underlying tone of unrest

What i failed to mention in my last entry was that tonight's crowd was young, rowdy, and pumped up for Alexis On Fire. There was a feeling of unrest in the air that we all sensed on the crew. I watched as the five band members stood beside me on stage left waiting for the cue to the stage. They were in a huddle and like a team before a game had a big group chant and were full of energy and ready to kick some yaletown ass! I watched the drummer , who was wearing shorts and a tshirt by the way...(I am in a parka), sprint towards his drumkit with full force and an energy unmatched by anyone who had previously hit our stage. The rest of the band followed and the first song kicked in with full power and serious assault. At about 30 seconds into this first number the barricade in the front of the stage gave way to the 8000 kids from back to front trying to push forward. George, the screamer singer in the band immediatey stopped his band and medical staff along with security rushed to the scene to tend to the the injured and try to restore order.












In all my years in the business i have never witnessed anything like this happen. It could have been alot worse and we should all thank someone that it was not. A number of years back in Denmark at the Roskilde Festival the same situation occurred during a Pearl Jam performance and several fatalities took place.

During the moments after the band stopped playing and crew were on the stage as well as the ground trying to help people , it felt like the situation could go either way at any minute. We all knew right at that moment that the show was over but remained worried about the reaction of the crowd when they found out this news.
George from Alexis on fire took control of the microphone and the situation about 10 minutes after the collapse. Informing the crowd that we are all Canadians and that we have love and respect for one another. He stated the obvious in that due to an unsafe situation and the injured people the show could not go on. Through a bit of boos and profanities as well as objects being thrown at the stage, he went on to say that the band would come out and sign autographs and speak to every person in the audience if thats what it would take for everyone to remain calm and understand the severity of the situation. He promised that they will come back and perform a show and that the last thing they wanted was to not play right now.
I was completley blown away by his professionalism and his heartfelt sympathy at the situation.

I hope this is not another black mark on our games as they seem to be adding up ....
for more information check out
http://ow.ly/189y4