Dimebag Darrell Murdered

I can't believe it. Read the story here for yourself. A fan walked onstage during Damageplan's opening song and shot Darrell "five or six times". Then he opened fire on the crowd killing even more people before being shot himself. I can't believe something like this could happen and it makes me wonder about the venue security.

I often attend punk, hardcore, metal, and rock concerts in the cities so it's a little eerie reading about something like this happening, especially since I know that security at one of the main venues I go to, The Quest Club, is pretty lax. It's actually pretty rare that I'll be checked for anything as I walk in. Their security measures consist of having a really big guy take your tickets and look at you grumpily. No pat-down, no searches, no nothing really. I can only remember one show where I was actually patted down and that was only because it was a sold out show to a very prolific band (I think it was Staind & P.O.D. back when they were both in their heyday).

Something like this could easily happen where I go, yet I never really think about it. What would I do if someone started shooting off rounds into the crowd of a couple hundred people that are usually there? If I'm there with Kristin, we're usually in the middle of the crowd so we'd be closer to the exit, but when I'm there with Jared we usually plow our way up to the front. If anything, I know I'll be a little more protective of Kristin when we go see Hoobastank in a couple weeks.

Another thought that crossed my mind as I read this was that there is no absolutely no chance of Pantera ever coming back together. They were one of the most influential bands during my formulative middle and high school years. Pantera and White Zombie solidified my interest in heavy music and quelled my thirst for a type of music I could really latch on to. Before I happened upon Pantera's Far Beyond Driven and White Zombie's La Sexorcisto I was listening to everything under the sun. I had cds by Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Brooks & Dunn, MC Hammer, and just about everything else you could imagine, but none of them really struck a chord. When I heard the blistering power chords and intense shredding of Pantera, though, I felt a connection.

I never got to see Pantera live, or Damageplan for that matter. I've always kind of hoped that I'd get to see Pantera someday if they did a reunion tour, like just about every other popular band does, but now I just feel sad this morning. I didn't know Darrell. I didn't know anyone else who was killed. I wasn't there. Yet Darrell, along with Vinnie Paul, Rex, and Phil, influenced my like very few people in the entertainment industry could. It's sad to hear of something like this happening and I suppose it's very appropriate that it's a dark, overcast day out because that's how I feel right now. Rest in peace, Darrell.