Those who work in office buildings never looked at them the same way after Sept. 11, 2001. Now, that same psychological phenomenon will inflict itself on those who toil in music venues. The coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris saw the highest death toll at Le Bataclan Theatre, where ISIS-inspired gunmen killed 89 and wounded over 200 people there for an Eagles of Death Metal concert.
As with the Station nightclub fire in Warwick, RI a dozen years earlier, since which everyone going into a club instinctively notes the location of an exit or two, Bataclan becomes the code word for venue security. However, unlike applying common sense not to fire pyro indoors, avoiding what transpired in Paris will be much harder, because now the venue and everyone in it has become a target. Gathering places have long been favorites of those bent on mayhem, but those places where we gather to enjoy bits of a culture that has become anathema to deranged bunch of ideological extremists now puts them in an elevated bull’s-eye.
The fallout from the Paris attacks is already being felt in the music touring industry. About a dozen major touring acts, including U2, Prince, Foo Fighters, Motörhead and The Deftones, canceled shows or parts of tours. Bob Dylan remains on tour but is now requiring far more security at shows. The Eagles of Death Metal, who lost a crewmember (merchandising manager Nick Alexander), understandably have canceled the rest of their tour. Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, announced that it was stepping up security at its venues globally.
But even as sports venues around the world have been steadily increasing their security efforts — it’s not unusual to have security teams rummage through purses and bags at the entrances to NFL stadiums and college football venues to prohibit bags altogether — music shows are less adapted to those kinds of measures. As a concert-security expert quoted in the Wall Street Journal pointed out, the number of security guards and level of screening tends to vary widely and is often determined by a concert’s promoters rather than a venue’s managers. Furthermore, he said, smaller music venues are often the least secure, with back and side entrances through which would-be attackers can circumvent security.
This Time, It’s Personal
Touring professionals are taking what happened at Le Bataclan personally and deeply. Jason Zito, the FOH mixer and production manager for OneRepublic, told me, “What took place in Paris breaks my heart — I had friends and colleagues in that building. What I’m left with is sadness. My heart breaks for the families and friends of those who lost loved ones. My heart also breaks for the sanctity of the live show that was also stolen that night. Those terrorists have not just taken lives, they’ve taken away what many people have always felt was a safe place: go to and see a live show. People will think twice before going to a concert because of these events, and someone who may need a night away to escape their troubles… will just stay at home. That, to me, is the hidden tragedy.”
But they’re also reacting like the professionals they are. “In a loud concert environment, with pyro and special effects, tour personnel will likely recognize that something is wrong long before the crowd will,” observes Steve Cross, who mixes front of house for Kid Rock. “It will take the public a little time to realize that [certain] noises and flashes are not a part of the show. That puts a responsibility on me as a sound engineer to take some sort of action. That might include immediately muting the P.A. to highlight and reveal the other things that may be happening. An LD might be able to quickly hit the house lights to aid in an evacuation. Band members will need to recognize that things are happening, and their exit would be an excellent visual warning for a crowd that is likely still focused on them. The bottom line is that crew will likely have the first opportunity to react, because in many cases, we will recognize the problem first.”
Both Zito and Ken “Pooch” Van Druten, FOH mixer for Linkin Park, have received certifications in CPR and first aid, and both have studied the Event Safety Alliance’s (eventsafetyalliance.org) best practices, laid out in the organization’s Event Safety Guide.
“I carry with me at all times a first-aid compression bandage, a tourniquet, gloves, CPR mask, and EpiPen,” Pooch told me, adding that, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, tourniquets were of far more use than guns. “Sometimes the best thing you can do in a screwed situation is be the first one out of there, leading the charge, yelling, ‘Follow me!’ because you took the time to learn where the exits are. The world has changed, and the events in Paris are only the beginning. Be prepared, have situational awareness, and be alert.”
Zito notes that as a production manager, he’s worked closely with artist and venue security in the past. But, he adds, “our focus on external threats until now have been mainly related to severe weather. With the events that have taken place in Paris, it is obvious we need to implement procedures to help protect our patrons better from external threats. With a situation like this, any amount of deterrence or slowing down of the terrorists equals time. Time gives the opportunity to react, and that can save lives. I want to honor the people who lost their lives in Paris by doing everything in my power to prevent that from happening on my shows.”
The Bottom Line
As always, there is an economic component to all this, and it’s not going to be pretty. What happened in Paris strikes at the heart of the music industry’s sole remaining major revenue source: live music. When touring stops, or becomes restricted, so does income for thousands of people, from the artists to the crews to the venues right down to the Uber drivers getting patrons to the show. While the show will go on, the costs of beefed-up security will add to the overall cost of touring and attending shows. That, however, is simply going to be the new reality.
