SLANE 2009 Oasis - All Discussion - No ticket sales.

21-06-2009 6:03pm

celticwe wrote: »

I will

You obviously like to be treated like ****,each to their own

Yeh, I like to be treated like sh*t :rolleyes: read my other posts. I didn't have any bad experiences. I am glad you will complain. I think that if the things suggested in this thread really went on, then something needs to be done. If people's lives were at risk then people need to take action.

NickNolte wrote: »

Why write a letter to an indifferent profiteer? Personally I think the most important thing to do is to write forum posts and make the public aware of what they can expect when they go to this venue. Had I known what was in store for me yesterday, I'd never have even considered going. It was an absolutely disaster.

Well you see it's this mentality that bugs me, of course you should write to them. Out of 80,000 people, maybe 60,000 had bad experiences, seeing people being crushed, no tickets being checked etc. If 60,000 people complained in writing instead of just giving out, something would have to be done? surely you must agree with this?

Internet forums are a fantastic way to get the message out there, I think they are full of useful information for people considering going along next year, but all MCD will do is threaten legal proceedings again meaning thread like these will no longer exist.

21-06-2009 6:08pm

suzieb wrote: »

Well I am one of the great complainers in that if I have a problem with something I will not just moan to people about it I always act on it,very often it gets you nowhere but I feel at least I havnt ignored a situation.
By everyone posting their accounts on this forum it will let people make their own mind up,they can see the positives and negatives to a gig in slane.
.

I agree with you fully, I am also a complainer, and you are right, very often your complaint will be ignored but at least you have tried to make a difference.

Shabbah · 21-06-2009 6:10pm

Slane was like a sick joke!

I'll never attend any concert at ths venue again. Ever! 80,000 people couldn't possibly have all arrived at the same time, so you cannot try to tell people it's their own fault for arriving later than others - that's just ridiculous - imagine the mayhem if everyone arrived at 2pm! Friends of ours arrived first thing, and they saw every act and said they'd never return to Slane because of the organisation (bar queues, queues in general, and lack of security being the main problems mentioned)

I just can't believe that there has been concerts in this venue before with large crowds? How can they NOT know what to expect and how to organise the place and the people? I saw no security (except at the bar) The queue at the bar was 1.5 hours (we joined queue just as Prodigy started) and came away with our 2 drinks each (whoppeeee) just as the Prodigy finished - RIDICULOUS!

Our tickets didn't even leave our bags once, tickets weren't checked, we needn't have bothered buying any.... our bags weren't searched, we could have had any amount of alcohol, drugs....weapons, and there were kids there!!! Saw loads of scuffles and a few full blown fights, no security around to get involved or break it up. In fairness, I did see alot of Gardai around, much more than concert security. It's a miracle that there wasn't a tragedy or two! Walking through the forest at about 6pm was horrendous. Most people I met were narky, grumpy, disgruntled and p*ssed off, it's no wonder there were so many arguments/fisticuffs happening around the place.

Why and how did a bar at such an event "run out of drink" so early in the day? Why were there not more bars? Why were the bar staff so slow at handing out the drink? I am definately putting pen to paper in complaint, as are my friends, but I'd imagine I'll be ignored. he whole day was a waste or time, money and energy.....

Our day went like this:-

3pm - Got on bus at Parnell Square
4.30pm (approx) - Bus arrived....not at venue but somewhere in County Meath
*went on our merry way walking, quite happy in the knowledge that there would be quite a walk but we'd be there soon.....*
*Walking through the forest took 1.5 hours at least...baby steps all the way, people all squashed together and plenty of scuffles and fights went on during the walk, no security to be seen along the way whatsoever!! Saw some families struggling through with young teenagers and kids, felt soooooo sorry for them*
7:05pm - arrived at top of hill while Prodigy started.
(went straight to bar, tongues hanging out for a drink...)
8:30pm - Whohoooooooo, got two pints!!
Back up to where our gang had gathered, Prodigy over

Drank two pints (well needed after all the walking)
Oasis rocked the place!!! (but it was absolutely NOT worth the hassle of the day and I would never return to Slane to see them playing again)
10:25 - Headed for gate again
Walked and walked...and walked some more.....(didn't mind this part, everyone was moving at least, and I was getting the f*ck out of that place!!)
12:00am approx - Hopped on a bus
1:00am - Back to Dublin.........phew! Thank the Lord

By the time we were happy and relaxed with a drink in our hand, Oasis were about to come on, so we got about 2 hours out of it. You can say it's our own fault for leaving Dublin late, but how could we have possibly predicted that it would take 4 hours for us to get into the concert from Dublin and another 1.5 hours to get a drink???

An absolute joke!

Never again!

Reganio 2 · 21-06-2009 6:11pm

Right I am going to get beaten for this as I am going to do the unforgivable and defend Dublin Bus.

The whole Bus fiasco is not fully there fault. The guys who run the gig (MCD I think?) tell the bus company how many buses they need, its not Dublin Bus fault their weren't enough. The 6KM walk again is not the buses fault, you wanted more bus but to not walk as far? The reason you had to walk that far was because their was so many buses and the buses are told to park there, some bus drivers even went against the lads and parked closer to the venue so people wouldn't have to walk that far. Some drivers were dopes as they left because some of the drivers had to go down at the likes of 2 and you are forced to be back in the garage by 1 AM then as that would be 11 hours which is there by law. So some drivers had to leave early.

As for the gig itself, I will say straight away its not for me so you veteren gig goers can ignore this. Personnaly I thought the sound was muck, I seen a few scraps as well but expected that. The forest walk was a joke and it took 2 hours or so to get through it. I was never once asked for a ticket or had my bag checked which I thought was a bit bad, if I had paid 80 quid for a ticket I would want to be sure that everyone in there had paid to be there.

People that were sleeping in the ditches, I can guarantee you half of them hadn't got tickets to get on the bus anyway. I know some people got caught up but again how is that Dublin Bus fault that people were blocking the road?

I don't know I wouldn't go back down to Slane again as I don't like them open air gigs as you have to watch what you are doing because scumbags were throwing stuff around and at people (Which will always happen at these gigs) but you can't sit down and enjoy the music IMO as you are constantly watching over your shoulder as some dopes behind us were jumping on each other (I know a mosh pit but we weren't there they were just 4 dopey mates) and they were jumping on each other bumping into everyone knocking people over like.

mardybumbum · 21-06-2009 6:12pm

Blizzards - Pretty Ok
Glasvegas - ****e
Kasabian - Better than I expected
The Prodigy - They have a new fan after their performance
Oasis - Great Band

Reganio 2 · 21-06-2009 6:21pm

mardybumbum wrote: »

Dublin Bus - Snip

Can I just ask why mate? I was down with Dublin Bus for the gig but don't work for them so have no reason to defend them.

icdg · 21-06-2009 6:22pm

Both Oasis and Prodigy were very good. The only previous time I'd seen Oasis live was their infamous Witnness headline (2002 I think) where they were diabolical, went through the motions and left without as much as an encore. Thank goodness this wasn't a repeat and they played an excellent set.

The queues were bad alright - food stands had no sense of order and skipping going on abound. I was on a privately organised coach, which (along with all the other private coaches) was even further away from Slane on the N2 than both sets of CIE buses (I can't state the exact distance with precision, but on the way out of Slane I passed two route confirmation signs and Dublin was 5km closer on the second). The advantage of this was that we missed most of the traffic jams and got out of Slane quite quickly.

Absolute Zero · 21-06-2009 6:22pm

DenzelWishbone wrote: »

Chong wrote: »

Map of Distance

So then, I have read through so many posts of whinge I thought it was time I should reply. You see that map, thats how much at the very most you walked yesterday, 4.7km or 2.9 miles, not 9 miles, not 10kms not even 6kms. Its hardly a bloody marathon .

The gig was fantastic last night but the organisation was an absolute disgrace…we arrived early…1 hour queues for beer not fun but I didn’t mind that so much...we had bus tickets but we had to walk for over 4 hours and around 7-9 miles in the dark with no idea how we were going to get a lift!!!...we were unsure if we were ever going to get home – we had to beg a taxi driver and pay way over the odds to get a lift (btw the taxi driver told us we were 13km from Slane)…

On the dark dangerous road we passed THOUSANDS of stranded people along the way, many lying in ditches, many crying, many looking scared and lost and with no idea of where to go or how to get home…it was a surreal, frightening and horrible experience…many of the buses were over-packed, going nowhere with people inevitably fighting on them…there must have been loads of people who never even made it home…I love music and I love big live concerts; Slane inside is an amazing venue but I will never ever go back…someone must be held account for this – Dublin Bus, the Guards and the event organisers have a lot to answer for…

piss off ya troll , that was a brilliant concert and your making it out to be a scene from dawn of the dead... and dont say i didnt know about the situation my freinds were some of the people left behind and they had to sleep in a garda station in dublin city centre and then take the bus back to kilkenny in the morning... sh1t happens just get over it and that was a brillaint concert

dylano_k · 21-06-2009 6:23pm

woodzyx wrote: »

What's that Ben Stiller film where there's a basketball scene and while these two guys jump for the ball, one's large and sweaty and fairly mingin basically and (in slow motion) he rubs his whole stomach off the other guy's little face?
It may be Dodgeball.

Anyway, this kept happening to me with this one guy who, aside from traumatising me, kept starting little heckles and 'punch-ups' with everyone. This was during Oasis!

Basically I didn't let this gob****e ruin the whole experience. If that was worth it for Oasis than so was the ****ter of a walk and the fact that we were stranded at a garage for a further couple of hours...- far less traumatising.

Think it was "Along Came Polly" ??

NickNolte · 21-06-2009 6:25pm

Absolute Zero wrote: »

piss off ya troll , that was a brilliant concert and your making it out to be a scene from dawn of the dead... and dont say i didnt know about the situation my freinds were some of the people left behind and they had to sleep in a garda station in dublin city centre and then take the bus back to kilkenny in the morning... sh1t happens just get over it and that was a brillaint concert

So you're saying that what he's said is true but to stop moaning about it? Bizarre. Honestly, Irish people would pay to be shat on.

Caoimhín · 21-06-2009 6:27pm

Yis are all a shower of spoiled gimps, raised on a safe diet of neatly packaged Oxygen, what with yer security, toilets and no queues.

This stuff happens at concerts, jaysus, ye wouldnt last an hour at Feile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9ile_Festival

Aaah them were the days, 72 hours straight drunk as a monkey, covered in mud and sleeping in a car boot and nathin to eat except Taytos and warm cider.

Random · 21-06-2009 6:31pm

Caoimhín wrote: »

Yis are all a shower of spoiled gimps, raised on a safe diet of neatly packaged Oxygen, what with yer security, toilets and no queues.

This stuff happens at concerts, jaysus, ye wouldnt last an hour at Feile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9ile_Festival

Aaah them were the days, 72 hours straight drunk as a monkey, covered in mud and sleeping in a car boot and nathin to eat except Taytos and warm cider.

"This stuff happens". That's fair enough. We're entitled to complain about it though and have reasonable justification for it.

Lot's of people? Fine. But why wasn't there planning in place? Why did Dublin Bus not have buses waiting? They were apparently lacking and without any information or guideance. Why did the Gardai not prevent people walking miles down a pitch dark main road and people essentially getting stranded? We're entitled to ask these questions.

I'm not saying I wanted a train direct to the venue and comfy armchair seating with waitress service (although it would have been nice). I'm just saying things went wrong and need to be addressed.

Absolute Zero · 21-06-2009 6:32pm

Caoimhín wrote: »

Yis are all a shower of spoiled gimps, raised on a safe diet of neatly packaged Oxygen, what with yer security, toilets and no queues.

This stuff happens at concerts, jaysus, ye wouldnt last an hour at Feile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9ile_Festival

Aaah them were the days, 72 hours straight drunk as a monkey, covered in mud and sleeping in a car boot and nathin to eat except Taytos and warm cider.

Finally some one who agrees with me , if you arent prepared for the worse then dont go, it was a brilliant concert and the walk back to the busses was a b1tch especcialy if u were down the front for prodigy but it was well worth it and a great day out.. for mostly everyone.

NickNolte · 21-06-2009 6:34pm

Caoimhín wrote: »

Yis are all a shower of spoiled gimps, raised on a safe diet of neatly packaged Oxygen, what with yer security, toilets and no queues.

This stuff happens at concerts, jaysus, ye wouldnt last an hour at Feile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9ile_Festival

Aaah them were the days, 72 hours straight drunk as a monkey, covered in mud and sleeping in a car boot and nathin to eat except Taytos and warm cider.

...and some people are happy to be treated like the moronic sheeple that they are and to pay for the privilege.

Stargal · 21-06-2009 6:34pm

Absolute Zero wrote: »

it was well worth it and a great day out.. for mostly everyone.

This thread suggests otherwise.

Random · 21-06-2009 6:35pm

My problem wasn't the walking. My problem was the aimless walking with no direction or guideance from Dublin Bus or AGS. The complete lack of communication and the confusion a lot of people faced. Do we keep walking? Do we stop? Have we gone too far? Why won't the bus driver talk to us? Why doesn't AGS have the answer?

From my experience there it seems like at some point after a number of hours (approx 3am?) someone in AGS hit the panic button, realised this sh!t was ridcolous and Garda cars, bikes, jeeps and vans were suddenly everywhere (I don't know if they called in additional support or what but it worked) trying to clear up the mess that was the N2 up to 10km from Slane on the Dublin side.

NickNolte · 21-06-2009 6:37pm

Absolute Zero wrote: »

Finally some one who agrees with me , if you arent prepared for the worse then dont go

Haha. Seriously, some people are just unreal. Are you suggesting that people should just accept being treated the way they were yesterday after paying €80 for a ticket?

xxdilemmaxx · 21-06-2009 6:38pm

I can't get over this attitude that people should "suck it up", it's a small miracle that someone wasn't killed at that concert. On the way in through that forst walk we were at a standstill and people were getting seriously aggro and starting to push people.

What would have happened if someone had an accident or some kind of medical emergency in the middle of it? It would take two hours to get medical staff in there.

I left Slane at 11 and got home (raheny) at 5am, what a joke, I will never ever go to Slane again and will be complaining to the organisers today.

I've been to many festivals and gigs and have never seen a disaster of this proportion before.

greenninja27 · 21-06-2009 6:41pm

Absolute Zero wrote: »

Finally some one who agrees with me , if you arent prepared for the worse then dont go, it was a brilliant concert and the walk back to the busses was a b1tch especcialy if u were down the front for prodigy but it was well worth it and a great day out.. for mostly everyone.

it wasnt a great day out for mostly everyone it was a ****ty day out for mostly everyone I only live in dublin and I got to the city at half 4 into bed at 5, what if your daughter was one of the poor girls that bought a return ticket out of Slane and was left in tears at the side of the road

dylano_k · 21-06-2009 6:42pm

Overflow wrote: »

I take it you have never been to Slane before!

Im afraid its like that every single year, always has been as far as i know. Sure didnt you have to walk into the place? Was that not the exact same walk as the one back, except for the mass exodus of people.

I think the way in was actually different, it was a narrow walk through what seemed to be like a park or something.

opr · 21-06-2009 6:44pm

Its a good thing Oasis were blinding or this thread would be going nuclear :pac:

Opr

celticwe · 21-06-2009 6:45pm

xxdilemmaxx wrote: »

I can't get over this attitude that people should "suck it up", it's a small miracle that someone wasn't killed at that concert. On the way in through that forst walk we were at a standstill and people were getting seriously aggro and starting to push people.

What would have happened if someone had an accident or some kind of medical emergency in the middle of it? It would take two hours to get medical staff in there.

I left Slane at 11 and got home (raheny) at 5am, what a joke, I will never ever go to Slane again and will be complaining to the organisers today.

I've been to many festivals and gigs and have never seen a disaster of this proportion before.

There was an accident ,some fella motionless on the ground and his mate with blood all over his face at around 6 ish

ronano · 21-06-2009 6:46pm

this stuff happens

a one day even at 80 euro a pop,it shouldnt happen,if you were paying 30 euro fine but jesus 80 quid for piss poor

mardybumbum · 21-06-2009 6:46pm

Reganio 2 wrote: »

Can I just ask why mate?

Why yes.
There was no communication between Dublin Bus and the crowd who bought tickets with them.
Im not one to generalise, but every single bus driver I tried to talk to came across simple.
"Duh, I dunno, ask somebody else"
One fecker even shut the window and refused to talk to us.
I remember passing three empty buses during my two and a half hour walk, where the bus drivers refused to let anybody on.
I also seen buses pass the garda checkpoint with quite a few empty seats when there was still about seventy of us waiting to get back into town.
All this crap about fifty buses coming out from navan.

My last post was edited for some reason unknown to me so I'll say it again.
Dublin bus are a shower of cnuts.

Random · 21-06-2009 6:47pm

From Dublin the walk in is down a narrow forest path. Was perhaps about as wide as one car lane with big fences either side (part of the way the fence was only on the river side and people were going through the "forest" to try get out of the mass of people and get toward the entrance).

The way out was down the main road. Nice wide road with plenty of room to move to the side to get out of the mass of people and just plenty of air in general.

I really think they should allow people in this way too - the village is fcuked for the day anyway so you may as well let the people walk through it.

My main complaints are with the situation afterwards though. Once we got to the Slane bridge. No communication from DB or AGS as to where people should go or what they should do ended inwalking for hours.

BubbleWrap85 · 21-06-2009 6:50pm

Went in from Drogheda, my day was like this:
Got the bus to Slane at 3pm from Drogheda Bus Station. Was only allowed to buy a single ticket - should have anticipated there would be problems for getting home after the gig!!

Arrived at the top of the hill - guards stopped us and driver said he'd been going that way all morning but they wanted him to go a different route from then on. We got off. People EVERYWHERE drinking. Lots of drunkeness. Saw a few people totally out of it, 2 were collapsed on their own with none of their friends around. One guy passed out on electrical lead from generator.

Got a can of Bulmers for FIVE euro before we embarked on our trip through the forest. There was a good few people but seemed to be moving quite well. Tickets were scanned before we went in. We went to subway and sat down on the hill. Then went to the bar at the top of the hill. Queued for about 20 minutes. Headed back to the spot and watched Kasabian.

Went to the bar at 6.45, and didn't return until 7.30. Dickheads skipping the queue, moving the barriers back so they could slip through the side, "security" telling us the bar would be closed if we didn't all move back.... lots of people outside the barriers entering the field. By the time I arrived back to my friend there were LOADS more people than when I'd left - things were getting messy and the bar was eventually closed [for a short period of time].

Waitied until after the last song, watched the fireworks on our trek back, and walked for a good while outside the village for Drogheda buses. Saw NO buses - passed 2 car parks, people were just walking and walking. Eventually, we came across a JF Travel bus that charged us €10 to go to Drogheda. We didn't care as we got 2 of hte last few seats on the bus. Tucked up in bed by 12.30

Where were all the other CIE buses that dropped us earlier from the bus station? We passed loads of other people still walking - and there weren't any taxis for a good distance after we got on the bus. I didn't mind the walk too much, but we were flying it and passed out a good few people. Can only dread to think how much longer we'd have been walking if we'd missed that lone bus.

To be honest, I was disappointed at the amount of drunks and druggies. One girl was sitting behind me taking a little see through bag of white powder from her wallet and sniffing it. Her friend has orange capsules that she took also. People off their faces on drink and drugs - WHY? Separate topic I suppose!

Enjoyed Slane - but probably because I had no real difficult with traffic/crowds. Some of the stories here sound absolutely horrific and glad I didn't witness anything like that.

dylano_k · 21-06-2009 6:53pm

Chong wrote: »

Map of Distance

So then, I have read through so many posts of whinge I thought it was time I should reply. You see that map, thats how much at the very most you walked yesterday, 4.7km or 2.9 miles, not 9 miles, not 10kms not even 6kms. Its hardly a bloody marathon .

Buildup:

Firstly I arrived in Dublin at 11am, parked up met up with some mates for lunch and went to the Jervis St shopping Centre to pick up some bus tickets at the ticketmaster desk, couldnt been easier. Had lunch , checked in to hotel and headed to Parnell st at 2pm.

Lots of people milling around Parnell St, no problem getting a bus, everyone was in good spirits. Bus made good time and was out at Slane for about 3.45 having left at 2.30ish. I wasnt drinking nor were my bro or mate, but so many ppl seemed completed locked at 4pm in the day and off their tits, but hey thats their perrogative not mine. The area was quite messy and I certainly saw no bins whatsoever , so what can you expect.

Anyways made it over to the bridge, and to the main gate, all fairly swift, must been about 4.30 at this stage, tickets checked as well as bags. Forest was a bit hectic, but having been to Slane before I knew it could take some time to get through, anyways, kept moving and pushing forward, took about 30 mins or so to reach the end of the forest. Tickets CHECKED , and into the concert.

The venue was pretty damn busy at 5pm, we just missed Glasvegas but I am not a fan so wasnt bothered I was there to see Kasabian , Prodigy and Oasis. We got some food and soft drinks, ate and drank , then headed down through the crowd, for the bottom left hand corner. Even though most the venue was packed, we got right down beside the barrier of the pit, hardly no one seemed to make their way down there.

Gig Wise:

->I loved Kasabian , great set !
->Prodigy were bloody mental, missed them at Oxegen last year , so glad I saw them yesterday, they were brilliant, was wrecked from jumping about after their set.
->Oasis for me were excellent, I have been a fan all my life and to see them finally live in concert was brilliant for me, sang along the whole way through with me bro, ( who was skeptical b4 the gig as its not necessarily his sort of music but he loved the concert)

Aftermath:

So just before Oasis kicked in to "I am the Walrus" we decided to make the trek from the very bottom to the top of the hill. We made it to the top just before Oasis closed up, so 5 mins through a couple of thousand ppl.

We made are way back to the bus, so that took about 40 mins or so.

It was quite busy so we asked one of the "MANY" dublin bus stewards ( in big yellow jackets with dublin bus on their back) around where to go, they said keep moving along up the road to find a bus with some seats on the right hand side, so we did no problem. Eventually the bus we were on got going and took about 35 mins to get out of the Slane area, because it was so busy , messy, ppl everywhere . Left at 11pm and reached O'Connell st for 12.20 ish , which for us was great timing.

Conclusion

Concerts like this involve huge amounts of ppl, normal ppl, drunk, drugged, scumbags etc, thats life. I dont understand going to these gigs drugged or drunk but as I said before its got nothing to do with me, for me I enjoyed a great event with my bro and mate. The amount of moaning and whinging here is insufferable , what do you want seriously, its huge event, and bussing possibly 60-70k of people is a massive and difficult operation in a small area. When you have people everywhere and buses trying to get out, what do you want them to do, knock people down? For me it was one of the best concerts in my life.

I will go again to concerts like this, cause for me nothing is better than being able to appreciate such great bands in your own country.

Chong

Excuse me chong, but you can stick your google maps up your fuc*ing ass !!! The exact spot where we finally got on the bus there was a sign up that read "Slane Castle-6KM"

Random · 21-06-2009 6:55pm

@Chong
* You left before the last song. You can't surely be suggesting people should have to do this?
* You also mention the vast amount of DB reps you bumped into. This further makes me wonder did DB just make a sham of the whole thing and run for cover when the crowds came out? Given that I didn't meet one.

Reganio 2 · 21-06-2009 6:57pm

mardybumbum wrote: »

Why yes.
There was no communication between Dublin Bus and the crowd who bought tickets with them.
Im not one to generalise, but every single bus driver I tried to talk to came across simple.
"Duh, I dunno, ask somebody else"
One fecker even shut the window and refused to talk to us.
I remember passing three empty buses during my two and a half hour walk, where the bus drivers refused to let anybody on.
I also seen buses pass the garda checkpoint with quite a few empty seats when there was still about seventy of us waiting to get back into town.
All this crap about fifty buses coming out from navan.

My last post was edited for some reason unknown to me so I'll say it again.
Dublin bus are a shower of cnuts.

Some bus drivers are dopes I agree but a good few of them will help if they can, the bus drivers honestly weren't told what to do by the top heads so to take it out on the bus drivers is harsh (Except for the bloke that pulled up the window and refuse to talk he was just a muppet) None of the drivers were sure if buses were leaving from the back or the front so they were just waiting on the bus in front or behind them to fill up and move off before they could. I agree though Dublin Bus, the Gardai and the organisers would wanna have a good chat ahead of the next gig and sort out the nitty gritty. The buses were fine going down but it seemed like thats all they thought about and just thought everything would flow on the way back or something

windsurfer99ie · 21-06-2009 7:03pm

The camping option sounds like it was probably better, but not without difficulties either ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvojqGHtt90

mardybumbum · 21-06-2009 7:03pm

Random wrote: »

* You also mention the vast amount of DB reps you bumped into. This further makes me wonder did DB just make a sham of the whole thing and run for cover when the crowds came out? Given that I didn't meet one.

In chongs defence, I came across one. :rolleyes:

oddone · 21-06-2009 7:04pm

Agree with everyone's comments on the shambles that was Slane.

There have been plenty of successful gigs held at Slane Castle,
over the years, why change the script? The setup was virtually the same, why wasn't
it executed better and more professionally?

The aforementioned ridiculous beer queues, €6 for a pint, how can they justify that?
€30 approx for a flimsy t-shirt? And we're supposedly in a recession.
'kin hell!

Oh and personally, imho the Prodigy's set was the best live performance
of the day. Oasis were good, nothing more, it's not saying much
for their recent material that the majority of the set was made up
of songs from their first three albums, the customary crowd pleasers
which I enjoyed but I would have preferred a bit more variety for my money.

Kasabian were decent but on the whole they are a fairly mediocre band
and I say that as someone who bought the first album on the strength
of their singles which are great but overall I don't think we'll ever see them
headlining a major festival.

The piss anywhere attitude by every second male that attended the gig was appalling. We really are a nation of dirty, selfish and ignorant people.
Then again seeing everything was a 20 minute walk away, be it for alcohol, toilet or food facilities, I suppose it was somewhat understandable / unsurprising.

Also as others have mentioned the amount of scumbags and blatant
drug taking in evidence was also quite sickening,

I know what to expect from a festival, I've seen it all before but yesterday
really took the biscuit.

Won't be going again.

21-06-2009 7:09pm

sounds like if ya came from dublin, it was bad.. navan side was sound after and i only started leavin after the fireworks were finished

Tchaikovsky · 21-06-2009 7:23pm

To the people saying we should just grin and bear it; for decades fans at football games were treated like sheep in a pen and were basically told the same thing- and it only took deaths at Bradford, Heysel and Hillsborough for things to change!
Sure it was a miracle that nobody was killed in Dalymount Park when Ireland played Italy in 1985; stuff like unchecked tickets and bad organisation happened then aswell.
It's a ****ing disgrace given the fact that hundreds of euro are spent for this 'privilege'

wexican · 21-06-2009 7:28pm

The music was nothing short of brilliant. I've waited for a long time to see Oasis and last night was incredible. Theirs was the very first album i bought when I was merely a chap, but the organisation and logistics of putting 80,000 people in a field in the back arse of nowhere left a lot to be desired.

The walk, the cramped driveway, no checking of tickets, the queues at the bars, the seemingly devoid of Gardaí and stewards. If people hadn't been as sensible as it seemed everyone was there could have been utter chaos.

One of the best and worst (for differing reasons) gigs I have ever been to.

Crankyf"ck · 21-06-2009 7:29pm

up from Dublin but had 2 nights in Drogheda booked as I could see Dublin Bus making a mess,got a few jars in Petermathews bar which was quality playin Oasis and Kasabian so me and my mate were in crackin form when we hopped on a bus at 4.15 and got off it in 20 mins.
This is when the sh"tstorm began.

A 2 and a half hour f"ckin nature ramble with a load of degenerate skangers was the last thing i expected.No ticket check,i may as well had a Barbara Streisand stub.

By the time we are there, Kasabian,who were my priority to see, were finished and the effect of the early gargles was long gone.I would think arriving at 4.15 would give anyone plenty of time to see them. On inspection of the beer tent carnage,large quantities of snarling, rabid scumbags and the huge disappointment of missing Kasabian, we left to go back to Drogheda/ a spontaneous yet worthy decision. Oasis were not worth listening to an hour of prodigy to see.

a Special word also goes out to the balloon head on the megaphone repeatedly telling everyone to " go down the hill" and not to stop, great job man, im sure plenty of ribs were crushed.

chump · 21-06-2009 7:46pm

I haven't read all the posts, but jaysus the talk of "that's slane for you" and the suck it up attitude of some posters amazes me.

Anyway I just want to throw my tupence into the ring.

Shocking shocking organisation, and whoever organised the show should be fined for health and safety violations.

The walk along the forest path before the gig was a disgrace. If one person had kicked off there, something shocking could have happened. To think a queue like that might be acceptable to anybody I don't know. I could only imagine if the auld pair or anyone less than "mad for it" had to put up with that.

I didn't time it, but I'd say it was an hour queue? At least...

And then of course once in at the show - a mosh of a queue of over an hour for a beer?

Come off it.

The 2 acts saw, Prodigy and Oasis, class.

(luckily escaped the carnage with the buses at end of show, as for end of oasis we got near the back, and it was just your usual hassle getting the bus after that)

Nikki* · 21-06-2009 8:03pm

It was an absolute nightmare. We got off the bus at 5.30 & got to the gig at 7.40 & then stood in the que for 35mins waiting for a beer of which you were only allow buy two at a time!! They didnt search anyone or ask anyone for tickets so you really could of brought whatever you wanted. Oasis were fab but that venue sucked donkey balls!!! Those people that couldnt get tickets should consider themselves blessed.....Roll on Oxegen......

Itsdacraic · 21-06-2009 8:06pm

I'm sure I'm only repeating everything that has already been said here but what a f**kin shambles of an event.

You'd swear it was the first gig ever hosted at Slane. I've been to loads of concerts and was expecting queues and traffic hassle etc but nothing on the scale of what I expereniced yesterday. It was a scandal. It looked me like a case of once they had their ticket money they didn't give a fcuk and cut corners at every stage of the organisation.

The queue for the bar was ridiculous, no security, people skipping queues, saw at 3 fist fights and an innocent by-stander getting head butted by scumbags skipping the queue, while the "security" guards looked on and watched.

Disgusted I wasted my money going there yesterday. Won't be making the same mistake again.

MarkHobBray1977 · 21-06-2009 8:08pm

the acts were mainly good , apart from glas vegas

sound was poor up to prodigy and oasis

the venue , and the majority of scumbags there was the pits

I saw :

- fights
-coke being snorted off 10cent coins
- full pints being thrown into crowds etc...

I could go on , but I wont...Enjoyed the music but NEVER EVER AGAIN go to slane

FastFuse · 21-06-2009 8:13pm

First post.

Reading through the thread it appears that many posters had bad experiences with the arrangements for the gig. I'll add my two cents.

I arrived in city centre at one o'clock, met up with a couple of mates and had a couple of pints followed by a couple of shorts. We headed towards O'Connell St. to get bus tickets, picking up supplies along the way. We were surprised with the length of the queue at 2.30 in the day but thankfully it moved swiftly enough. Tickets in hand we made for Parnell square. The sea of people was a bit messy but nothing unexepected and we made our way onto a bus without much hassle.

The journey took roughly 1hr45 before we came to a standstill and it became evident that moving forward would involve walking. Again not unexpected. I'd been to Slane for U2 in 2001 and up to this point it was much the same. All good and merry on the walk, revellers all around and everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves. Good enough because I certailnly was.

Now, my beef with the whole thing was the forest-like path that leads in. I was prepared for it somewhat having experienced it before but last time there was a steadily moving crowd. This time, the further we got the more cramped it became, the more cramped it became the more people got agitated. Thankfully I didn't witness any aggro but it looked like getting a bit nasty just before we reached the top of the hill. I think it was 17.40 at this stage and sadly we'd missed Kasabian's first two songs. My ticket was scanned on the way in so no complaints there.

I agree that the route in via that path was dangerously overcrowded with little facilities on the way. I'm usually OK in these situations and tend to just ride it out. But I felt for anyone caught in the midst of any toe-rags. As for seeing said toe-rags inside it was again something to be expected as I have seen Oasis live seven times in all. Though I did see some, again I was unhassled and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of approachable people, people who actually approached me all with the aim of having a laugh and sharing in the experience.

Ratings for the performers;

Kasabian were excellent. A fine set, shame it wasn't longer and I'm looking forward to seeing them live again.

The Prodigy were top class and really set the place rocking. They injected the venue with energy.

Oasis - A fine performance. As someone else noted it wasn't varied enough and though I understand the classics have to be played surely not all need to be rolled out. I think the newer material is good enough and it needs to be thrown out. I love Oasis, but I am sick of Don't Look Back in Anger.

I had a hip-flask of whiskey with me and was quite tanked when I arrived so didn't feel the need to go to the bar. I brought the flask in anticipation of the big queue for the bar. That was based on all previous gigs/festivals I've been to and not exclusive to Slane. I don't want to miss anything on the stage so I make the necessary arrangements. Skipping by assholes goes on everywhere, not just at Slane. The queue for the toilets and the lads avoiding the toilets, again this happens elsewhere, so is therefore not a fair reflection of the arrangements. As for the burger huts etc. I never eat at gigs festivals. Food from a van just aint right. I stocked up with a decent breakfast and had a quick sandwich in town also. Thats enough for me till I make it home, but thats just me. Though I did notice the lack of barriers to arrange queues at the food vans.

So I have few complaints about inside. We stayed for the entire gig but, as planned, we made our way to the top of the hill to watch the encore, which we did and then headed on the road back to the buses. Thankfully the crowd was moving at a decent pace and we were moving faster than most anyway as we were eager to be sure of getting to a bus. On and on we walked, as expected and I met a couple of guys wearing Dublin Bus hi-viz jackets. I said to one 'I assume there are plenty of buses ahead' to which he replied, 'yep plenty'. We walked past a couple of full ones until we came to one that had people on it and a few people were boarding. I found it odd that people appeared to be ignoring this and heading on up the road. We boarded anyway. Within 15 minutes the bus was full and he took off at approx 11.20, crawling at first, then getting going, then crawling again before getting going again. We arrived in North Gt George's St. at 12.25ish.

So there is my experience. I saw nothing of the hardship, madness or abandonment experienced by some afterwards and I feel sorry for anyone that did and those left behind. My own problem would be with the trail leading in and how poorly prepared that part seemed to be for the influx of people. When I was there in 2001 I remember that trail being a lot more of a comfortable and friendly place to be, and back then everyone was rushing to get to see the end of the Ireland v Holland match.

It must be rememered in all of this that gigs can be rough and overwhelming and you should be prepared.

An excellent. gig All in all I had a great day.

bigpoppa · 21-06-2009 8:15pm

?fights ?coke being snorted off 10cent coins?full pints being thrown into crowds?

It's called a gig, I have seen people piss into pint glasses and throw them at u2 gigs and feile. Bad **** happens at gigs. When you get lots of people together with drink they will fight.

No it is not pretty and people shouldnt do it but they do. Yes it should be possible to get home safe and sound quickly but it doesnt always happen that way. Can anyone honestly say they didnt expect a nightmare getting home from Slane.

Gigs are risky and people who are going to oxegen should realise there will be bus issues, overpriced food and god forbid drug taking.

I think people on here have genuine gripes but need to perhaps think that sadly gigs probably aren't for them.

MarkHobBray1977 · 21-06-2009 8:22pm

typical attitude " it happens , so deal with it"

FFS !....

Carroller · 21-06-2009 8:22pm

MarkHobBray1977 wrote: »

the acts were mainly good , apart from glas vegas

In your opinion....
Most likely you didnt like them because you dont know them.

I know them and i think there great and cannot wait to see them again.

pacman murphy · 21-06-2009 8:22pm

The concert should have really taken place in Croke park which would have made life a whole lot easier for everyone.The hassle of getting to and from Slane and everything else that goes hand in hand with holding a concert in a field is something that we all could have done without.

Itsdacraic · 21-06-2009 8:23pm

bigpoppa wrote: »

?fights ?coke being snorted off 10cent coins?full pints being thrown into crowds?

It's called a gig, I have seen people piss into pint glasses and throw them at u2 gigs and feile. Bad **** happens at gigs. When you get lots of people together with drink they will fight.

No it is not pretty and people shouldnt do it but they do. Yes it should be possible to get home safe and sound quickly but it doesnt always happen that way. Can anyone honestly say they didnt expect a nightmare getting home from Slane.

Gigs are risky and people who are going to oxegen should realise there will be bus issues, overpriced food and god forbid drug taking.

I think people on here have genuine gripes but need to perhaps think that sadly gigs probably aren't for them.

Ya some of the stuff being complained about here is petty enough, and happens at nearly all gigs. I've been to heaps of gigs all over Ireland and Europe but honestly the organisation last night was fooking shocking and just downright dangerous at times.

greenninja27 · 21-06-2009 8:24pm

bigpoppa wrote: »

?fights ?coke being snorted off 10cent coins?full pints being thrown into crowds?

It's called a gig, I have seen people piss into pint glasses and throw them at u2 gigs and feile. Bad **** happens at gigs. When you get lots of people together with drink they will fight.

No it is not pretty and people shouldnt do it but they do. Yes it should be possible to get home safe and sound quickly but it doesnt always happen that way. Can anyone honestly say they didnt expect a nightmare getting home from Slane.

Gigs are risky and people who are going to oxegen should realise there will be bus issues, overpriced food and god forbid drug taking.

I think people on here have genuine gripes but need to perhaps think that sadly gigs probably aren't for them.

Gigs just arent for them? Excuse me mate ive been to 5 oxegens and seen Oasis 7 times, this was something different. I dont mind drunk people and drug taking but that gig yesterday will be a turning point it was so badly run.

honru · 21-06-2009 8:48pm

I was working at the concert. It's a shame most people ran into problems as, being my first time at the venue, it's really something nice. Lack of bar facilities were certainly apparent from what I saw.

After paying the price for the concert itself, €20 return is quite high for a bus service, so I would expect at least to get back to the city centre in a convenient and safe manner.

In my experience, the Oxegen Dublin Bus services were efficiently run, so it seems to be a case of poor planning and/or the area just not being suited to a mass amount of concert-goers. Plus, Oxegen wouldn't have the sheer number of people looking for buses once the music ends.

Also, if they really didn't scan any tickets at the entrance, man, that's a kick in the teeth.

100% recycled · 21-06-2009 8:50pm

Same experience as most of the above I'm afraid

Actual gig was good but the organisers messed up bad!

yavonney · 21-06-2009 8:51pm

OK, This was not my first trip to Slane, I expected the long walk, crap traffic etc. I did not expect the complete lack of crowd control within and on the way in to the venue. People where getting very very aggro on the lane to get in, it was very tense. At no stage was I asked for a ticket, bag checked etc.

Then in the venue, seriously people should not expect this crap. Paid good money for the tickets, MCD made a fortune out of it, they should of put some cash back into the organisation and facilities needed for a crowd of 80,000.

Drug taking was VERY obvious, the fights (2 that I seen) went completely unheeded, there was no Guards or stewards there to break them up.

The food van wanted 3.50 for a CUP of tap water!

Yes the show was good, but I wont be going again.

SLANE 2009 Oasis - All Discussion - No ticket sales.

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