Members of the LA-based band Moonchild, who were scheduled to play in Berkeley Wednesday, said they were aware of the Bay Area\u2019s reputation for car break-ins but didn\u2019t anticipate thieves would make off with their entire U-Haul of gear. <\/p>\n
The theft occurred Wednesday morning ahead of Moonchild\u2019s show at UC Berkeley Theatre that evening as part of the Grammy-nominated jazz trio\u2019s West Coast tour. As KPIX reports<\/a>, a crew member had parked the 20-foot U-Haul full of the band\u2019s equipment outside the Executive Inn and Suites, near Oakland\u2019s waterfront, around 4:30 am when the thieves struck soon after, making off with the U-Haul in around two minutes.<\/p>\n According to KTVU<\/a>, someone driving a sedan can be seen on surveillance video backing up next to the band’s U-Haul truck. A passenger then exits the vehicle, and the U-Haul\u2019s driver-side door opens soon after, the lights turning on. The car and U-Haul are then driven off.<\/p>\n For anyone who\u2019s spent some time in the Bay Area, this is an all-too common occurrence, so much so that SFist rarely reports on it, except for that time it happened to Sean Lennon<\/a>. There was also the time a would-be thief was foiled<\/a> by a Good Samaritan on a bike near Bottom of the Hill a few years back, and someone stole a U-Haul full of 500 handmade puppets<\/a> that same year.<\/p>\n Moonchild member Andris Mattson said he realized the truck had been stolen when he checked the Airtags attached to some of the gear around 6 am. He told KPIX the tags, which were scattered throughout Oakland and San Leandro, were all reportedly stripped off and thrown in the bushes. He said it seemed like the thieves were part of an organized operation. <\/p>\n Mattson estimates the cost of the lost gear to be in the six figures, much of it irreplaceable. <\/p>\n “Some of these instruments we lost, we\u2019ve had them for years. It\u2019s a symbiotic relationship,” Mattson said, speaking to KTVU. “It\u2019s not something you can replace.”<\/p>\n The band had previously toured in the Bay Area and was reportedly familiar with the risks of car break-in in Oakland, but they weren\u2019t necessarily aware that the U-Haul would become a target. Nevertheless, Mattson said the band still loves Oakland.<\/p>\n “Our experience in Oakland playing music has always been a positive one,\u201d Mattson told KPIX. \u201cWe love our fans here, and what happened yesterday in no way impacts our feelings towards our Oakland fans.” <\/p>\n Moonchild was forced to postpone the rest of its West Coast tour and hopes to reschedule its Berkeley show for some time in July. <\/p>\n