8 dead after crowd surge at US festival

[tonysingh]

statement from the lass that got on stage begging for them to stop the show

That account of this tragedy has huge overtones of similar things at football here in the UK like Hillsborough, Ibrox etc. Compressed crowds, indifference from security and organisers, the actual physical actions as the crowds got tighter. That bit where she says if peoples arms went up they couldn't come back down...fucking hell, that brought a shudder.

 

[tonysingh]

The more I reading about this the angrier I’m getting. There has been a catastrophic sequence of failures.

And it'll get blamed on the wrong people again, just like always.

 

[kenny g]

Astroworld Festival concert promoter has ugly history of similar incidents

Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Live Nation Worldwide have been linked to at...

www.houstonchronicle.com

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

This kind of thing is criminal:

A man allegedly pushed from a third-floor balcony and paralyzed at a Travis Scott concert four years ago was “devastated” to hear eight people were killed at the rapper’s Astroworld show in Houston on Friday, his lawyer told Rolling Stone.

Kyle Green, 27, was injured at Scott’s April 30th, 2017 concert at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, the same show where Scott was caught on video encouraging a different fan to drop down from the second-floor balcony into the crowd below.

“I see you, but are you gonna do it?” the rapper exhorted the fan who already had climbed over the railing. “They gonna catch you. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared!”

Unlike that fan, who appeared to dangle and drop willingly, Green says he was forced over the edge of the higher railing at what he’s called a “severely crowded” and out-of-control event. According to a lawsuit filed six months later in October 2017, Green broke several bones including vertebrae in his fall and was subsequently hauled off the floor by show staff “without a cervical collar, backboard and other safety precautions.”

Man Paralyzed at 2017 Travis Scott Show 'Devastated' for Astroworld Victims

A man who was paralyzed at a 2017 Travis Scott show who is suing the rapper says he is "devastated" for the Astroworld victims.

www.rollingstone.com

 

[kenny g]

This kind of thing is criminal:

Man Paralyzed at 2017 Travis Scott Show 'Devastated' for Astroworld Victims

A man who was paralyzed at a 2017 Travis Scott show who is suing the rapper says he is "devastated" for the Astroworld victims.

www.rollingstone.com

Scott, 30, is famous for his high-energy shows with raucous, stage-diving crowds. He even raps about his love of aggressive, full-body moshing in the 2018 track “Stargazing.” “And it ain’t a mosh pit if ain’t no injuries/ I got ‘em stage divin’ out the nosebleeds,” he sings.

For Hershenhorn, those lyrics show a careless disregard for people’s safety. “His desire to rile up the crowd beyond hysterics, where people are pushing and shoving, has resulted in a massive catastrophe. It’s time for him to do some significant self-reflection,” the lawyer said.

That is one hell of an eye opener. Disgusting behaviour.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

"I could never imagine anything like this ever happening...."

uh, huh.

Lawsuits incoming.

 

[kenny g]

This is interesting in terms of ways this kind of thing can be prevented.

Last Night at Astroworld — Event Safety Alliance

Last night at Astroworld, a festival held at NRG Stadium in Houston, at least eight people died and more than 300 others received medical treatment in a crowd crush during Travis Scott's performance. Because we have seen too many heartbreaking incidents like this before, it is tempting to rush to

www.eventsafetyalliance.org

 

[Yossarian]

Some reports said Scott ended the show early, but attendees say he finished his set, playing for 37 minutes after authorities declared a mass casualty event. - though police apparently decided against ending the show and it's not clear how much Scott was told.

Cancellation can come from various people along the process, ranging from the artists themselves to promoters and police. Stage crews can, in a matter of seconds if necessary, turn off all power to the stage and broadcast safety and security messages on video boards and over the audio system.

Live Nation did not use the PA system or video boards to broadcast any safety messages Friday evening, attendees said.

Officials declared a ‘mass casualty’ at Astroworld. For the next 37 minutes, Travis Scott continued to play

While paying respects at a memorial outside of NRG Park, some attendees raised more...

www.houstonchronicle.com

Houston's police chief says authorities - who would have had a clearer picture of the situation than Scott - decided against ending the show because they were worried about riots.

Asked why authorities had not ended the show sooner, Finner said it would have been unsafe. “You cannot just close when you have 50,000 individuals. You have to worry about riots when you have a group that young.”

 

[IC3D]

There's a horrible clip of the singer mumbling into a mic looking down directly at a lifeless body being carried out. Whole things just incredibly dark.

 

[Yossarian]

There's a horrible clip of the singer mumbling into a mic looking down directly at a lifeless body being carried out. Whole things just incredibly dark.

It looks grim - but people do pass out at concerts all the time, I'm not sure whether anything would have looked out of the ordinary from Scott's perspective.

I wonder if organisers being rusty or understaffed played any role in this, Texas lifted occupancy restrictions on concerts back in March but I think this might have been the biggest musical event in Houston since before the pandemic.

 

[kenny g]

https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...e2fe6ae9a24/1596473447880/ANSI+ES1.9-2020.pdf

When a crowd becomes too densely packed, people can no longer extend their arms away from their sides, meaning that they have difficulty controlling their own body weight or even breathing as the entire crowd presses forward or waves side-to-side. The force of crowd movement can cause patrons to get knocked off their feet or pressed against barricades or each other, any of which can result in dangerous pressure on individuals.

 

[editor]

I got caught in a serious crush at an Arsenal game once and it was fucking terrifying

 

[quiet guy]

Really feel for those at that gig.

Years ago at Glastonbury I got caught between crowds coming from the old Dance tent area into the Pyramid field and the Pyramid crowds going the other way. I'm a big fella and I was seriously worried. I managed to just make some headway to get up to the bar area that was at the bottom edge of the field. Took a good amount of time for me to calm down before I felt ok to move away.

 

[Petcha]

It looks grim - but people do pass out at concerts all the time, I'm not sure whether anything would have looked out of the ordinary from Scott's perspective.

I wonder if organisers being rusty or understaffed played any role in this, Texas lifted occupancy restrictions on concerts back in March but I think this might have been the biggest musical event in Houston since before the pandemic.

Well, there was an ambulance trying to get through in the middle of the crowd, the sight of which prompted him to shout 'what the fuck'. And then 'put two fingers in the air' or some other shit.

I'ver never played a big gig like that but the sight of an ambulance desperately trying to fight its way through my crowd might seem 'out of the ordinary'

 

[8ball]

I remember going to gigs in 80's/90's where you would literally get swept off your feet by the pressure of the crowd and moved around the venue with absolutely no control where you were going. I also remember being on the terraces at St Andrews and the same thing happening all the time. Seemed fun at the time but it could easily have gone wrong - the thought kind of horrifies me now, especially after terrible events like this .

I remember gigs in the 90s where this could happen and the band would stop playing if things got too rowdy, surges were always a bigger potential problem than moshpit buffeting. I’m a bit claustrophobic and the idea of what happened here is making my chest tight.

Was at Glastonbury once (1999?), where there was a pretty bad choke point - they were way over their stated numbers, it was when the fence was easy to hop. Couldn’t breathe for a bit as I was picked up off my feet. Was just a few seconds most likely but seemed a lot longer.

 

[kenny g]

I've been in a situation like that, and as the crowd moves, you are unable to stay in one place....it MOVES YOU like a wave, first one direction, then another. YOU have no control over your position, and what direction you go. It literally picks you up off your feet and takes you with it. It's terrifying. It happened to me and my sister when we attended a New Year's Day parade in California. A pedestrian sidewalk became blocked with too many people, and suddenly surged against a two story storefront with plate glass windows: the windows creaked and gave way, injuring one of two people. At one point, I was pushed against the glass and felt/heard it groaning as the pressure on it increased. A split second later, I was suddenly moved away from the glass, which descended in large shards, cutting the people nearest the display window. Later, reaching into my coat pocket, I retrieved a large shard of glass that had fallen into it. It was as big as my hand with fingers extended. Why I wasn't cut or injured, I'll never know. No, don't like crowds. Children are especially vulnerable.

from comments to this:

 

[kenny g]

I remember gigs in the 90s where this could happen and the band would stop playing if things got too rowdy, surges were always a bigger potential problem than moshpit buffeting. I’m a bit claustrophobic and the idea of what happened here is making my chest tight.

Was at Glastonbury once (1999?), where there was a pretty bad choke point - they were way over their stated numbers, it was when the fence was easy to hop. Couldn’t breathe for a bit as I was picked up off my feet. Was just a few seconds most likely but seemed a lot longer.

There was a bridge on glastonbury from the pyramid stage I think in 1999 or thereabouts that Eavis said freaked him out so much he was fully supportive of the higher fences.

 

[8ball]

There was a bridge on glastonbury from the pyramid stage I think in 1999 or thereabouts that Eavis said freaked him out so much he was fully supportive of the higher fences.

Both sides of the bridge - yeah, that rings a bell. Two crowds either side trying to move in both directions through the choke point.

 

[magneze]

Had an experience of a big moving crowd at Notting Hill Carnival. "I want to go that way", "Oh, I guess everyone's going this way". No option but to move with the crowd. Studiously avoided anything like that at future ones. It can so easily go wrong.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Really feel for those at that gig.

Years ago at Glastonbury I got caught between crowds coming from the old Dance tent area into the Pyramid field and the Pyramid crowds going the other way. I'm a big fella and I was seriously worried. I managed to just make some headway to get up to the bar area that was at the bottom edge of the field. Took a good amount of time for me to calm down before I felt ok to move away.

I've been really lucky. The worst thing that's happened to me at a concert was that a couple used my coat to have a tryst upon behind the bar.

 

[Flavour]

Travis Scott is a cunt and I hope he gets sued for all his money and that he goes to jail. This isn't the first time he's done shit like this. There's videos of him at a show in Switzerland inciting the crowd to beat up a guy who he accused of trying to steal his shoe while he was stage-diving! Fuck him

 

[two sheds]

Yep just seen a couple of videos on reddit. Looks like he bears a large responsibility from the reports. Utter cunt.

 

[Ax^]

must admit finish his set is a sort of self centred cunts trick whilst your fans are dying

jesus just stop and all the medics free access

 

[two sheds]

with a creepy video afterwards saying how cut up he was by what happened and how much his fans mean to him.

 

[two sheds]

Another reddit post said it was from an emergency worker who said the other first aid people had no idea of what to do and no training, and the police stepped in and dropped one of the women injured on her head. Which I saw today there's apparently a video of.

 

[two sheds]

Travis Scott is a cunt and I hope he gets sued for all his money and that he goes to jail. This isn't the first time he's done shit like this. There's videos of him at a show in Switzerland inciting the crowd to beat up a guy who he accused of trying to steal his shoe while he was stage-diving! Fuck him

while spitting on him

 

[Dead Cat Bounce]

Work colleague is a huge, huge fan of Travis Scott. Every day he'll claim that he's the greatest musician of all time, how he's got all of these shoe, burger and breakfast cereal endorsments.

Tomorrow is going to an interesting conversation.

 

[existentialist]

Totally this.

Since the crush at the Roskilde Festival killed 9 people in 2000 anyone thinking about planning a festival, especially a big one (50,000 people at Astroworld), has to spend a lot of time looking at crowd flows, crush points, barrier layouts and design, escape routes, front of stage pit, stewarding. I don't know about US licensing, but in the UK if you can't convince the council that you've been through all this and made it as safe as possible, you won't get an events licence.

In the US, you probably only have to pay the relevant elected official some kind of "campaign donation", I imagine.

Coming to the UK soon.

 

[BristolEcho]

Yeah sure Travis Scott can be targeted, but the pricks behind the scenes who are often faceless need to be called out. Also pricks that think mass break ins are acceptable.

I've been in plenty of dodgy oversold venues. Scariest was probably a night at Lakota where you couldn't move between the inside and outside whilst bouncers are arguing over whether or not to let more people in. We left shortly after. Blue mountain were caught going over their safety limits too. Should be the harshest possible outcomes carried out for such action.

from comments to this:

Remember this one. There was on in Brazil a few years back where the fire door has been chained.

Brazil nightclub fire in Santa Maria kills 233

At least 233 people die in a fire that swept through a nightclub in southern Brazil, police say, after a musician reportedly let off fireworks on stage.

www.google.com

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Had an experience of a big moving crowd at Notting Hill Carnival. "I want to go that way", "Oh, I guess everyone's going this way". No option but to move with the crowd. Studiously avoided anything like that at future ones. It can so easily go wrong.

One time at Notting Hill Carnival, a friend I was with bought some weed off someone, turned out to be super strong skunk or something (I don't really smoke, so didn't try it). We were in a packed crowd and I glanced over my shoulder only to see my six foot-ish friend go totally white and then start collapsing in my direction. I just about managed to keep him propped up and prevent him landing on the ground, and I struggled to shout and get our other mates to help me, because they were behind us and it was all super loud and chaotic and absolutely heaving. Two of the other guys stepped in and managing to get his arms round their shoulders and get him out of the crowd. He ended up spending a while in the back of a St John ambulance. If I hadn't glanced round and seen him about to crash like a felled tree, he would likely have been trampled by the crowd.