A live music venue and lounge in Phoenix, Arizona has to close for a few nights after a band set its stage on fire during a live performance.
Three Bad Jacks, a California rockabilly/psychobilly trio, played the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix on Saturday night, and their set ended only a few songs in when the band lit the stage on fire. The stunt caused the sprinklers to go off and cause water damage to the club. No one was hurt in the incident, but the Rebel Lounge has since cancelled three shows before expecting to make a decision to re-open today.
Videos, which you can watch via Instagram below, appear to show Three Bad Jacks frontman Elvis Suissa “dousing the floor at the foot of the stage with alcohol or lighter fluid and igniting it,” according to AZ Central. The band is known for incorporating fire into their live shows — though the Rebel Lounge warned them not to use the display during their Saturday night gig.
The Rebel Lounge holds about 300 people, making it roughly the size of somewhere between Great Scott and Brighton Music Hall.
“I remember the lead singer specifically saying, ‘This guy here has never seen us light our [expletive] on fire,'” Three Bad Jacks fan Jaime Martinez tells AZ Central. “And then he said, ‘They told us not to do it on stage.’ So he got on the floor and doused the floor with alcohol and then lit it on fire. So then the alarms went off and then the sprinkler system went off.”
Martinez says the band were indifferent towards the incident after the show, and didn’t seem fazed by the damage cause while loading out. Yesterday, Three Bad Jacks posted a message to their Facebook page. It reads:
Hey All , We played a show in Phoenix and a sprinkler was set off . Nothing more than rubbing alcohol that burns itself out super quick . No crazy fire no scared people . All of the people present have seen it before and were having a great time . Nothing shocking , We were the last band to leave . We were also striking equipment off of stage with the help of some fans . We were aggressively looking for the water shut off . When we found it it could only be turned off by the Fire Dept . We did everything we could to help the situation . When the fire department came no band members were allowed in the venue . It was a unfortunate situation and we reached out to the venue earlier today . We have played what feels like a 1000 shows in Arizona and we used rubbing alcohol EVERY show we have ever played . We have friends and fans that work there as well as the owner. Some have attended or worked our show . The booker owner was not present at the show . There was a code of ethics read to all of the bands . And we agreed to everything . No one mentioned anything about sprinklers to us or not to do fire . THE SHOW WE PLAYED IS THE SHOW WE WERE HIRED TO PERFORM. Some venues say no fire and we follow instruction every time . I am not going to slander anyone or say anything bad either . We have a wicked great show and if you do not like R&R stay home . We will continue rocking ! The venue was packed and they kept all of the money . I paid everyone out of pocket .
Check out the scene below…