Last month, I wrote about the bill that the Indiana State legislature was planning to pass, and how it will affect our industry. Since then, Indiana’s state OSHA has issued the report based on its investigation. The report reflects the scope of IOSHA’s inquiry, which was more focused on possible violations to worker safety than on risks to the public at large.
In particular, IOSHA was investigating to see if any workplace safety violations were partially responsible for the deaths of two workers killed in the collapse of the staging structure supplied by Mid-America Sound, stagehand Nathan Byrd and security guard Glenn Goodrich. (Five others were killed and 58 were injured when the structure fell in high winds.)
In addition to its report, IOSHA issued fines. Mid-America, which, in addition to supplying the staging structure, hired the workers who assembled it, got slapped with $63,000. The agency also levied $11,500 against IATSE Local 30 for failing to check soil conditions before securing the guide wires and $6,300 against the State Fair Commission for failing to evacuate people in a timely manner as weather conditions worsened.
Although IOSHA has concluded its investigation into worker safety, other investigations into what caused the staging structure to fall, and who or what might be liable for the death and destruction that followed, continue. Already, there are indications that the finger-pointing and blame-dodging will only intensify in the weeks and months to come.
On Jan. 16, Cindy Hoye, the State Fair Commission’s executive director, gave testimony indicating that the management for Sugarland, the country duo that was set to perform as Sara Bareilles was leaving the stage, resisted delaying the start of the concert over concerns that singer Jennifer Nettles’ warm-up routine might be thrown off, along with the band’s travel plans to its next gig.
When speaking to IOSHA, however, Sugarland’s tour manager, Hellen Rollens, who may have actually saved the duo’s life by asking them to hold off before heading up from the under-stage bunker to emerge onstage for their performance, denied any such discussion over delaying the show.
The financial stakes of determining if anyone in particular was to blame for the calamity are huge. And although state lawmakers are considering allocating an additional $5M to $10M for those who suffered long-term injuries, Sugarland remains a target for litigation.
The band’s attorneys, who have requested a jury trial in a civil lawsuit, have termed the overhead staging collapse an “act of God.” They also suggested that the victims themselves “failed to exercise due care for their own safety” by remaining in their seats — an assertion that was widely reported in the press, triggered an angry reaction from fans and a clarification from Sugarland’s management.
Let me, if I may, indulge in adding to the outcry. Are we to believe that fans are to make the judgment call when is safe or unsafe to attend a concert in foul weather? This is insane!
Put yourself in fans shoes. You paid money to see a concert. If the show has not been canceled for whatever reason and foul weather approaches, would you leave and miss a concert and be out the money you spent to see a show?
Okay, with that off my chest, I should add that the important thing now is to take a good look to the future — that’s the only thing we can really work on now to change. Another outdoor festival season is rapidly approaching. Who should be responsible for pulling the plug — and held responsible for not pulling the plug — in unsafe conditions?
We can’t blame the fans, for goodness sakes. Blaming the band doesn’t make a lot of sense either. Aside from the weather, the blame needs to rest on those who are in charge of staging the event.
At the same time, the people who shoulder the burden of making the decision to pull the plug on a show deserve some sympathy, maybe even admiration, in addition to the heaps of scorn thrown their way when things go wrong.
The Pollstar Live! convention in Los Angeles last month offered a seminar called “The 10 Commandments of Live Event Safety.” It fielded a panel of experts and attracted a sold-out crowd. For Marshall Bissett’s excellent recap, CLICK HERE.
Leading the session was John Brown from Brown United. Brown introduced the newly formed Event Safety Alliance. The aim of the Alliance is to promote safe staging and providing a guideline for preventing future accidents.
As Bissett notes, “Pulling the plug is a no-win proposition with a set of expensive downsides, including the refund of thousands of tickets and the real risk of crowd insurgence.”
The person who stops a show, particularly after the audience has taken their seats, is always going to be perceived as a goat, unless there is a rare instance where a stage structure has fallen and his or her decision has been vindicated.
The plug-puller’s job will never be easy, but one way to boost live event safety is to make it clear-cut and part of a standard routine.
“As showtime approaches,” Bissett notes, “the storm clouds building on the horizon are nothing compared to the storm brewing in the production trailer. Will the band, the promoter, the engineers, local police and fire marshals sit down like grown- ups to make good decisions, or will panic set in?
“Brown and his newly-formed Event Safety Alliance,” Bissett continues, “want to make a dress rehearsal for this scenario as commonplace as a sound check.”
