In a sense, the Feb. 20, 2003 fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., that killed 100 and injured 200 was the equivalent of 9/11 for the live entertanment business in the United States: though something that horrifying could have happened at any time, until it did, inertia kept a lax system in place, with club owners and acts bending the rules to their own perceived advantage and inspectors always behind the curve.

Society's attempts to place responsibility for these disasters are ongoing and highly complex and necessary on many levels - it's too bad our best efforts are usually reactive rather than proactive. The proactive nature of the war on terror is why I so staunchly support it, though this '"proactive" approach is itself "reactive" to 9/11.

Billboard looks at the Station tragedy:

The tragedy — the worst in rock history — has been devastating to all involved: the families and friends of the dead, the survivors who continue to struggle with physical and mental scars, the community, the band and those who could be held legally accountable for the blaze.

Jack Russell, the lead singer of Great White, says he would not wish the past year on his worst enemy.

"I lost three really close friends and 97 other people — if I didn't know them by name, I knew their faces," Russell tells Billboard in a rare interview. Among the dead was guitarist Ty Longley. "They were part of our family. My life has been changed forever."

The concert business has also been significantly changed by the fire. Most people in the touring world believe concerts of all types are safer today than they were one year ago.

"This really was a kick in the ass for a lot of people," says Jay Nedry, owner of Jaxx, a 550-capacity club in Springfield, Va., where Great White was supposed to play the night after the ill-fated Station gig.

"People in this business are taking a better look at what they have and what could happen," says Bart Butler, president of concert security firm Rock Solid.

"Every city we go to, the fire marshalls are more involved in things like aisle size and the flow of people than they have been in the past."

....Safety improvements did not just occur at the club level.

"There is no question that concerts are safer now than they were before the Rhode Island fire," says Larry Perkins, assistant GM of the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., and liaison with the Fire Protection Assn. for the International Assn. of Assembly Managers.

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