Taking responsibility is everyone’s job
By Keith Clark

Mere words aren’t adequate in light of the February tragedy at the Rhode Island music club. No matter what one tries to say, any effort at expression falls pitifully short in light of the tremendous human toll. An essential truth does emerge from a shockingly horrific event like this, however. And that is, like it or not, every individual working in live entertainment is responsible for the safety of the audience as well as that of everyone else involved with the production - artists, management, venue owners, production personnel, security staff... Whoever.

It’s sad and sick that when a tragedy like this occurs, fingers immediately start pointing in every direction, there’s a lot of “shoulda, coulda, woulda” conjecture, even more “it’s not my fault” combined with “we knew there was a problem but…” Cue the lawyers looking for their cut and the politicians with their meaningless glad-handing and the resultant media circus…

Certainly it’s vital to thoroughly and accurately learn what specifically went wrong so the appropriate steps can be taken to insure nothing like this happens again. But for crying out loud, don’t tell me that no one had even an inkling that this was a potentially a dangerous situation, because that’s complete hogwash.

Harry Truman pretty much had it right when he said “the buck stops here.” That’s the head of the nail, and if you look a little more closely, you can clearly read what it further says on that nail head in not-so-fine print: Safety first. Safety second. Safety third. And then everything else.

It’s mind numbing when one actually takes a moment to list all of the things that can go wrong at any given show (or within any given venue), be it large or small in scale. In the Rhode Island case, we say “bad pyro, bad pyro!” And it’s true - pyrotechnics is scary stuff and should give all a big reason for pause. Why anyone thinks it’s a good idea to set off explosive charges in a room full of a hundred people, let alone several thousand, escapes my comprehension

Keep the list running. For example, rigging several tons of equipment - loudspeakers, lighting, trusses, set pieces… you name it, and someone has flown it or will in the future. Staging - is it stable? Audience configuration - is the audience being crammed into too small of a space or are they being allowed too close to the stage? How about sound levels?

I can go on and on with this list, but you, as the folks on the front lines of production, know it better than anyone. The point: With all of that knowledge, combined with good ol’ human common sense, isn’t it imperative to do everything possible to insure safety? For example - hey, sound guy, does something about the pyro on this current tour make you nervous? And - pyro guy, is sound too loud? Then talk about it with your colleagues! Better to speak now if something’s not sitting right with you than face the possible consequences.

Maybe I’m stating an unpopular position here, one that says its O.K. to encroach on the “turf” of specialized professionals. Well, politics and turf wars be damned! Part of being responsible is not being afraid to speak up when something doesn’t seem or feel right. And this responsibility lies with us all.