Last Updated: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Artists (Fans, Employees) Still At Risk 5 Years After Damageplan Concert Shooting Updated: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Alrosa Villa: Symbol of the past or the present? Photo: CMS c 2006 Five years ago at the Alrosa Villa, Nathan Gale, 25, easily enter the Alrosa Villa club in Columbus, Ohio, without a concert ticket by jumping a six foot fence (See photo; gray wooden fence, right) and walking through an open side door as employees watched from a distance, but did not intervene. Mr. Gale headed toward the small stage where Damageplan, featuring Pantera greats Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott on guitar and his brother Vinney Paul on drums, were just starting to perform. The hulking ex-Marine Gale circumvented the stage barrier, and hopped onto the four foot stage from house left. Unchallenged, the emotionally troubled Mr. Gale walked across the stage toward Mr. Abbott holding a chrome Beretta pistol at his side. Mr. Gale grabbed the unsuspecting Mr. Abbott from behind and shot the guitarist several times in the head in front of a shocked audience of approximately 250 people, or more. Before Mr. Gale would himself be shot dead by Columbus Police Officer James Niggemeyer, the shooter would gun down tour security manager Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40; club employee Erin A. Halk, 29; and concertgoer Nathan Bray, 23---all of whom heroically tried to come to the aid of Mr. Abbott and the audience. Several other people who risked their lives to protect the guitarist, were also shot, but survived their wounds. Still other unarmed concertgoers and employees who stood their ground in front of Mr. Gale, would suffer long-term trauma as a result of the incident. Today, Alrosa Villa still keeps its doors open for live entertainment. But for major heavy metal or punk bands---and their fans---the venue is a no-go. It's owner Rick Cautela and his club securiy guards are seen by many as partially responsible for leaving the famed guitarist vulnerable to attack and the subsequent deaths and injuries that occurred to others at the club. The death of Mr. Abbott was the first time a perfomer was murdered while performing on stage in the US. In 2007, Mr. Cautela's club reached another low point when he invited The Great White to perform. In 2003, the infamous, and much hated band, ignited illegal pyrotechnics at The Station club in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The flammable club quickly caught fire. One hundred people were killed, more than 200 injured and hundreds more traumatized for life in what became the worst US rock and roll disaster in history. Stage invasions and attacks on artists since Mr. Abbott's death show that the concert industry---promoters, venue operators, tour security and event security firms have not fully learned, or ignore, the lessons of Alrosa Villa. The truth is, artists, audiences and employes remain vulnerable to attack and injury today, as they did in 2004. The question nobody wants to answer on this fifth anniversary of the disaster in Columbus, is this: Are Alrosa Villa's lax security procedures ironically symbolic of the status quo in 2009? A cursory review of the Crowdsafe Database suggests that the answer is yes. Twelve selected artists and bands that witnessed dangerous stage invasions during their performances over the past five years arguably supports the assertion: - Ian Brown - Simply Red - Wico - Tim McGraw - Pete Doherty - Oasis - Girl Talk - Britney Spears - GQ Joey Boca - DMX - Iggy Pop - Snoop Dogg A root cause of these mostly unwanted stage intrusions can be traced to flawed security plans and poorly trained tour security officials and concert security firms. The parties that easily share responsible for these failings are the promoter, venue management and sometimes the artists themselves. It is these parties that often hire, assign and manage the overall concert crowd safety and security scene. Until the live entertainment industry changes its attitude and actions toward the vulnerability of artists, audiences and employees to violent attack, Crowd Management Strategies anticipates more disorders, violence, injuries and deaths. [ home ][ crowdcafe ][ new ][ crowdshop ][ contact ] Crowd Management Strategies © 1997 - 2006. All rights reserved. Crowdsafe is a registered trademark of Crowd Management Strategies © 2006.