Broken Machine

An insider connected with Street Scene says the injuries that occurred during Tool's August 5 performance could have been prevented.

"They were dragging [injured] people out by the end of the first song," says the person who worked the event. "By the third song, there were people lying everywhere backstage.... If it was that bad that early, [Tool] should have just stopped playing. They told people to back up, but you know how that goes....

"[Tool] wanted to run their stupid claymation videos [on the 120'x40' screens that flanked the stage] instead of having people be able to see the band. And when you can't see the band and you're 200 yards away, you start pushing forward so you can see better. [When images of the artist playing live are projected on] the screens [it] keep[s] fans from rushing the stage.... The director and other technicians who were responsible for providing the live feed to the screens were told they were not going to be needed for Tool. They weren't even in their tent during Tool....

"Snoop [Dogg] had a giant crowd, too. Snoop and Tool both played to what looked like a crowd of 20,000 or more. Tool was the only band that refused to put their image on the big screens....

"Right before their show started, Tool kicked everyone out from backstage, even people with working passes. There was nobody backstage who might have been able to help the people who were injured."

Last week, an employee for Satellite Artist Management, which handles Tool, said manager Pete Riedling was with the band in Japan. She said she didn't think Riedling or anyone else from the Tool camp would be making a comment on the situation.

Street Scene spokesman Michael Trimble did not return a request for comment.

Artists generally have a contract with the promoter that indemnifies them against claims resulting from injury or damages connected with their performance.