Last week, a ruling was handed down from a 2010 lawsuit from a woman that was injured at a Fishbone concert in Philadelphia when frontman Angelo Moore stage dove. The plaintiff was awarded $1.4 million, and Moore himself is responsible for another $250,000 in punitive damages. The woman apparently suffers from memory problems, shoulder pain and autoimmune problems that led to lupus, apparently. And while the band can’t say a ton about it, they released a statement on their Facebook page yesterday.
Due to legal circumstances, we are limited in our response to the recent court ruling. We do not endorse or encourage disruptive behavior that results in injury. We do endorse self expression and feel strongly that self expression is a powerful form of artistic release, as it defines the punk rock subculture we, and hundreds of bands have been a part of since the late 1970’s. We do not encourage people to come forth and participate in, for example, a mosh pit, if it is not something they are familiar with or beyond their comfort level. Our many fans are familiar with our show. The claim against us outlined what was a very unfortunate and accidental circumstance experienced by someone who had never been to a Fishbone concert. We’d like to encourage a discussion by fans, nonfans, the venues and promoters about artistic expression at concerts and how to move forward from here. – Angelo Moore, John Norwood Fisher and the members of Fishbone.
The fact that the woman had never been to a Fishbone show should have maybe kept her away from the pit, and either Angelo Moore landed right on top of her, or the woman has a great lawyer. Regardless, the band probably should have stated somewhere that there might be stage diving, and Moore probably shouldn’t have testified that ambulances at their shows were a common occurrence. We’re guessing when Fishbone plays Coachella (and every show after), Moore won’t be jumping into the crowd, and while they’re an iconic band, Moore probably doesn’t have a spare quarter million lying around.
