Metal Fan Brings Down Venue's Roof At Witchgrinder Gig

An adventurous fan attending a show being put on by stalwart metal outfit Witchgrinder at Warrnambool's Your Break pool hall on Friday night caused a sensational stir when he came plunging through the venue's roof during the band's set.

After some initial confusion, during which the band half-jokingly assumed they had brought the house down, it soon became apparent for those on stage and in the crowd what had happened — though, in true showman style, the ruckus didn't stop the band from playing on.

"The most damage was the roof itself," band manager Robyn Morrison told theMusic.com.au today. "Travis [Everett], the singer, had some very minor injuries; he had a bit of a black eye and a few cuts and scrapes on his arm ... there was no damage to gear or other band members."

To hear Morrison describe the scene, "Someone, one of the people at the venue — I don't know his name — climbed into the roof. I don't know why — he must have thought he could get down into the main part of the venue through the roof, and it didn't hold his weight, and the whole roof came in and collapsed.

"We didn't actually know what was going on; it happened behind the band. Travis, Ryan [Potts], the guitarist, Walker [Hell], the bass player ... they were all standing in front of the guy who fell through the roof. They actually didn't know what was going on at first. Travis just saw somebody on stage and thought this guy had jumped on stage and the roof had collapsed."

Following the incident, Morrison stressed, venue staff at Your Break were "very co-operative" and exemplary in their efforts to ensure the safety of the band and those in attendance, while swiftly cleaning as much as they could in order for Witchgrinder to continue the show.

"The venue was really good and got all the plasterboard off the stage really quickly ... everyone was just checking that everyone was OK," Morrison said. "The police arrived and took some information ... but we haven't issued any charges, even though Travis had minor injuries. Everything was fine — it was just, 'Holy shit, what happened to the roof?' "

Witchgrinder were in Warrnambool to kick off their Southwest Halloween Tour, which has also taken in an all-ages show at Adelaide's Cavern Club, and resumes in Melbourne this Friday, October 31, at Next Nightclub. At the time of writing, theMusic.com.au had not been able to reach Your Break venue organisers for a statement, but an event promoted on Facebook today for this Friday night, billed as "Warrnambool's original Halloween party", suggests they've largely recovered — or very nearly so — from last Friday's upheaval.

For more information on the final two shows of Witchgrinder's All Hallow's tour, see the Gig Guide or check The Music App.