The partial collapse of a stage when high winds struck the Ottawa Blues Festival during the July 17 performance by Cheap Trick (story) is causing problems for the promoters of a September show at the opposite end of Canada.  The band managed to scramble to safety as all hell broke loose during Trick's set, but a crew member was injured and some equipment destroyed in the incident.  When band management discovered that the stage for a September 1 concert scheduled for the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, BC was being supplied by the same outfit that made the stage for the Ottawa concert, the group decided to cancel the BC appearance.  A statement on a Cheap Trick web site says, 'The band will not, as a matter of principle, but more importantly, as a matter of safety' appear on a stage associated with that company in the future.  A disappointed and frustrated representative from the BC venue said that, although the stage is owned by the same company, it is a very different design than the one that failed in Ottawa, and adds, 'Our safety standards are very high.  We do a full inspection and receive approval from an engineer before anyone is put on that stage.'
VancouverSun.com

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