Aerosmith postponed the band’s next concert scheduled Friday in Winnipeg, Manitoba, after Steven Tyler got head, shoulder, and neck injuries in a show in South Dakota, the band’s concert spokesman said Thursday. Tyler, 61, tumbled from stage during the song “Love in an Elevator” but the crowd thought it was part of his performance until Tyler didn’t get up. Tyler was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, the closest major hospital in South Dakota. Tyler also had pneumonia prior to the tour in June.
Spokesman Mike Sanborn for the Buffalo Chip Campground during the Wednesday night concert said: “He does a lot of dancing on the stage and he does a lot of stuff with his mike stand. He put his stand down and twirled around and stepped backwards off the stage.” Spectators were surprised, thinking it was part of the act. Jessica Kokesh, one of those who covered the event, said: “We thought maybe he stage-dived into the crowd, but he didn’t get back up…I thought he was falling back to crowd surf.” Sanborn also said Tyler first landed on a couple of fans and the security immediately rushed to help him. The crowd even cheered when the performer got up.
Chuck Baker, who was seated 20 rows from the stage, said: “There was like a big sigh, a collective ‘Whoa’ from everybody”. But then, the performer was taken backstage and was attended by his physician before being taken to the nearest hospital. Then, it was announced the concert would not go on. ”It was an unfortunate end to an extraordinary evening,” Sanborn said.
