tickets is not in the budget being seniors now. I have seen you so many times but I am sorry to say I don’t believe I will see you again.’
And there were even more people who vowed to never to see Springsteen again, if prices continued on this trend: ‘No thanks. Not a fan of his new direction. Gouge the fans #500Million reasons I will be passing on this and every other tour.’
Not happy: One fan summed up what others were thinking when it comes to Springsteen’s excuse for ‘following his peers’ when it comes to ticket procing
Complaints: Fans complained about tickets being over $1000 for ‘2 obstructed view tickets’
Not having it: Many fans said ‘no thanks’ to this tour and any other with these prices
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