a z A View from the Basement Security agent offers unique perspective Larry D. D Curtis Managing Editor Y view from the basement basement base base- ment M-ment MY ment took a 4 am a.m. trip to Ogden for the 1993 edition of L Lollapalooza Instead of Cf my perspective from the basement basement basement base base- ment of the College Center other stud students and I had the vantage point of experiencing experiencing experiencing ex- ex the show just above the crowd and just below elow th the stage in a zone known as the barricade It was my responsibility asa asa as a's asa a security agent along with the others stationed along the zone to Q pull fans out of what was likely Utah's largest ever pit when they felt they couldn't take it anymore or when they were injured in by bythe bythe bythe the pressing hordes We also had to receive the surfers crowd as they rode atop the uplifted d arms of the masses masses g getting tossed and turned by the whims of those who supported them Some people on the barricade bar bar- were assigned the dU duty r. r of f spraying down the crow crowd with hoses pouring wat water r in inthe inthe inthe the mouths of those who were cr crushed shed against the wooden retaining wall and keeping security supplied with water as well The crowd would cheer nearly as loudly for water wafer during the th breaks breaks' as they did for the bands during their sets With my earplugs firmly in place the musical assault began on the crowd and th the waves of fans began their p push sh to the stage It was entertaining to watch everybody jump up and down mostly in unison but we were more focused on keeping watch for bodies riding the tide of the crowd and trying to spot those in inthe inthe inthe the press near the barricade b who needed our help During the Fishbone set I was shocked to see Angelo Moore their lead singer leave the stage to take his spot next to me and then to let himself be carried around by the crowd while singing Swim from their latest album Later in the set he once again became part of the crowd but this time by leaping over security's heads directly on the crowd Contemporary Services who was contracted for the event has the responsibility to keep everyone safe both performers and those attending attending attend attend- ing the event sometimes despite th their ir best efforts to be unsafe f With anger and disbelief I watched as flames flicked above the level of the crowd and black smoke spiraled upward upward upward up up- ward from the middle of the large group gathered to watch Alice Alic in Chains With little regard to anybody's safety someone lit lita a fire Contemporary sent a team out to deal with the fire and to disperse ise those who were were circling around it this thoughtless act could have caused major problems such as shutting down the he show or even loss of life The worst moment of the show for me came a few mo ments later when a a a f female male who was unconscious c us was passed to tomy tomy tomy my arms from the crowd I was relieved to learn leam that she wasn't severely injured So from rom my lIlY post on the barricade I was able to monitor the excitement of the event only by the crowd reaction reaction reaction tion and nd by what I could hear I enjoyed the show but was amazed by the stupidity of some of the patrons It was nice to have so many people thank me for helping them My regret is not having a avideo avideo avideo video camera to record my view from the barricade