Riots at Gigs/Events

Motley Crue

Ok, so the last few years have shown us that riots are quite common at major festival gigs....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1148637.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1146349.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/853995.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2562569.stm

When I say common, I mean that they seem to be happening more and more, since promoters want bigger events for bigger crowds and more money. People are travelling from long distances, drinking, not sleeping and then bein totally sucked into a crowd and if something goes wrong we have a huge problem on our hand. This hasnt just happened in the last few years, its been a problem for decades

http://www.safeconcerts.com/ukcrowdaccidents%20and%20injuries.asp

In fact, I was most astonished by this report, because I was NEVER aware anyone had died at a Queen concert!

http://www.safeconcerts.com/newsitem.asp?nurn=57

The point im making with all this is that say we all turn up to Guns N' Roses or Pearl Jam or Metallica this year, and one of the bands decides not to perform for any reason or there is an overcrowding situation. What happens if people in the crowd decide that theres 65,000 of us in Dublin 4 and no real Garda presence and a lot of nice houses for smashing because Axl didnt take to the stage? Worse still, what if that violence claims a life, the life of some young fan who didnt know what he was getting himself into?

Does anyone have anything to say on this?

360*

I know what youre saying, it doesnt seem like too long ago that Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death in the mosh pit at Smashing Pumpkins gig. That was in the Point, and Ive been to worse overcrowding situations in the Point (Like Velvet Revolver in 05), but when that happened I cried my eyes out because it was just such a stupid thing to happen to an innocent girl.

lostexpectation

Like Velvet Revolver in 05 in the point, what happened their

i've always had a bee in my bonnet about free water being provided, lack of water was one the main reasons the crowd rioted at the woodstock 99

the campaign isn't entirely clear on what it wants, more lines safety barriers even at outdoor gigs?

Toast

Motley Crue wrote:

The point im making with all this is that say we all turn up to Guns N' Roses or Pearl Jam or Metallica this year, and one of the bands decides not to perform for any reason or there is an overcrowding situation. What happens if people in the crowd decide that theres 65,000 of us in Dublin 4 and no real Garda presence and a lot of nice houses for smashing because Axl didnt take to the stage? Worse still, what if that violence claims a life, the life of some young fan who didnt know what he was getting himself into?

Does anyone have anything to say on this?

Ozzy cancelled Ozzfest which was a similar crowd and there wasnt any problems before. People were pissed off but there was never any suggestion of a riot. The worst thing you can do is to expect a riot which is what has happened to Leeds. There are people who now go for the riots. Frankly I dont think any of the gigs you mentioned attract the right sort of crowd for a riot so I wouldnt worry about it. Oxegen on the other hand.... yeh I wont go putting ideas in peoples heads. :-D

Also... Ive been in dangerous crowds before (the system of a down crowd in Leeds in your url was one) and its scary but generally theres alot of warning theres a problem. At Leeds people were told to get back and system even stopped the set until they did. In effect if everyone just pays attention to what is going on, to themselves and those around them then everyone will be fine.

rubadub

Motley Crue wrote:

. What happens if people in the crowd decide that theres 65,000 of us in Dublin 4 and no real Garda presence and a lot of nice houses for smashing because Axl didnt take to the stage? Worse still, what if that violence claims a life, the life of some young fan who didnt know what he was getting himself into?

Does anyone have anything to say on this?

scum will be scum with or without music. Like many said about the "republican" riots, all those scumbags would have been causing bollocks somewhere else that day, it was simply that they all gathered together and did it in the one place.

That queen concert was talking about 150,000 people. How many pubs would that fill? how many gigs have queen ever played? it doesnt surprise me at all.

I remember hearing comments about the popes visit and people shocked there were no deaths (albeit from natural causes.) with massive numbers of people the odds for violence are very high.

NIBBS

360* wrote:

I know what youre saying, it doesnt seem like too long ago that Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death in the mosh pit at Smashing Pumpkins gig. That was in the Point, and Ive been to worse overcrowding situations in the Point (Like Velvet Revolver in 05), but when that happened I cried my eyes out because it was just such a stupid thing to happen to an innocent girl.

what did happen at VR in '05 ???
I wasn't up the front, but the venue wasn't in the least full - I don't think security is trained properly to deal with crowd congestion (if trained at all).......I was actually at Blink 182 in the Point, and there could have been a bad situation there purely by the way they were trying to segregate the crowd - it was pure stupidity.....
worst I've been in was Michael Jackson in Landsdowne Road, they couldn't open one of the gates and pushed thousands of people towards one exit - people were being dragged out over the fencing etc.....awful to look at.....you also had no control over your movement because the crowd was so tight you weren't walking on the ground, nearly glyding.........if you fell in that you'd be blessed to survive......

the RDS doesn't hold 65,000 - but I take your point, I'm surprised more doesn't happen at larger gigs with the amount of scumbags that turn up at them........

ArcadeFred

NIBBS wrote:

I was actually at Blink 182 in the Point, and there could have been a bad situation there purely by the way they were trying to segregate the crowd - it was pure stupidity...

They were so lucky the situation outside before that gig wasn't as bad as it could have been. They could have had a riot on their hands. And serious cases of hypothermia...

Oral Slang

Toast wrote:

Ozzy cancelled Ozzfest which was a similar crowd and there wasnt any problems before. People were pissed off but there was never any suggestion of a riot. The worst thing you can do is to expect a riot which is what has happened to Leeds. There are people who now go for the riots. Frankly I dont think any of the gigs you mentioned attract the right sort of crowd for a riot so I wouldnt worry about it. Oxegen on the other hand.... yeh I wont go putting ideas in peoples heads. :-D

Yeah totally agree, don't think the crowds going to most metal gigs would be bothered rioting..
At Graspop last year we queued for hours in the sweltering heat, missing one or two bands we really wanted to see in the process & I nearly fainted twice and still there was no rioting. We were majorly pissed off granted and there was a lot of shouting & singing, but no pushing or anything!

Potcher

Black sabbath in donnington last year was pretty ****in rough, there was a load of girls pulled out round me but i was right up the front. I felt like throwing up on the way back to the tent but was grand after 15 mins. not sure what the capacity was last year (100,000?) It's a different concert if your at the front than if your at the back. I was at the velvet revolver gig in the point and had loads of room but thats not to say it wasn'nt crushing up the front.
slayer in the point at tattoo the planet was a scary crowd but if your going to see slayer you know to expect that.

Motley Crue

NIBBS wrote:

what did happen at VR in '05 ???
I wasn't up the front, but the venue wasn't in the least full - I don't think security is trained properly to deal with crowd congestion (if trained at all).......QUOTE]

The security arent trained in the slightest, I know, I used to work for them! And as for Velvet Revolver, there were too many people pushing for the front with too little time left. it was a bad idea to have been at the front (after the pit) and been a young person or small individual

Mushy

Velvet Revolver at the Point was mental. I was at the front the whole time and was crushed about ten minutes after getting into the place. Id say i spent three and a half hours hangin over the railings, hardly able to breathe and no sign of water anywhere. The security just stood there doin nothin

psilocybe

Potcher wrote:

slayer in the point at tattoo the planet was a scary crowd but if your going to see slayer you know to expect that.

Didn't think it was that bad, Slayer at Ozzfest was far worse, saw a couple of people with some nasty looking injuries, broken noses etc.

John

NIBBS wrote:

worst I've been in was Michael Jackson in Landsdowne Road, they couldn't open one of the gates and pushed thousands of people towards one exit - people were being dragged out over the fencing etc.....awful to look at.....you also had no control over your movement because the crowd was so tight you weren't walking on the ground, nearly glyding.........if you fell in that you'd be blessed to survive......

I only barely remember that. It's one of the few occassions I remember seeing my uncle worried. I was only 8 so all I remember is it being dark and lots of big people around me.

BrianD

There is a public order unit present at Punchestown during the festival i.e those guys with the gear you saw on O'connell St. There has to be - the population of Oxegen is bigger than many small towns!

Every concert has a plan that ensures the safety of the crowd. This includes everything from sight lines, exits, water ...

Security don't have to be trained. Most are there as bodies to secure a gate or keep an eye on things but there is an overall plan and they are told what they have to do if things go wrong.

The big problems in Ireland is that a) we don't have that many purpose built venues that date from this century. tHe point is an old railway shed! b) Irish audiences are contrary in nature - they'll never do what they are told and will inists on going one way, climbing over this and generally creating a problem. Then they complain about security. Drinking is the cause of most of it.

ArcadeFred

BrianD wrote:

Every concert has a plan that ensures the safety of the crowd. This includes everything from sight lines, exits, water ...

Well in fairness Oxegen didn't appear to have this factored into their plan very well last year :rolleyes:

LundiMardi

To be honest, in cases like gigs at the point, people pushing up the front are victims of their own stupidity. Fair enough security aren't trained, but even if they were, what exactly are they able to do when there are a few thousand people to control? Not a lot really.

This is why i choose not to go into the pit, and even if i were, i'd be at the back of it, where there is room.

tj-music.com

When I went to see The Human League on March 14th there were people in the first row physically fighting and many people waved at the security guys and it took them ages to really respond.

Worst ever was the DEF LEPPARD gig in 2003 @ the Ambassador. Read the full report on: www.concert-reviews.net

Sometimes securtiy is brillaint in different venues and sometimes they just dont give a **** about what is going on and I think the later is a disgrace and people should expect them to do their job properly.