Concert Tragedies and Some Free Association

Several sad stories have now emerged for the victims of the Astroworld Disaster this month.

What fascinates me most, though, is the League Table instinct.

You have to imagine editors in budget meetings. "Can we call this the worst concert disaster ever? The worst at a rap performance? One of the top ten ever? I need a league table!"

Of course, this is 2021 and you are a tad more realistic if you imagine that as a Zoom meeting than if you think of railing across a single large table. For the drama of the thing of course you can do it either way. It's your imagination, not mine.

Personally, I think Astroworld lends itself to compare and contrast exercises with Altamont.

The Altamont Free Concert in Dem. 1969 had such a huge impact not because of the great number of deaths ("only" four) but because the idea of hiring Hells' Angels as a security crew seems so monumentally boneheaded.

Here's a link to a contemporary account. The Rolling Stones Disaster at Altamont: What Happened? - Rolling Stone

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