Concertgoer Shares Video Of First Avenue Ceiling Collapse

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A witness who was inside First Avenue when the ceiling collapsed is sharing his video with us.

"I think during the song there was a track called 'Low Life' and there was a loud bass, and it shook the whole arena," James Lowman said.

Lowman went to First Avenue on Wednesday night to watch one of his favorite bands. But the concert took a back seat to chaos.

"I was recording it and it fell right in front of me," Lowman said.

When the ceiling collapsed, Lowman kept his camera rolling and captured the panic inside the nightclub. He saw several concertgoers with injuries. Lowman felt lucky to make it out without a scratch.

"I was kind of shocked more than scared," Lowman said. "I wasn't really expecting that to happen that night."

Neither was AJ Smyth.

"Took one step and that's when the ceiling fell," he said. "Or at least the first part of it fell."

The band had been playing for about 15 minutes when Smyth went to the bar to get drinks. It was while walking back that he saw water and debris falling around him.

"I didn't really feel it -- adrenaline -- and there was water everywhere," he said. "I looked down and my leg was bleeding a lot and then the second piece fell shortly after that."

Smyth went to the ER and had six stitches put in his leg. He had to take the rest of the week off from work. He's just thankful his girlfriend wasn't next to him when the ceiling collapsed.

"It just happened so fast you didn't know what was going on," he said.

One of the five concertgoers injured in the First Avenue ceiling collapse is still in the hospital.

But friends say the 27-year-old woman is expected to get out on Saturday.