RATM raise a Lollapalooza riot

Along with Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine took to the Hutchinson field stage at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago’s Grant Park over the weekend. The mood however was not a good one, with music reporters, photographers and security staff all claiming that the mosh pit was “as bad as they’ve ever seen”; in addition to crowd control problems and a screwup by event staff.

While dedicated fans waited in front of the AT&T Stage all day to get a good spot for the headliner, many left it towards the last minute to get close to the stage for Rage’s set. The crowd, which was at least 70,000 strong was not helped by a number of people jumping the temporary fencing in order to catch Rage Against The Machine’s set. Chicago Sun-Times photographer Marty Perez reported spotting an entire family (husband, wife and child) jumping the fencing in order to see the band.

Only three songs into their set, frontman Zach de la Rocha urged the crowd to look after one another due to the fans bum-rushing the stage. “We got enough problems out there in the streets with these fucked up politicians and cops…Save that shits for the streets,” de la Rocha urged. Problems continued elsewhere however, with a large group of people rushing from the Bud Light stage in the north of Grant Park where Wilco was performing to the south, in the process causing people to be shoved, knocked over and trampled on.

The boiling point hit approximately half way through Rage Against The Machine’s set due to a screw-up by an event staffer. According to Time Out Chicago’s Scott Smith, a few hundred people who could not get into the event sat on Columbus Drive, a public street near the Lollapalooza site. A C3 staffer told security to open the gate to allow event goers to exit, which allowed at least one hundred people, if not many more to rush the gates and gain access. One police officer was struck by a gatecrasher, which prompted Chicago Police to order officers out of the park and onto Columbus Drive on horseback to prevent any more fans getting a freebie.

Meanwhile on stage, de la Rocha was telling the crowd that the band was going to stop playing unless they calmed down. “We’ve already had a few people hurt. Unless we get together and help, we’re going to cut it short.” Medical and Safety Engineering, the first aid provider for Lollapalooza that around 40 people were transported to local hospitals, mainly for low impact injuries such as twisted ankles and broken feet. “We had six ambulances and they ran non-stop”, said Medical and Safety Engineering owner Jake Willens. Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Monique Bond claimed that there were seven arrests on Friday, “probably disorderly conduct”.