Rockbites: Rollins speaks out on Roskilde, promises live album

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September 2000 • Rockbites Alternative Daily

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Rollins speaks out on Roskilde, promises live album
12 September 2000

Back in June when mud, music, testosterone, and gravity tragically conspired to kill nine concertgoers during a Pearl Jam show at the annual Roskilde charity festival west of Copenhagen, the overwhelming reaction of all concerned was sadness. An eyewitness told the BBC afterwards “The people massed at the back kept on pressing towards the front of the stage despite appeals by the security guards and the singers. All of a sudden there were scenes of pushing, panic, shouts, then the music stopped, replaced by howls and screams. It was unbearable.”
    Bands slated to perform the rest of the festival reacted in a variety of ways. The Cure, up right after Pearl Jam, respectfully cancelled their show. The next day Oasis and The Pet Shop Boys also cancelled, but many bands chose to play. Henry Rollins, songwriter and vocalist for Rollins Band (and one time vocalist for LA hardcore legends Black Flag) was one who played. He recently spoke out on the event.
    “Mike, our road manager, came up to me and told me there was a good chance that Oasis and The Pet Shop Boys were going to cancel their sets because of what happened the night before. The first thing I thought to myself was that if Oasis thinks they’re going to start a stampede with that limp music they play, they have really lost the plot.
    “Moments later we were told that Oasis and the Pet Shop Boys were [indeed] canceling to show respect to the families of the victims. This struck me as such a crock. I have no doubt that the people in The Pet Shop Boys felt horrible about what had happened, as we all did. But not playing doesn’t help matters. There’s one hundred thousand people there and you’re NOT going to play? What good is that going to do? Come all that way out to the festival, endure a catastrophic night and then go home early even more bummed out? I thought the music was there to strengthen the spirit in times of trouble. Well, that’s my take on it anyway.
    “One of the members of the Pet Shop Boys staff came up to me and asked me if we were going to play and I told him fuck yeah we were going to play. I looked over at the Oasis crew eating at a table. They were never intending to load out the gear. I bet the members of the band never left London. So, we played and had a blast.”
    Rollins also announced that his band will release their Roskilde performance as a live album “at some point.” | Henry Rollins | | Rollins newsletter | | discography | | sample | | top of page |

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