Security needs tightening before more rockers killed

Former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, real name Darrell Abbott, was killed in a small… Former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, real name Darrell Abbott, was killed in a small venue in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night as his new band, Damageplan, was starting the first song of its set.

A 25-year-old man jumped onstage and reportedly said something about Pantera, then proceeded to shoot Abbott at close range. He then turned to the crowd and killed two audience members, wounding two more. Moments later, Columbus police made their way through the crowd to see the gunman holding someone hostage on stage. The police shot and killed the gunman, potentially saving hundreds of other people.

This has no place in music. It has no place in our society, for that matter. Not only is this incident wrong in so many ways, but it is also completely befuddling to anyone who has read about it in the news.

It’s a complete travesty. It’s a sign of our times, where people take things too seriously. Sure, Pantera played heavy music, and several older folks on Capitol Hill have claimed that heavy-metal music can cause youngsters to kill and harm people. They blamed Columbine on Marilyn Manson and Eminem. They blamed riots of the early ’90s on gangsta rap and heavy metal, like Pantera and Black Sabbath.

This guy was messed up. That’s all there is to it.

But what’s messed up is that he was able to get a weapon into this club. Even more, he was able to get onto the stage. He was then able to fire several shots before anyone was able to do anything. One concertgoer hopped onstage and attempted to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Abbott until the paramedics arrived.

Security at clubs has to be tighter. What’s sad is that it takes an incident like this, taking the life of a guitar legend and several other innocent fans, before someone realizes that there’s something wrong. Every concert I’ve ever been to, with the exception of small clubs, has had stringent security checks.

It’s almost as if the people in charge don’t think anything is going to happen if there are only a couple of hundred people in attendance. Earlier this week, I attended a concert at the newly opened Margarita Mamma’s in Station Square. It’s a nice bar with a great setup for bands, which should be a huge factor in the future success of this establishment. What I noticed, however, at this 18-and-older show, was that at the 21-and-older entrance, where access to the bar is granted, there weren’t checks of any kind for contraband, let alone a gun.

Now, I know what people are thinking, “They’re gonna search us everywhere we go.” I hear the cries of freedom infringed upon already coming from the mountaintops. So be it. Cry all you want. As a person who goes to many concerts, in large venues as well as small, I’m happy to show my waist line and let you see what’s in my pockets, as long as I know I’m safe from some messed-up kid shooting me while I’m enjoying the rock show.