The ultimate Terrible Gig

I learned about the tragic storm and stage collapse at the annual Big Valley Jamboree via Twitter while I was in nearby Irma on the weekend. It was a truly surreal, scary experience to watch unfold via the safe vantage point of the live Twitter stream, and a reminder of how quickly things can change and how important it is to remember what's really important in life.

We've had gigs in our past that I would qualify as "terrible". But of course that's just within a certain range of "terrible". Like the being-booed-as-you-walk-onstage-because-you're-carrying-a-synthesizer-under-your-arm kind of "terrible". When a tragedy like this happens, it puts things into proper perspective. In an I'm-glad-I'm-alive-to-hug-my-wife-and-kids way.

Our thoughts are with the family of the dead and injured. And I certainly hope people don't get too carried away in the aftermath in terms of trying to find someone to blame for all of this. It was an act of nature, and as we've seen in millions of examples before this one, we tiny little humans have very little power to fight Mother Nature if she really wants to lay a smackdown on us. If we can learn anything to improve outdoor show safety in the future (faster warnings, storm-proof stage construction), that's great, but trying to hang this on somebody's neck will be like trying to fight the wind. You can swing all you want, but you'll never win.

cn