THE NIGHT WE ALMOST KILLED EMMYLOU HARRIS!

AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

We had booked a double show in one night with Emma Lou to make the numbers work on the cost of the show. Both shows were sold out. At the very beginning of the show, a stage crew member accidentally hit the switch to close the main curtain. The problem was that someone had rigged the cable to the lighting in such a way that it was in the way of the curtain closing. There were two light trees fully loaded stage left and stage right, downstage.

Both light trees fell towards Emma Lou as they were cabled together overhead. The crash was like a thunderbolt, missing her by a very few feet. We had to stop the show to make sure there was not going to be a electrical short which could have started a fire creating a panic. A panic in a theatre is the greatest nightmare for a manager. Now, we have 1300 people from the first show pouring out of theatre to intermingle with another 1300 people with tickets to the second show. While everything was late by an hour, both shows were devoured by the audience.

Emma Lou was a champ about the whole affair and played with abandon and joy.