The Seattle quintet expressed its grief in a statement on Sony Music’s Web site: “I think we are all waiting for someone to wake us up and say it was just a horrible nightmare.” It isn’t the first time rock fans have been trampled to death at a concert–at the Who’s 1979 show in Cincinnati 11 fans died, and 52 people were trampled at a concert last year in Minsk. But Friday’s tragedy hit Pearl Jam especially hard. The group, which rose out of the ’90s grunge movement, is close to its fans, showing its loyalty by fighting Ticketmaster for cheaper concert tickets and pressuring its record label to lower CD prices. Frontman Eddie Vedder is also notorious for wearing his heart on his sleeve, openly mourning the death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Pearl Jam’s distress was apparent in the statement: “Our lives will never be the same, but we know it is nothing compared to the grief of the families and friends of those involved.”
The music festival closed the stage down after the incident, canceling a performance by The Cure. Meanwhile bands continued to play on the festival’s six other stages. Ticket holders who stayed on for the next two days placed candles and flowers near the site, turning the festival into a rock-and-roll memorial service.
