Unfortunately this weekend, the Indiana State Fair suffered a catastrophic loss of 5 people with dozens more injured when country band Sugarland was to take the stage.
Unfortunately this isn’t the first time that something horrible has happened in concert. If anything, it should be a lesson to concert promoters and management to make sure that the stage is structured properly and also, if bad weather is coming – which they were reportedly forewarned a few hours earlier, please take the proper precaution so that this never happens.
Unfortunately in the past, some concerts have even gotten violent, such as these. May those that suffered or died know that you have not been forgotten.
Altamont
Altamont was an accident waiting to happen when it came to security detail. It was billed as “Woodstock West” – it was anything but. Instead of getting regular security guards or even SFPD, they paid the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels with $500 worth of beer. The headlining Rolling Stones were intimidated by the whole situation. Mick Jagger urged everyone to “just be cool down in front there, don’t push around” shortly before a fight erupted within a minute of their third song “Sympathy For the Devil” – one minute into the song. After consistently telling the crowd to calm down, the Hells Angels went after 18 year old Meredith Hunter, who became a homicide victim after drawing a pistol. It was a rather violent festival that also included 3 accidental deaths, injuries, property damage and cars stolen.
The event was so violent that other acts such as the Grateful Dead refused to play after the Stones’ set.
Woodstock 99
A peace group passed out candles that were supposed to be lit when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played “Under the Bridge” but were instead used to make a massive bonfire and burn everything in sight. There were also reports of rape going on – including a woman who was crowd surfing during Limp Bizkit’s set, was pulled down into the crowd and gang raped.
1979 Who Concert Disaster
In 1979 the Who’s concert at Cincinnati, OH Riverfront Coliseum killed 11 fans and injured dozens more. Seating at the venue was festival seating – first come first served. There were only a few doors opened when everyone outside heard the band warming up and thought the concert had actually started. Bottlenecking ensued and people were essentially trampled and suffocated. This resulted in the remainder of the concert season of the venue, which included Aerosmith and Blue Oyster Cult, being cancelled as well as festival seating being banned in Cincinnati for many years.
The Station Fire in Rhode Island featuring Glam metal band Great White
The Station Fire in Rhode Island was perhaps one of the worst tragedies in concert history. On February 23, 2003 at a glam-metal themed nightclub, The Station, Great White was scheduled to perform and decided to use pyrotechnic gerbs during their opening number, which ignited the flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings that surrounded the stage. Over 100 lives were claimed including Great White’s lead guitarist Ty Longley and WHJY DJ Mike “The Doctor” Gonsalves.
the wildheart 