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Friday, February 11, 2022
John Mayer Stops Hollywood Concert to Assist Audience Member
Variety: John Mayer briefly paused his concert mid-song Wednesday at the Hollywood Palladium, his first since the beginning of the pandemic, to call for medical assistance after noticing a fan who appeared to be unconscious.
Ever since the Astroworld festival catastrophe that claimed the lives of ten people, the audience conditions at live concerts and musical events have been under heavy scrutiny. And especially in the time of a global pandemic, the issue of safety needs some serious revamps and accommodations in such spaces. John Mayer stopping his concert when noticing an audience member in distress is definitely the right move, something Travis Scott was intensely criticized for failing to do. However, Mayer’s venue and audience was arguably a smaller crowd which prompts the question of how further safety measures can be implemented in the scenario that the performing artist is unable to spot and direct attention to someone in need of medical attention. Billie Eilish also recently stopped one of her concerts to ask her audience to take a step backwards after noticing that a fan was having trouble breathing; although I don’t necessarily agree that it is the performer’s job to scout for fans in danger every time they perform, it is still helpful to be vigilant and take responsibility if they do notice it.
Like how the article and Iris mentioned, after the tragic incident that happened at the Astroworld concert, these issues of audience safety has been a hot topic and one that has gotten more attention. I am glad to hear that John Mayer did the right thing by stopping his concert to save a life. I believe that an artist, who has a clear view of the audience and the larger mob flow of if people are pushing and possibly suffocating someone, should be responsible for saying something if security fails to do so. It seems like the unquestionable thing to do, as these audience members are who got that artist to where they are today, and if you see someone literally in jeopardy of death there really should be no excuse to ignore that. The artist is in such a place of power to say something and do something, and there was no excuse for Travis Scott to have ignored the incident occurring right in front of him.
Like how the article and Iris mentioned, after the tragic incident that happened at the Astroworld concert, these issues of audience safety has been a hot topic and one that has gotten more attention. I am glad to hear that John Mayer did the right thing by stopping his concert to save a life. I believe that an artist, who has a clear view of the audience and the larger mob flow of if people are pushing and possibly suffocating someone, should be responsible for saying something if security fails to do so. It seems like the unquestionable thing to do, as these audience members are who got that artist to where they are today, and if you see someone literally in jeopardy of death there really should be no excuse to ignore that. The artist is in such a place of power to say something and do something, and there was no excuse for Travis Scott to have ignored the incident occurring right in front of him.
I have seen so many people try to defend Travis Scott and say that there is nothing he could have done. Clearly, given John Mayer's actions, it is entirely possible to halt a show and help someone in the audience. It has become increasingly obvious that Travis Scott intended to neglect the crowd, as before and during the concert, his management created the code word "smurf," specifically for dead bodies. There was never an intention to stop or help these people, but rather to brush it under the rug, clean up, and move on as fast as possible for Scott's personal benefit. Of course performers are going to be more on edge following the Astroworld catastrophe, but the death of 10 audience members while people are desperately climbing up to staff and yelling at them that people have died is not a tragedy, it’s an inexcusable display of negligence on the part of Travis Scott.
4 comments:
Ever since the Astroworld festival catastrophe that claimed the lives of ten people, the audience conditions at live concerts and musical events have been under heavy scrutiny. And especially in the time of a global pandemic, the issue of safety needs some serious revamps and accommodations in such spaces. John Mayer stopping his concert when noticing an audience member in distress is definitely the right move, something Travis Scott was intensely criticized for failing to do. However, Mayer’s venue and audience was arguably a smaller crowd which prompts the question of how further safety measures can be implemented in the scenario that the performing artist is unable to spot and direct attention to someone in need of medical attention. Billie Eilish also recently stopped one of her concerts to ask her audience to take a step backwards after noticing that a fan was having trouble breathing; although I don’t necessarily agree that it is the performer’s job to scout for fans in danger every time they perform, it is still helpful to be vigilant and take responsibility if they do notice it.
Like how the article and Iris mentioned, after the tragic incident that happened at the Astroworld concert, these issues of audience safety has been a hot topic and one that has gotten more attention. I am glad to hear that John Mayer did the right thing by stopping his concert to save a life. I believe that an artist, who has a clear view of the audience and the larger mob flow of if people are pushing and possibly suffocating someone, should be responsible for saying something if security fails to do so. It seems like the unquestionable thing to do, as these audience members are who got that artist to where they are today, and if you see someone literally in jeopardy of death there really should be no excuse to ignore that. The artist is in such a place of power to say something and do something, and there was no excuse for Travis Scott to have ignored the incident occurring right in front of him.
Hikari Harrison
Like how the article and Iris mentioned, after the tragic incident that happened at the Astroworld concert, these issues of audience safety has been a hot topic and one that has gotten more attention. I am glad to hear that John Mayer did the right thing by stopping his concert to save a life. I believe that an artist, who has a clear view of the audience and the larger mob flow of if people are pushing and possibly suffocating someone, should be responsible for saying something if security fails to do so. It seems like the unquestionable thing to do, as these audience members are who got that artist to where they are today, and if you see someone literally in jeopardy of death there really should be no excuse to ignore that. The artist is in such a place of power to say something and do something, and there was no excuse for Travis Scott to have ignored the incident occurring right in front of him.
I have seen so many people try to defend Travis Scott and say that there is nothing he could have done. Clearly, given John Mayer's actions, it is entirely possible to halt a show and help someone in the audience. It has become increasingly obvious that Travis Scott intended to neglect the crowd, as before and during the concert, his management created the code word "smurf," specifically for dead bodies. There was never an intention to stop or help these people, but rather to brush it under the rug, clean up, and move on as fast as possible for Scott's personal benefit. Of course performers are going to be more on edge following the Astroworld catastrophe, but the death of 10 audience members while people are desperately climbing up to staff and yelling at them that people have died is not a tragedy, it’s an inexcusable display of negligence on the part of Travis Scott.
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