The FISHER concerts on March 29th and 30th brought chaos to Cow Palace and resulted in several injuries.
Last weekend, Australian tech-house producer FISHER played two sold-out shows at Cow Palace in Daly City. While the venue has a legacy of hosting rock legends like the Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, Nirvana, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, FISHER was the first electronic artist to sell out two shows.
On his Instagram, FISHER said that the concert “was a proper rave” and that “it was absolutely looney tunes.” Fisher said he loves performing in San Francisco. “It’s one of my favorite places in the world to play,” he said, promising to come back to the Bay Area soon.
These sentiments were echoed by senior Audrey Baker who attended the concert and said, “It was probably the best night of my entire life.”
Senior Thea Shih, said, “It was so memorable. I’ve probably gone to 30 concerts, and this was honestly the best concert I’ve been to.”
Shih described the crowd as a community brought together by their love of music. “Every single person was dancing and immersed in the music. It was such a nice community–everybody was super nice and forgiving if you bumped into them, and everybody was there for the music and to have a good time.”
A lot of M-A students attended the concert. “There was one area with 50 kids from M-A. It was really fun, definitely more fun than the M-A dances,” said junior Nicolee Ohtaki.
Although the concert started at 8pm, FISHER did not come out until a little after 12am.
Senior Jeeya Parekh said, “He definitely came on a little late. I got a little bit bored from 8-12. The openers were basic DJ’s, but it was still fun.”
Senior Aristi Papapanagiotou said, “We got to the concert a little after 8. Fisher hadn’t come on by 11:45 and everyone in my group was tired, so we went home.”
Once Fisher came on, chaos broke loose. Only the first 5,000 people to arrive gained floor access, but this did not prevent people from trying to sneak onto the floor. To do this, concert attendees had to climb barricades that were above head height and then get through the security guards. Multiple people got hurt and detained, including M-A students.
As in any concert, the crowds were intense.
Anna Gady, a senior at M-A reported, “I was trying to leave the pit area, and I saw this guy trying to punch this security guard. They got on the floor and started wrestling.”
Junior Mia Garcia Gonzalez can also testify to the intensity of the crowds. “It was really crowded, so people weren’t seeing where they were waving around their arms. The lights were also strobing, so it was hard to see. I got elbowed really, really hard, and I started seeing spots. I ended up getting a concussion.”
An anonymous student also shared his experience. “As Fisher came onto the stage, my friend collapsed of dehydration and was fully unconscious for about a minute and a half.” The student continued, “It was scary because people in the crowd didn’t care that he was unconscious and were pushing him and stepping on his legs. It took me and another friend carrying him out to get him to safety.”
Senior Alexa Piña recounts yet another injury. “When they closed the floor, people hopped from the seating area over the barricade and into the pit. A kid was hopping it and got his foot stuck in the railing and fell backwards. He landed on his head, and it cracked open right in front of me. I thought he was just unconscious, and then a pool of blood just started coming out. I’ve never seen so much blood in my life.”
From the four hour delay to concert goers running the gauntlet to get onto the floor, what started as an exhilarating concert turned into one of distress and danger. While some experienced the night of their lives, others barely escaped tragedy. This emphasizes the need for both concert goers and concert organizers to prioritize the safety of attendees.
Photos taken by Anna Gady and Anya Perazich
