Astroworld

The catastrophic events at Astroworld, in which ten people died and more than 300 were injured, horrified concert goers all over the world. As stunned music lovers caught wind of the news, we couldn't help but shudder at its randomness. Anyone who’s attended a large gig, knows the element of danger involved so it’s always sobering to hear about those gigs where things went so drastically wrong. We all knew it could have been any of us.

As a live music lover I’ve had my share of dicey experiences. For the most part, you accept that it comes with the territory. If you’re not into a bit of sweaty push and shove, you stay at home. I’ve always loved the collective energy of a large crowd but I’ll never forget those times when the crowd became a threat to itself within the blink of an eye. It happens quickly. One minute you’re lost in the music, the next you’re trapped in an environment over which you have no control. Unable to move left or right, you merge with the crowd as it swirls and surges one way and then another.

The Big Day Out is exactly the kind of outdoor festival vulnerable to crowd crushes. My memories of the tour’s Perth leg, when The Prodigy and Soundgarden were headliners, are dim. But there is one 30-minute window that I will never forget.

The heat and sun were unrelenting and there was very little shade. Water was confiscated at the gate so punters were forced to purchase it inside at exorbitant prices. The lines for the bar were long and those queueing were at the mercy of the sun.

As the day dissolved the sun stopped prickling at our skin but it was still oppressively hot.

When the sun finally sunk behind the main stage, we elbowed our way forward along with thousands of other desperately hot fans. It was time for the headliners

The Prodigy took to the stage and the crowd erupted. Our energy had started to flag in the late afternoon but their frenetic music infused the crowd with new electricity and everyone was just happy to be in that moment.

It wouldn’t have mattered that we were overheated, drunk, drugged and dehydrated if we’d had room to move. But the area in front of the stage became densely packed and panic started to spread almost immediately.

When a large mass of people reaches or exceeds the density of four or five people per square metre, the crowd collapses in on itself, or gets so tightly packed that individuals are crushed. The mass of bodies starts to behave like a liquid sloshing around in a giant bowl and you become as helpless as everybody else as wave after wave pushes you one way and then another.

Being in the middle of that panicked, sweaty, helpless crowd was terrifying. My long hair kept getting stuck between people, wrenching my head back violently again and again. I was powerless to do anything about it, until it briefly freed itself and I was able to tuck it away.

When you’re stuck in a crowd like that, there are times where you cannot breathe. Not due to lack of oxygen, but because there is no room for your lungs to expand and contract. You gasp for air but there’s no room in your body for it. If you could draw breath to scream, no one would hear you anyway. I eventually fought my way out of that dense jungle of bodies. I was lucky. In worst case scenarios, people are asphyxiated where they stand.

Although it shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of artists to police crowds during these mega events, we also can’t ignore the influence they do have on crowd behavior. Whether or not Travis Scott is found to have “egged on” his audience and held partially responsible for the injuries and deaths at Astroworld remains to be seen. The investigation into the tragedy is upcoming. Over 300 civil lawsuits have also been filed.

The Astroworld disaster was no “act of God”. These deaths could have been prevented with simple crowd management strategies. If organizers had appointed crowd scientists and concert safety consultants the outcome would have been very different. At the very least, there is plenty of data available on crowd behavior. Why didn’t the Astroworld organizers use it?