While musicians typically prepare for unexpected objects thrown by audience members, Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas provided a different kind of surprise during a recent performance. During a set in Springfield, IL, Thomas accidentally struck bandmate Paul Doucette in the head with a microphone stand.
Performing at the Illinois State Fair, the band was playing “Bent” from their 2000 album Mad Season when the accident occurred. Doucette, who serves as the group’s drummer, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist, was playing guitar when the stand collided with him. He was forced to exit the stage immediately. Following the incident, Thomas offered a public apology to his bandmate and the audience, stating, “I’m so sorry. I’m gonna keep apologizing to you, like, all month.”
Despite the injury, Doucette maintained a sense of humor while sharing a video of the aftermath. In the footage, he was seen having fragments of his smashed in-ear monitor removed. “Rob took me the fuck out with swinging the fuckin’ mic stand during that show,” Doucette remarked. “And I have bits of my in-ear, which he fuckin’ smashed in my ear, that are now in my ear, and so Lindsey and Jamie are now trying to get it out of my ear.”
Watch clips of the painful moment below.