SLANE 2009 Oasis - All Discussion - No ticket sales.

lordgoat

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

He's not a moderator in this forum so he's allowed to have his opinion just as much as you and me.

What he said ^

His post also has an infraction beside it. It has been dealt with. The next person that mentions it or moderation of any kind in here. Won't be posting in here for a while.

hughgrant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdP6UuGlmjQ

zonEEE

Had a private bus from sligo and got their around 2 o clock, went through the entrance with no ques. Got up to front, just behind the pit and it was all grand. When the prodigy came on it went mental, never seen anything like it. A girl got knocked out on the ground beside me. Anyways it didnt spoil the event. I thought the blizzards where alright, glasvegas where ****e, kasabian were good, prodigy unreal and oasis unreal. We got our bus where we left it just a 15 min walk and it did take us awhile to get out of slane on the bus but that didn't really matter. Was a great day all in all.

FastFuse

melekalikimaka wrote: »

worked there for 3 days during it, finger pointing is all lots of fun, ya can blame mcd, county council, dus companies... tbh i think if you put 85000 pikies in a field and lock em in with booze for 6 hours, and open the doors again... any form of order is out the window. I have never seen such a dirty...nasty looking bunch of pikies in my life...very pleased i was behind steel shield during gig.

I blame Oasis... the little knack bags :pac:

Everyone that went to the gig is a pikey.? Riiiight

There was a mod earlier discouraging remarks like that. Don't the rules apply to you?

Dabatter

Hi Wiley, did you book it online? I was geting redirected to the DublinBus website.

NickNolte

I love all of these first posts from posters who are defending the organisation of this absolute horror show. Methinks the MCD staff are working overtime at the moment, trying to limit the damage! :rolleyes:

NIBBS

PattheMetaller wrote: »

What makes you think AC/DC will be a bloodbath? I've been going to Metal gigs for 25 years, indoor and outdoor, and never seen any bother.

Well to be honest the outdoor gig will attract plenty of cream crackers.........but in general I've found crowds at metal gigs to be far more pleasant than at mainstream pop or indie gigs......for whatever reason bands that have wider appeal tend to have more trouble and a more aggressive atmosphere.......

was going to head down next week and get the return bus - and was wondering is it worth the hassle - I'm sure that with the publicity etc...from this weekends mess that they'll be told to not mess it up - but I just can't afford to get stuck in Punchestown (and leaving an Ac/Dc gig early isn't an option :-)......)

MCD's statement is a pile of pure drivel, so they just decided they were worried about alcohol consumption for this show - the biggest Irish outdoor show of it's type - without testing it out on a smaller show ??? that's incompetent.
They thank Dublin Bus for not messing up even further than they did, the simple fact is that if the capacity for the gig is 80,000 people the bus company should be covering that number of people for return travel - ok they won't do that because it costs too much, then at least ensure that you have covered the number of tickets that you sold to people going up - as was mentioned the extra 17,000 people that bought Slane tickets on the day didn't just magically arrive in Slane, a significant amount must have paid Dublin Bus to get there and the company should have just counted the receipts or the cash they took in on Sat - not rocket science is it ??????

Silverfox

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

For all those giving out I think the bottom line in all this is that YOU weren’t prepared for the day. YOU chose to go with Dublin Bus instead hiring your own bus or driving. YOU chose not to get to the event early, those that did had no problems getting in and YOU chose to stand at the beer tent for an hour and a half for two cups of watery piss.

Actually dude, WE weren't drinking at all, WE can't drive and don't have the money or the numbers to hire a bus and WE should be entitled to arrive at any time we choose (I was at a wedding dress appt with my sister at mid-day so getting down there that early just wasn't feasible) and still enjoy the concert in a timely and relatively comfortable fashion without our lives or dignity being put in danger. WE were prepared with raingear, suncream, suitable clothes and walking shoes, first aid stuff and bottles of water (which were removed from us on the way in) and WE, along, I'm sure, with others here who are (or are not!) well-seasoned festival goers, deserve better than this at any venue or event regardless of "preparation". Please don't generalise, some of us did all we could to get the most out of the day and got this nightmare in return. "Suck it up", just isn't good enough.

flas

i had great time,yeah there was crazy delays getting out but feck it,the prodigy were worth going through that for...anyone else see the girl fall off the fence and rip her jeans...dont think i have ever been called buddy so much in my life either!!was some amount of scumbags there but big gigs like that seem to attract them,just stay away from them and its grand..

Bill Finnerty

MCD now accepting that major problems at Slane but STILL denying that there were 100,000 plus in the filed. Everybody knows that the field was totally overcrowded. I have been at 16 concerts in Slane, including all the sell out gigs and this was the worst in terms of crowd numbers.

MCD must now come clean and state how many extra tickets above the 80,000 were actually sold.

It was the most dangerous situation I have ever seen and thankfully there were not dozens of fatalities. There is evidence available to properly count the attendance and this must now be eaxmined. CCTV was recording the crowd at each entry point and if this is properly examined by an independent team them we will have a proper estimate of the numbers there.

Meath County Council or some other relevant authority must now investigate what occurred and who let it happen. We cannot wait until a tragedy occurs before soemthing is done.

All persons annoyed with the situation on Saturday should email MCD at contacts@mcd.ie. MCD have a habit of stating that only XX amount of people complained out of 80,000. Everybody with concerns must email them so that the numbers of complaints can properly reflect the real feelings out there.

Mental Mickey

Bill Finnerty wrote: »

MCD now accepting that major problems at Slane but STILL denying that there were 100,000 plus in the filed. Everybody knows that the field was totally overcrowded. I have been at 16 concerts in Slane, including all the sell out gigs and this was the worst in terms of crowd numbers.

MCD must now come clean and state how many extra tickets above the 80,000 were actually sold.

It was the most dangerous situation I have ever seen and thankfully there were not dozens of fatalities. There is evidence available to properly count the attendance and this must now be eaxmined. CCTV was recording the crowd at each entry point and if this is properly examined by an independent team them we will have a proper estimate of the numbers there.

Meath County Council or some other relevant authority must now investigate what occurred and who let it happen. We cannot wait until a tragedy occurs before soemthing is done.

All persons annoyed with the situation on Saturday should email MCD at contacts@mcd.ie. MCD have a habit of stating that only XX amount of people complained out of 80,000. Everybody with concerns must email them so that the numbers of complaints can properly reflect the real feelings out there.

They won't listen..........smug b@*^%"!s. I telephoned them last year after the Metallica gig in Marlay Park, and gave out stink to them, but I could tell that the person on the other end of the line didn't give a sh!t as long as they got their money off me!!

cork*girl

Tis a pity that the transport was ****ed up and that there was ques for hours long.. because the actual concert was epic.. I think people are forgetting that the concert was brilliant and are just turning to the bad points. Tis a pity some people had a ****e experience after, had a brilliant day myself and I would return to Slane.. only badpoint for my was the scumbag that kicked me in the back! ohwell!

BaZmO*

Bill Finnerty wrote: »

MCD must now come clean and state how many extra tickets above the 80,000 were actually sold.

If there was more than 80,000 people there it's not because MCD sold more tickets, it'd be because nobody was checking tickets from the Dublin entrance.

The Blonde One

cork*girl wrote: »

Tis a pity that the transport was ****ed up and that there was ques for hours long.. because the actual concert was epic.. I think people are forgetting that the concert was brilliant and are just turning to the bad points. Tis a pity some people had a ****e experience after, had a brilliant day myself and I would return to Slane.. only badpoint for my was the scumbag that kicked me in the back! ohwell!

I would have gladly swapped your kick in the back, for the projectile vomit I was treated to

Bill Finnerty

BaZmO* wrote: »

If there was more than 80,000 people there it's not because MCD sold more tickets, it'd be because nobody was checking tickets from the Dublin entrance.

How come that MCD stated at the Press Conference last Wednesday that the concert was a sell out, yet people could still but tickets the next day? It is hard to believe that 20,000-30,000 came in without no tickets and were not checked. Something does not add up here, one must assuime that extra tickets were sold. I do accpet that loads came in without tickets.

doublegarments

The Hustler wrote: »

My dad works for Heineken and has done Slane for the last 10 years.

Apparently this year it's Heineken, Coors, Murphys and Red/White wine

this year they served heineken and vinegar, that was the standard of wine, shocking, shame on the people who ran the bars and im not blaming your Dad, i will be lookin for the correct people to complain to

Mental Mickey

Bill Finnerty wrote: »

How come that MCD stated at the Press Conference last Wednesday that the concert was a sell out, yet people could still but tickets the next day? It is hard to believe that 20,000-30,000 came in without no tickets and were not checked. Something does not add up here, one must assuime that extra tickets were sold. I do accpet that loads came in without tickets.

It's called s***e "marshalling"! Plain & simple.

melekalikimaka

FastFuse wrote: »

Everyone that went to the gig is a pikey.? Riiiight

There was a mod earlier discouraging remarks like that. Don't the rules apply to you?

i got an infraction and a warning... i'm not immune to moderation


I'm leaving this post here as he/she has a right to reply to the previous comments. But this is the end of it now. - lordgoat

doublegarments

iPLOD wrote: »

I am still fumming at the rip off that was Slane 2009. Its was my first time there but I'm quite sure I will not be back.

I've been to gigs all over the world and I have never seen anything like the shambles that was Saturday.

Is there any way to lodge an official complaint about it?

If people don't say something it will just keep happening (as seems to be the case for the past 15 yrs)

Oh yeah, I just remebered the tunnel of deisel fumes that was the bus waiting area after the gig. What a nightmare.

i got to agree, worse gig for organisation ive ever been to, vinegar 4 wine, 2 drinks pp, 45 min wait for a drink after a 3km 2 hr walk to get in and the journey home 4hrs on a bus dyin for the loo, what a farce, oasis still rock tho, lord henry , u dont

Mental Mickey

doublegarments wrote: »

i got to agree, worse gig for organisation ive ever been to, vinegar 4 wine, 2 drinks pp, 45 min wait for a drink after a 3km 2 hr walk to get in and the journey home 4hrs on a bus dyin for the loo, what a farce, oasis still rock tho, lord henry , u dont

Didn't hear him on Liveline. What had he got to say for himself?

doublegarments

Sshishi wrote: »

I am sorry for all of you that had a crap day, but i notice most of you arrived late, which is a shame, I took a bus from parnell square at 12.10 after 10 min q'ing arrived inside the gates at 14.00, went to loo without queing and got a drink without queing. Then enjoyed the support bands. At 16pm went to loo again and q' for 5 min. Again at 8 and q'd for 10 minutes. Q'd for two beers at 8.30 and was served at 9 which i thought was very resonable. We were delayed when leaving, it took 2.5hrs to leave slane but the day was so much i couldnt complain. Maybe next year if you give it another chance and if at all possible leave on time:D:):D:)

u were very jammy man, very,

doublegarments

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Didn't hear him on Liveline. What had he got to say for himself?

i didnt see him on liveline but on 6pm news, he admitted probs but too late terry, i say, they've had 25 yrs to get this right!!! amateurs

Mental Mickey

doublegarments wrote: »

i didnt see him on liveline but on 6pm news, he admitted probs but too late terry, i say, they've had 25 yrs to get this right!!! amateurs

LOL. I bet their "defence argument" will consist of the sentence "We weren't prepared for that many people"!? The gig was bloody sold out, ffs.

PirateShampoo

lol him and MCD insisting that there where only 80k at the event. Thats clear bs anybody at the gig could c there where way more.

Wile E. Coyote

Dabatter wrote: »

Hi Wiley, did you book it online? I was geting redirected to the DublinBus website.

No I wouldn't thrust Dublin Bus to take me to the end of the road never mind all the way to Slane and back. I'm sure there's plenty on here who did book their tickets on-line and can confirm if they were re-directed to the Dublin Bus website or not.

NickNolte

Mental Mickey wrote: »

Didn't hear him on Liveline. What had he got to say for himself?

Go here and click RTÉ Radio 1 in the right hand column and then click the Liveline link and you can listen to today's show. Basically Lord Mountcharles tried to assert at the start that the whole thing went off without a hitch. He then seemed to concede towards then end that there were probably problems - after a plethora of people called in with their horror stories.

PirateShampoo

NickNolte wrote: »

Go here and click RTÉ Radio 1 in the right hand column and then click the Liveline link and you can listen to today's show. Basically Lord Mountcharles tried to assert at the start that the whole thing went off without a hitch. He then seemed to concede towards then end that there were probably problems - after a plethora of people called in with their horror stories.

Direct link http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_liveline.xml

Mental Mickey

NickNolte wrote: »

Go here and click RTÉ Radio 1 in the right hand column and then click the Liveline link and you can listen to today's show. Basically Lord Mountcharles tried to assert at the start that the whole thing went off without a hitch. He then seemed to concede towards then end that there were probably problems - after a plethora of people called in with their horror stories.

LMFAO.

lordgoat

NickNolte wrote: »

Go here and click RTÉ Radio 1 in the right hand column and then click the Liveline link and you can listen to today's show. Basically Lord Mountcharles tried to assert at the start that the whole thing went off without a hitch. He then seemed to concede towards then end that there were probably problems - after a plethora of people called in with their horror stories.

To be fair it seemed he was unaware of all the problems and came across quite well. He was also quite gracious in how he conceded there were problems. If he implements what he finds out from the review then we could hope for improvement. I do think that this year Slane dropped the ball but it was not too long ago that a festival did the same only to garner generally positive reviews the following two years. So maybe some good can come of this.

I again urge people with genuine complaints (not having to queue for booze etc) to make them to the relevant authorities. Contact details for all involved are in the first post of this thread.

Bandit12

I was there. I've never been to a concert in my life that had the scumbag element that this one did. The amount of skangers with coke/speed/E combined with booze onboard was unreal. I personally witnessed three fist fights and one young man no older than 17 get a kick in his stomach for no reason whatsoever. Really bad atmosphere once prodigy came on. The concert organisers are deluded if they think the crowd numbers where in and around 80k. I've been to slane numerous times and there was at least 100k there Saturday night and many where bragging about their "forged tickets not even being checked". Thank god i did'nt have to deal with the transport home situation.

NickNolte

lordgoat wrote: »

To be fair it seemed he was unaware of all the problems and came across quite well. He was also quite gracious in how he conceded there were problems.

I agree. He did seem quite genuine when he realised that this wasn't just a case of a few malcontents overreacting and there were some severe problems with the organisation of the gig. On top of that, he had the decency to go on the radio and discuss it.

DenzelWishbone

MCD said this “It is a credit to Dublin Bus that they were able to facilitate the increased numbers, rather than having thousands of fans left stranded”.

How Dublin bus, MCD or the guards can claim any credit is an insult…The point is that thousands of fans were left stranded for up to 4-6 hours and longer, myself and 4 of my friends included. After we crossed the bridge at Slane there were no stewards at all, no guards and a total lack of organization at the bus stops - it was complete anarchy trying to get on a bus…it was the not knowing what to do or where to go to get a lift which was the worst, with nobody there to direct you, so many people wandering around lost, so many lying along the side of the road – it was a shambles and a disaster waiting to happen…should we keep walking, should we wait here, should we go back, will we ever get home tonight…We saw 2 guards the whole time in our 4 hour 10km walk out the road where we eventually did get a lift…one guard on a bike was getting hounded by people asking 'what should we do'... i saw him advise these two young girls “stop wasting your energy and sit there on the side of the road” - sit there in the dark on the side of the road!...it was pure luck that no-one got knocked down or raped or something...

The gig itself was fantastic for us, the majority of people were great and really friendly…I had sooo much fun and Slane is my favourite venue inside and i really hope it continues because its unique and special in many ways...but in the end the lack of organization and planning spoiled it for me and my friends this time … just sort out the transport and the organization getting in and getting out and more stewards inside the venue … and MCD you can kiss my ass crediting Dublin bus for that mess - you guys were very lucky this time

ItsYourTime

AlekSmart wrote: »

A big +1 to that.

However I do concur with Wile.E.Coyote in respect of peoples expectations in relation to attending such an event in a small town such as Slane.

I did one trip to Slane in the early afternoon and even at 14.30 things were going seriously awry in terms of crowd control and stewarding.

I have worked on Slane Gigs for 15 years and without doubt the single most Important issue is CO-OPERATION between the Agencies. :cool:

Excellent post! Looks like you have a good grasp of what needs to be done next time around!

I was at the gig and I had a great day up until the very end when I had to walk 8 miles and didn't board a bus until half 2.

I was lucky but I've a feeling my enjoyment had more to do with how it was planned by me and my friends. We travelled up from Cork on Friday evening and stayed in Dublin overnight. We got a train to Drogheda from Connolly at 10 saturday morning and had organised for an 8 seater to collect us and carry us to Slane. We had previously bought bus tickets for the trip back to Dublin. Where we were dropped we walked to the venue and queued at around quater to 12 that way at the North gate. We got passes for the pit and everything. That was a great start to the day. We sat around drinking in the sun until the start of middle of Kasabian and then made our way down to the pit for the rest of the concert.

I listened to Joe Duffy today and the compaints people were making. The main things I noticed were:

1. The majority of complaints were about Dublin Bus and transportation in general and how it was handled.
2. A huge chunk of the complaints about crushing and queuing and general disorder due to frustration were about the entrance from the Dublin gate.
3. Alot of people complained about the state of people who were off their faces, pi$$ing on the grounds and fighting.
4. A large portion of people complained about the police presense and the effectiveness of security.

As regards the first point, I was at The Rolling Stones in Slane 2 years ago and there was very little hassle getting a bus back to Dublin. Whether it was that extra crowds meant the buses were overwhelmed or the new laws oulined by AlexSmart meant they were light on drivers I don't know! But some sort of provision must be made for future concerts. Maybe Dublin Bus should be outsource a portion of their contract to private companies to ensure a better service and more buses.

As regards the second point, as I said earlier I went down to the pit about half way through Kasabian, at that stage there was probably less than 40,000 people in the venue. People complaining today said that they missed half of the Prodigy because the were stuck queuing at the Dublin entrance for an hour and a half! My question is why were they arriving at the venue at that time? Since the tickets were 80euros, you'd think in these times they'd get value for their money and make a day out of it? There was abviously a massive surgence to the venue at around 5 or 6 o clock. Was it a case of Dublin at Croke Park Syndrome? The attitude that the venue is so close that "we'll cruise on up there later." I feel next year there should be a big point made of urging people to get their earlier in the day. That will avoid a late surge to the gates when the headliners are coming on.

On the third point, nothing can be done about this. It's the culture! Nothing MCD, Henry Mount Charles or anyone else can do about it. Also if you have 80,000(+) in one place the number of idiots is going to be huge!

On the fourth point, this really needs to be sorted out. Whether it's the quantity of security, gardai etc or the strategy employed at the concert I don't know but something has to be done.

BrianD

Bill Finnerty wrote: »

MCD now accepting that major problems at Slane but STILL denying that there were 100,000 plus in the filed. Everybody knows that the field was totally overcrowded. I have been at 16 concerts in Slane, including all the sell out gigs and this was the worst in terms of crowd numbers.

MCD must now come clean and state how many extra tickets above the 80,000 were actually sold.

It was the most dangerous situation I have ever seen and thankfully there were not dozens of fatalities. There is evidence available to properly count the attendance and this must now be eaxmined. CCTV was recording the crowd at each entry point and if this is properly examined by an independent team them we will have a proper estimate of the numbers there.

Meath County Council or some other relevant authority must now investigate what occurred and who let it happen. We cannot wait until a tragedy occurs before soemthing is done.

All persons annoyed with the situation on Saturday should email MCD at contacts@mcd.ie. MCD have a habit of stating that only XX amount of people complained out of 80,000. Everybody with concerns must email them so that the numbers of complaints can properly reflect the real feelings out there.

I don't think I have ever come accross such pompous idiotic rubbish in my entire life.

Do you really think that a promoter is going to risk lives, legal damages and their reputation by putting an extra 20,000 people into the site as you suggest. That's the capacity of a Marlay Park or an additional 25% of the 80,000 stated capacity.

Let's take this a step further. Someone would have to print and distribute through Ticketmaster outlets all these extra tickets that you claim. That's 20,000 additional transactions.

Slane castle is a busy field with one expects it to be pretty damn packed and uncomfortable especially when the likes of Oasis are playing.

The handful of posters on this board who are whinging alongside the handful of people who ring liveline are hardly representative of the 80,000 people who came to a field in Meath, enjoyed some music and left. Perhaps you guys might be better off buying the live DVD when it comes out for Christmas instead of going to the gigs.

Sure there would have been delays, queues and long walks. What does one expect when you look at the site and location. Most of the complaints seem to be about the transport. The bus situation has always been a big drawback at the location - they have to line up on the N2 south of the village and it is a walk and everybody is heading there at the same time.

You know, if there was 10 people at the gig there would probably be as many posts and complaints on this forum and liveline.

BubbleWrap85

Just listening to Liveline now. That wally talking about the drugs - it is impossible to completely check for all drugs - one girl had it in her wallet.

To be fair, were things really that bad? I mean, I was there at the concert, at the back for the whole concert - left after the very last song, watching the fireworks.Okay so I walked a good bit for a bus, but I didn't expect to get picked up straight outside! A crowd of 80,000+ all trying to leave at the same time? Was it really that bad???

0141607

RastaRed wrote: »

+1
there was definately more than 80000 there, thats for sure

i was there.. i left early before oasis even came on.. there were at least 100,000 there for definate. what a washout

Wile E. Coyote

DenzelWishbone wrote: »

MCD said this “It is a credit to Dublin Bus that they were able to facilitate the increased numbers, rather than having thousands of fans left stranded”.

If you had posted the full comment on that I think you'll find that the the fans they were talking about were the 17,000 that turned up at Parnell Sq that day who hadn't bothered booking their tickets before hand.

It works both ways. You let them know that your going and they can have it properly organised. You can't seriously expect them to accomodate an extra 17,000 with no hassle.

kpbdublin

One of the saddest features of this fiasco is that a good portion of Ireland's youth would spend 90 minutes queuing for a beer, rather than seeing a band which they like.
If you pay 80 quid for a ticket, surely you would give your band priority.
These people cannot enjoy themselves without drink. The same is not true of Spaniards, Italians etc. Just go to Killiney beach and you will see them having fun without having to get into a decrepit alcoholic stupor.

NickNolte

BrianD wrote: »

Do you really think that a promoter is going to risk lives, legal damages and their reputation by putting an extra 20,000 people into the site as you suggest. That's the capacity of a Marlay Park or an additional 25% of the 80,000 stated capacity.

The bottom line is that they stopped checking tickets and it became a free-for-all. It's the organisers duty to scan tickets to prevent going illegal over-occupancy and they failed to do that.

BrianD wrote: »

Let's take this a step further. Someone would have to print and distribute through Ticketmaster outlets all these extra tickets that you claim. That's 20,000 additional transactions.

1. Henry Mountcharles said on Liveline that the concert was a sold out last October. Why were there tickets available all last week on Ticketmaster?
2. How many people tried (and succeeded) to sneak in without tickets? They stopped scanning them so I guess we'll never know.

BrianD wrote: »

Slane castle is a busy field with one expects it to be pretty damn packed and uncomfortable especially when the likes of Oasis are playing.

The facilities and services were a nightmare but I think most people are perfectly happy to accept that it was going to be packed. No big deal.

BrianD wrote: »

The handful of posters on this board who are whinging alongside the handful of people who ring liveline are hardly representative of the 80,000 people who came to a field in Meath, enjoyed some music and left. Perhaps you guys might be better off buying the live DVD when it comes out for Christmas instead of going to the gigs.

Handful of people? 1,000 replies to this thread would suggest differently.

BrianD wrote: »

Sure there would have been delays, queues and long walks. What does one expect when you look at the site and location.

Competent organisation and, of paramount importance, safety for the people attending the event.

BrianD wrote: »

Most of the complaints seem to be about the transport. The bus situation has always been a big drawback at the location - they have to line up on the N2 south of the village and it is a walk and everybody is heading there at the same time.

The bus situation, the fiasco at the Dublin entrance and the excessive queues for drinks/facilities seemed to be the biggest legitimate complaints. It all pointed to a complete and dangerous failure of organisation.

BrianD wrote: »

You know, if there was 10 people at the gig there would probably be as many posts and complaints on this forum and liveline.

Right... so you're ignoring that fact that loads of people are complaining by claiming the opposite. That's some seriously intelligent debating. Were you even there?

siteman

I went to Slane gig on sat, this my third time there. It seems to me that all the trouble with buses, queues into gig all arose at the Dublin entrance. I came from the Drogheda entrance and there was no problem at all in fact my wife and I commented how quiet the walk down was and this was at 5pm. We stayed there drinking on the street had great craic. We did look over to the bridge and comment that it looked extremely packd. I only went to see Oasis so didnt enter venue until 8.20 at this time I would say anyone could have got in because we were not stopped whatsoever and we werent searched either. Literally walked straight in. We ended up at the very back next to chipper and I would say that there was 90,000-95,000 there. Queued up for pints for 1 hr, while in queue people were allowed to blatantly skip and jump barriers to top of queue, security did nothing. People ahead on me allowed to get 3 and 4 pints but when I got was only allowed two. Just as well really I spilt most of them walking back.

I thought Oasis were great but had major issue with the big screens they were out of sync with the sound!

I remember my bro telling me that when he went to G'n'R in 92 that he came in from Dublin side and it was the same as sat. So obviously nothing has changed in last 17 years at that entrance when such a large crowd arrives.

But I would recommend people coming from Dublin in future should either get train or bus from Dublin to Drogheda and go in that entrance.

Mental Mickey

It seems to me that a sizeable MINORITY of the people who attended Saturday's gig, where more interested in getting s**tfaced rather than being interested in the music. To be fair to MCD etc, I don't think they were prepared for the amount of utter scumbags that were in attendance. Also, a point was raised many times during the Henry Mountcharles interview, in relation to the crowd size, and the marshalling of the event. IMO, a limit of 40,000 should be put on events like this. As for the marshalls, I have been at plenty of events, and they basically don't seem to give a s**t about their jobs, they are just there for the money at the end of the day. I went to Neil Young last night, and my ticket wasn't even checked at that event!!!!!????? The standard of marshalling at these kind of events needs to be improved greatly. If that means people being searched/frisked, then so be it. I'd be willing to go through that in order to make the experience enjoyable for myself and my fellow concert goers.

suzieb

Does the fact that this thread alone has received 79,969 hits not prove something seriously went wrong?

Len_007

siteman wrote: »

I thought Oasis were great but had major issue with the big screens they were out of sync with the sound!

Lag was probably due to the time it took for sound to travel up the hill, but I could be wrong, i guess someone will point that out to me if i am.

I got in around 2.30, and left after the first song of the encore, so missed all of the bottle neck. Was good, but not a patch on U2 '01...

NickNolte

MCD really are an incredible shower. They're out spinning again.

MCD spokesman Justin Green added: “We would maintain that there were 80,000 people in the venue.

I'd love to know how he knows that. It's a completely baseless claim. The staff stopped checking tickets and just started letting everybody in. Talk about insulting people's intelligence. If he had even said something like 'we closely examined CCTV footage of the entrance gates' or similar, at least that would be something. He's just making claims that he can't prove.

Regardless, even if 80,000 people were there, the whole thing was grossly mismanaged. Anybody who was caught up in the Dublin entrance fiasco (myself included) don't really care how many people attended the event. It was a death trap.

Safety is paramount

Well... you really dropped the ball on that one, Justin. But I suppose you can sit there smug in the knowledge that at least nobody died on your watch. :rolleyes:

Gardaí, Dublin Bus, MCD, Slane owner Lord Henry Mountcharles and officials in Meath will review the weekend concert over the coming weeks.

I'm really looking forward to 1) seeing if this happens at all and 2) finding out what conclusions and sound bites are released to the public afterwards. Anything less than an admission of utter incompetence and a full apology will be meaningless.

Slutmonkey57b

There seem to be a some very long winded posts from people with a low post count who had a seemingly great experience inside the event and have not a bad word to say about those parts of the gig that MCD are directly responsible for. I wonder why that is.

dclifford

The problem with the Dublin entrance as I saw it was the fact that the ticket checking point was narrow than the laneway and the rate of the people through the ticket checks was slower than the rate of the people entering the laneway. That is why they stopped checking the tickets and just let people through.

I think the reason why they didn't use the main roadway through Slane as the entrance was due to the state the place would have been left in. The area between the bus drop off and the Bridge entrance was left in a pretty bad way.

There was an enormous amount of buses, but nobody knew what the process was for boarding them. Once people started walking on the road the buses were trying to use it was going to cause delays.

NIBBS

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

If you had posted the full comment on that I think you'll find that the the fans they were talking about were the 17,000 that turned up at Parnell Sq that day who hadn't bothered booking their tickets before hand.

It works both ways. You let them know that your going and they can have it properly organised. You can't seriously expect them to accomodate an extra 17,000 with no hassle.

Ok I'll say it one more time - Dublin Bus were responsible for running a bus service for a concert with an 80,000 capacity - correct ?

Now I know that it wouldn't be financially viable for them to have buses to bring 80,000 people back to Dublin at the end of the concert - and obviously there are a percentage of people driving, people using different bus services etc and people living locally or staying over, but there is no excuse for Dublin Bus not provisioning for a large number of people purchasing bus tickets on the day - its just normal, and they knew early in the day exactly how many people had bought tickets (or they certainly should know) so yes I'd expect them to be able to accommodate 17,000 people who purchase the tickets there and then, any other gig I've gotten a bus to people have purchased tickets as they were traveling (I always prefer to have tickets in advance)..........this wasn't the first large capacity concert they've serviced, so why or how would they be surprised by the demand for transport ?

dclifford

Anyone else notice that when there was nobody on stage, the 2 screens on either side of the stage would change to say Oasis - Slane - Dublin 2009, or something to that effect.

mspacman

Ok. I'm actually sick to the teeth of hearing people moaning about this gig. Can I just say firstly, Oasis played an absolute blinder of a gig. They got the setlist down to a tee. They were in top form and the gig was epic...even "biblical" as Noel would say!!!!!!!

Secondly, when you buy a ticket to Slane, you sign up to a long LONG walk into the grounds! The buses can't park right outside the gates, obviously, you're gonna have to walk a fair distance to get to/from the buses! Get over it and please don't go to Slane again, there's nothing worse than a bunch of moaning joe's after a gig like this!!!

Thirdly, those moaning about the amount of drunk people/drug taking going on...it's a gig, what do you expect!!! Seriously, I wonder what planet some people live on sometimes. So what, if people chose to get out of their minds on drink or drugs, as long as it doesn't harm/ruin your day, get on with it.

I reallly wish that this gig (a gig that will undoubtedly go down in history!) hadn't been over-shadowed by this typical moan-groan Irish way...you're never happy unless moaning! (And I'm Irish btw) Were you lot expecting to be teleported out of Slane or wha??? Next time, join the "gimps" (Liam's words!) in the VIP area and get your little helicopter in and out, then you won't have to walk with us plebs back to the buses.

Can I just say THANK YOU NOEL/LIAM for the gig of the year....absolutely sublime.

Oh and please God to all those moaning....PLEASE don't come to Oxegen/EP...cos those of us who actually want to enjoy the gigs and the music don't want to be subjected to your mithering on!!! Next time Oasis come to town, don't bother coming either, wait for the DVD to come out, then you can watch the gig from the comforts of your own cosy sitting room!!!

Lissavalley

First time I was at Slane since the red hot chilli peppers a number of years ago.

The queue in from the Dublin side was indeed bad. I seen 2 fights and a barrier being thrown on top of a stewart. Part of the problem was that 90% of people only wanted to see the final 3 bands so timed their entrance to see Kasabian, as we did. Maybe in future if they put some bigger acts earlier in future concerts. People who are complaining about drug use there obviously have never been at a concert before. The two go hand in hand.

The queue for the bars was catastrophic. Was 40 minutes queuing only to be told I could only have 2 pints. Unperturbed, I asked a fellow punter standing behind me to hold my two pints so I could order again from a different lady which he gladly obliged.

Few scumbags at it but they were still in the minority. Left after the last song. Kept walking til I found a bus. Hopped up the top and conked out.

Edit Didn't get searched/ticket scanned or anything. I don't think there was 100k there but nor was there "only" 80k. 90k would be my estimate

Woke up when we arrived at O Connell street circa 4 am. Not soo bad a day really but some tweaking needs to be made alright.