Jim James, on stage in Iowa CityOn October 7th 2008, My Morning Jacket played at the University of Iowa's Recreation Building, Iowa City, IA.
About 30 minutes into the show, following the conclusion of Off the Record, Jim James fell off the stage. Upon falling, he suffered traumatic injuries to his torso and had to be taken to the hospital, while the remainder of the show was canceled.
Bo Koster, Patrick Hallahan, Tom Blankenship and Carl Broemel, on stage in Iowa CityThe whole band left the stage seconds after James fell. Patrick Hallahan returned to the stage several minutes later to say James fell and his injury was being assessed. About 10 minutes later, Hallahan and the rest of the band, minus James, took the stage to say the show was canceled."'Jim was really hurt. He's heading to the hospital,' Hallahan said. 'We're really sorry, this has never happened before.'"
The band later released an official statement about the indicent:
As some of you may have heard we had to cancel our show last evening in Iowa City. We were finishing up the last few bars of "Off the Record", and just like any other night we were all having a great time. Jim went to get closer to the audience on his side of the stage, and as he moved forward to step onto the sub-woofer the lights darkened, and he inadvertently stepped off the stage. Upon falling, he suffered traumatic injuries to his torso, and was immediately taken to the hospital. Per the doctor's orders, Jim will be off the road and recovering from his injuries for the next two to three weeks. Sadly, we must postpone the two shows in Chicago on Thursday and Friday until further notice.In an interview with New York Magazine James and Hallahan commented on the accident.
For those who attended the Iowa City show, we would like to extend our gratitude for your understanding and cooperation. We take our fans and performances very seriously, and would never cancel a show unless it was absolutely necessary. Please know that we will be making every effort to return to your fine city.
Thank you so much to our fans for the kind sentiments and well-wishes on Jim's behalf. We hope for Jim's quick recovery and to be back out on the road soon.
With Love,
My Morning Jacket
"I just fell off the stage. I was going to step onto a speaker between the stage and the crowd, and the lights went out. And instead of my foot landing on the speaker, it just went into the air."- Jim James
(New York Magazine interview, December 2008)
"I thought he had jumped out into the crowd, which I had never seen him do. And I thought, holy shit, this is great! I was all proud of him."- Patrick Hallahan
(New York Magazine interview, December 2008)
