Nirvana once performed at a show located in Buenos Aires, where the crowd threw mud and trash at an all-girl group, which was their opening act. In a rage, Kurt Cobain retaliated by purposely playing lesser-known songs and teasing “Smells Like Teen Spirit’, and ended up never playing it. This type of crowd chaos is quite common in concert culture, and debates surround if staff have the credibility and training to control these types of situations.
Although these concerts can promote happiness and stress relieving factors, people still have concerns about the lack of smooth sailing arrival and attendance.
Travis Scott is infamous for Astroworld’s unspeakable tragedy, as it went down in history as one of the festivals that spiraled the internet’s rage overnight. According to LA Times, The 30-year-old rapper is one of a few rap artists who can headline large festivals, and his success is mostly due to his fiery live shows. Before the Astroworld crowd stampede in Houston on November 5th, 2021, that tendency for disruption onstage caused problems. Ambulances were rushed into the crowd, and many fans begged and climbed onto platforms to tell the crew for the show to stop and went as far as leaving one fan partially paralyzed and more dead in the hospital later on. The show continued as casualties piled up, and Scott ended up facing countless charges and lawsuits from Astroworld go-ers.
This incident in 2021 is one of the countless disasters that took place involving fans and their artists; another case in 2022 involves the K-pop group NCT 127 and their show in Jakarta. According to Manila Bulletin, on Nov. 4, more than 30 NCT 127 fans fainted as they rushed to get closer to the stage in Jakarta, Indonesia, stopping the event. Due to crowding, numerous standing-room fans collapsed, stopping the show. Kompas TV showed medical personnel treating a fan inside the arena. Fan footage showed NCT 127 urging the standing audience to shift back for room. Concert organizer Dyandra Global Edutainment offered an apology and explanation. The promoter promised extra medical and security staff for NCT 127’s Nov. 5 event at the same location.
“To make amends for today’s incident and give the best experience, we will add more paramedics and security personnel for the Day 2 show. We will continue to work closely with the local police and work as hard as we could to avoid any incidents from happening again. We also encouraged tomorrow’s audience to maintain safety procedures during the event,” said Dyandra Promosindo.
One of the teachers at Athens Drive High School also has some opinions about concert chaos. Lauren Latta is a chemistry teacher and co-advisor for the National Honors Society (NHS). She has had her fair share of concerts and is here to share her experiences.
“I started going to concerts when I was in college and music festivals a few years after I graduated college. The best concerts I’ve been to have been at Lincoln Theater. I believe these were the best due to quick check-in, comfortable spacing (tickets were not oversold), and small size (max of around 750). The best music festival I’ve been to has been Moonrise. This one was great since the check-in process was very efficient, maps and FAQs were available online and at the venue, and there were lots of people to direct us where to go and help if needed. They also have a great culture of kindness, caring, and community as well,” said Latta.
Latta shares her good experiences with music shows, she sees successful concerts as quick check-in comfortable spacing efficient processes and clear FAQs.
“The worst concert I have been to was at Echostage in Washington, DC. The artist was one I was looking forward to seeing and generally inspires the same feeling of community I was describing before, but this is not what we experienced,” said Latta.
Many have shared this same feeling with Latta, where they look forward to seeing someone they look up to but ultimately having their night turn in the opposite direction.
“I believe that this was mostly due to the venue. They oversold the concert by almost double, so there were so many people crammed into a tiny space, and it became very dangerous on the way out after the show. During the show, it was uncomfortable as everyone was very close together, and there was little room to move,” said Latta.
Venues and arenas are notorious for seeking to gain as much money as possible, even if it means selling more tickets that will result in barely any space for the audience to move around.
“Afterward, there were so many people trying to leave that I was stressing about whether I would be able to breathe for a few moments. Luckily, we were able to begin to move after several minutes, and we made it outside,” said Latta
Latta was able to safely make her way out of the venue despite the difficulty through the rush of people she experienced. There was no clear path for her to maneuver, and many others were frantic, trying not to lose their partners in the tsunami of people.
“I believe that this is a terrible mistake on the part of the event staff/coordinators. Tickets should never be oversold, and there should be a clear plan created for entry and exit of a venue. No one should ever feel as though they cannot breathe, and no one should be injured at an event due to spacing issues,” said Latta
Latta expresses her belief in concert safety and the need for more responsibility from staff and coordinators. She believes that fans should not feel at risk when trying to enjoy their favorite artists.
“People go to these events to enjoy listening to music and to spend time with their friends; deaths occurring as a result of poor planning is unacceptable. In my opinion, there should be more laws and regulations surrounding these types of events to hold venue owners/operators and staff accountable and to prevent these types of things from occurring in the future,” said Latta.
Ultimately, Latta and many others who have the same opinion believe death at concerts should never be a possibility. This means more laws and regulations and more accountability taken on the staff’s end. Countless people go to concerts every year, and their experiences with bad organizations and unfortunate events make them question the credibility of venues and their staff members.
