Avicii Gig Ends With Hospitalisations... Again

Just more than a month after a Toronto gig staged by Avicii ended with almost 30 people being sent to hospital, the Swedish DJ has found himself at the centre of another event that has finished with a double-figure hospitalisation toll.

According to The Boston Globe, “dozens” of attendees at the dance icon's Wednesday-night (US time) gig at the city's TD Garden were taken to hospital suffering largely from drug and alcohol-related ailments.

More than 50 people were treated or evaluated at the scene, while another 36 were transferred to hospital, Boston EMS deputy superintendent Michael Bosse told the paper. None of the cases were fatal.

Reports claim that the problems started occurring during Avicii's set, and emergency services were forced to declare a Phase 2 MCI (multiple-casualty incident), which indicates “about 30 people needed to be taken to hospitals”, the Globe said.

Many first-hand accounts cited by the paper claimed the situation was exacerbated because TD Garden was overly hot, and the crowd “seemed young” and/or inexperienced with drugs. However, reporter Tim Caputo denies at least part of that.

Social media was flooded with frantic photos and messages of concern for the welfare of those attending the gig, though emergency services personnel say all cases were minor.

Some commentators have (baselessly, it must be said) suggested that the overdoses were linked to the drug colloquially known as Molly, which has been previously tied to overdoses and other incidents in the EDM community.

However, Bosse said, “there may have been some illicit drug involved, but none have been identified”.

Avicii is in the United States at the dawn of a tour there and in Europe, which is due to run until September.