Monday, February 17, 2014
NO PARTY AT GROUND ZERO: Next time Fishbone's Angelo Moore gets sued by a "predator" (his term, not mine) for causing terrible injuries from his stage-diving into a crowd, he might want to consider encouraging his lawyer to make an appearance and fight the suit, because once you forfeit the ability to argue assumption of risk that assessment of damages number is not going to be pretty, and I'm guessing those "Jamaican Ska" royalties are no more.
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He might want to have a lawyer prep him for his deposition, too. Not sure what a lawyer could have done with par. 11, "Plaintiff did not know that FIshbone would be performing the concert's opening act, and she had no reason to anticipate any stage diving." Any word on who the main act was?
ReplyDeleteEnglish Beat. At it was at WXPN World Cafe Live, not quite the Troc.
ReplyDeleteYeah, everyone involved, including Angelo Moore, is far too old for that shit.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, prepare for the deposition.
ReplyDeleteBoo. If you're close enough to the stage to get hit by stage diving then you assume the risk. Same as getting hit by a foul ball at a baseball game.
ReplyDeleteNot if you have no idea there will be stage diving. It's like going to a hockey game where the pregame show is a home run derby. If you get hit by a baseball, the assumption of risk argument is much weaker than if you get hit by a hockey puck.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the assumption of risk argument does work better if you, y'know, show up to make it.
Aw, I think my comment about getting kicked in the head at a Fishbone concert disappeared. Oh well, it wasn't that interesting.
ReplyDeleteIf there's open floor in front of the stage you should never be surprised if a mosh pit develops or if someone stage dives. Doesn't have to be the band, could be someone in the audience. Some concert situations are basically like being in the middle of a riot and if stay there you should be responsible for whatever happens.
When I went to a Howard Jones concert last year, there were no seats and general admission. Definitely "open floor in front of the stage." Should I have expected a mosh pit or stage diving? Because it would have shocked the living daylights out of me if it had happened. English Beat is not the kind of band where I'd expect a mosh pit or stage diving, either. (That said, as soon as I saw that Fishbone was the opening act, I would expect it, but no one can be expected to know the proclivities of every band in the world - just the ones they pay for.)
ReplyDeleteNo seats and general admission qualifies. Or any concert that allows enough open space in front of the stage for people to crowd. English Beat is that type of band or at least they once were (not that I ever saw them dive, but it attracted that type of crowd). Basically, if you're in the middle of a crowd you're trusting your safety to a bunch of people you have no control over. But I'm mixing crowd and performer responsibilities. Some bands dive and surf, some throw random stuff into the audience. If you're close enough to the stage to get hit by something, then you can be responsible for your own safety.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a Who concert in Cincinnati type of situation. Or if you want to make it one, then you have to outlaw all general admission seating and open floors of any type. No one is allowed anywhere near the stage, no one dances, no one stands. Just sit there quietly and contemplate your existence.
No one said anything about outlawing anything. I'm talking about reasonable expectations and assumptions of risk.
ReplyDeleteIt cannot be that every single concert with GA and open floors has the same level of risk to an audience member. I go to kiddie concerts with GA and open floor - and frankly, those have greater risk than a Howard Jones concert in 2013 with an audience full of 40-something women.
The issue is what you can reasonably expect when you go to a concert, and who is responsible if something goes wrong. If you go into a mosh pit at Lollapalooza, you're assuming a lot more risk than if you go see Paul Anka at the Westbury Music Fair. This was somewhere in between, and if everyone's lawyers show up, this should be a conversation about where on the spectrum this falls.
This isn't somewhere in between, this was a concert featuring 80s postpunk ska bands. This is what happens. This doesn't mean it's her fault, but it also doesn't have to be the band's responsibility.
ReplyDeleteIf Howard Jones hops off the stage to sing a ballad to the grandmother behind you and accidentally knocks you over, is he at fault for not warning you that singers sometimes leave the stage?
I would not expect a mosh pit for English Beat. What I'd want to know is how early in Fishbone's set this was -- if the pit had already been well-formed, you've got to back the eff out of it.
ReplyDelete