AC/DC Punchestown 28/06/09

Splainc · 30-06-2009 11:59am

[FONT=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Hi

I am just posting the email that I sent to on the record (Irish Times music blog) as I want to spread the word about MCD in the hope that something can finally be done

"Thanks Jim

To begin with and end with the memory I will treasure is that AC/DC from start to finish were incredible with the new songs holding their own with the old classics. One of the best rock concerts in terms of the sound and performance I have ever been at and I have racked up quite a few at this stage.

However the organisation of the concert truly bordered on catastrophic.

I and my friend left Cork on the train and were up in Dublin for 1.15pm so with plenty of time to grab the dedicated buses which we had pre-booked tickets for e20. All fine so far.

We met a friend and the three of us boarded a Dublin bus at 4pm with no queue and that was great. The bus ran unimpeded for the first 35 minutes or so which was great as we thought we were making great time (Punchestown is about 50minutes drive on a normal day I suppose). The bus itself was very comfortable as surprisingly the buses were only being half and 3/4s filled before setting out

However about 5km outside of Naas we ran into heavy traffic with buses, cars and local traffic heavily backed up. 1hr and a half later and we had only moved 100m (at most). To be honest we were all in a great mood and expected heavy traffic but people had started getting out of the bus after about 40minutes to walk to the site. We figured the bus would eventually get there so stayed on as long as we could but 100m per 90minutes with approx 7km to go was not really looking good so we left the bus.

Please note that everybody that left the buses were either cutting through the field or walking along the hard shoulder (which is huge as it a motorway). Not one person was walking in front of a bus so the hold up was not people related. We walked along the hard shoulder as we thought maybe our bus would catch up with us and we could jump back on seeing as we had a ticketmaster ticket etc as proof that we paid.

We walked all the way into Naas where the traffic was not moving at all so we were happy with our choice to walk as we were very doubtful about doing so. As it is a small town we quickly left Naas and began our journey to Punchestown (which is about 2/3 km from Naas). At this stage we had yet to see one garda directing traffic and not one person was walking on the road as there was plenty of room on the pathways.

We noticed that the traffic began to ease up once we left Naas and after 20 minutes or so a bus was only driving by every couple of minutes so we decidied to jump back on a Dublin bus. However we were infuriated to find that we were not allowed back onto the mostly empty buses. Every third one that went by was jammed so we didnt even bother to try getting on these buses but there were actually empty buses driving by that would not let us on??? We showed our tickets to the drivers who just shook their heads as if we were doing something totally illegal???? The odd driver would pull over and let some people on but always in the distance so we continued our walk. It was very odd to see nearly empty buses driving to Punchestown simply to let off handfuls of people and then turn around again?

The first time we did notice people blocking the buses was on the narrow strip into Punchestown where all the busese were being directed but please note that buses were being allowed by but there were large gaps inbetween buses with no traffic so the blockage was well before this. We eventually spotted our first garda directing traffic.

We arrived at the gates and were told our tickets had been cancelled by request so I had to go to the box office to collect our new tickets. A minor MCD **** up for us specifically but it was another one on the list....

We entered the gig to find the place was crazy busy with ridiculous queues for the bars (double what I have ever seen) and the fact that they took the bottles off the bags of wine (wine in capri sun type bags) confirmed for me that bottle tops are taken off not for safety (i.e. throwing full bottles) but for to make more money by people dropping drinks or simply drinking quicker so that they do not have to hold their drinks. The first example of horrendous security occurred in these lines. People were jumping the barriers and queues and one guy jumped the queue about 5 times all the way to the top and every single time the security saw him, came down to him, gave him a stern look and then proceeded to help him get back over the barrier into the top of the queue. People were getting so angry and tension was mounting

Luckily we missed the Blizzards (I know short notice to replace Thin Lizzy but once again what were they thinking? they might as well have had the script. no offence to any of the bands but they didnt suit supporting ACDC no matter how good they are in their own genres)

We caught the last few songs of the Answer who were pretty good. ACDC came on and were incredible. Absolutely incredible and I will write about that on my own blog

The show ended and we headed home. We had met up with two other friends that drove from Cork and they headed for the park and ride. The way out for them was split into 4/5 diferent sections for each park and ride/exit but they told me later that they all simply blended back into one section after a few minutes. What kind of organisation was this? Speaking to my friends the next day they said that none of the security/staff knew where to go for each park and ride so everyone was following each other. The queues were incredibly long as expected and my friends didnt get back home to Cork until 7am. The gig finished at approx 11.30pm with no traffic on the road to Cork once they left Dublin.

However they were shocked on in the queues that no one could tell anyone which bus was going where and fights broke out as the tension cracked. They eventually boarded the bus and the driver actually said he didnt have directions to the park & ride and also did not know which one he was supposed to go to..... Also the bus left only 3/4 full again and the paying fans actually protested with the driver explaining that there were 20 or so empty seats. When the mcd staff came on board to see what the problem was they said that it was due to safety reasons. Empty seats for safety reasons? I understand not having anyone standing but if it is not safe to sit in a bus then why would anyone ride one ever????

We ourselves got very lucky accidentally by going down a wrong turn. We were directed back through some trees and ended up on a bus back to dublin pretty quickly but looking out the window i was horrified to see a scene similar to gladiator or Lord of the Rings with thousands of people queueing for the dublin bus with security trying to hold them back. Our bus was also not full.

Speaking with my friends on Monday one said that he honestly thought the revolution could have started that night as people who paid e86 for tickets were pushed to breaking point by the lack of giving a **** from MCD. People were treated like cattle and like **** and I cannot believe that concert was allowed to go ahead. 70, 000 capacity in a place that is notoriously hard to get to. Oxegen has improved but that is because the same amount of people (less if you assume the day trippers arrive after the campers) arrive on Thursday evening, Friday morning, afternoon, Evening, night and Saturdays and it still takes ages....

I am appalled and would love to know what to do about it. I will never go to Punchestown or anywhere above a capacity of 10,000 that is not central

Were you there yourself?

Gary/G-Man"

Do with it what you will......

Thanks

Gary[/FONT]

TheDemiurge · 30-06-2009 12:17pm

Splainc wrote: »

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Hi[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]I am just posting the email that I sent to on the record (Irish Times music blog) as I want to spread the word about MCD in the hope that something can finally be done[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]"Thanks Jim[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]To begin with and end with the memory I will treasure is that AC/DC from start to finish were incredible with the new songs holding their own with the old classics. One of the best rock concerts in terms of the sound and performance I have ever been at and I have racked up quite a few at this stage.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]However the organisation of the concert truly bordered on catastrophic.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]I and my friend left Cork on the train and were up in Dublin for 1.15pm so with plenty of time to grab the dedicated buses which we had pre-booked tickets for e20. All fine so far.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We met a friend and the three of us boarded a Dublin bus at 4pm with no queue and that was great. The bus ran unimpeded for the first 35 minutes or so which was great as we thought we were making great time (Punchestown is about 50minutes drive on a normal day I suppose). The bus itself was very comfortable as surprisingly the buses were only being half and 3/4s filled before setting out[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]However about 5km outside of Naas we ran into heavy traffic with buses, cars and local traffic heavily backed up. 1hr and a half later and we had only moved 100m (at most). To be honest we were all in a great mood and expected heavy traffic but people had started getting out of the bus after about 40minutes to walk to the site. We figured the bus would eventually get there so stayed on as long as we could but 100m per 90minutes with approx 7km to go was not really looking good so we left the bus.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Please note that everybody that left the buses were either cutting through the field or walking along the hard shoulder (which is huge as it a motorway). Not one person was walking in front of a bus so the hold up was not people related. We walked along the hard shoulder as we thought maybe our bus would catch up with us and we could jump back on seeing as we had a ticketmaster ticket etc as proof that we paid.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We walked all the way into Naas where the traffic was not moving at all so we were happy with our choice to walk as we were very doubtful about doing so. As it is a small town we quickly left Naas and began our journey to Punchestown (which is about 2/3 km from Naas). At this stage we had yet to see one garda directing traffic and not one person was walking on the road as there was plenty of room on the pathways.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We noticed that the traffic began to ease up once we left Naas and after 20 minutes or so a bus was only driving by every couple of minutes so we decidied to jump back on a Dublin bus. However we were infuriated to find that we were not allowed back onto the mostly empty buses. Every third one that went by was jammed so we didnt even bother to try getting on these buses but there were actually empty buses driving by that would not let us on??? We showed our tickets to the drivers who just shook their heads as if we were doing something totally illegal???? The odd driver would pull over and let some people on but always in the distance so we continued our walk. It was very odd to see nearly empty buses driving to Punchestown simply to let off handfuls of people and then turn around again?[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]The first time we did notice people blocking the buses was on the narrow strip into Punchestown where all the busese were being directed but please note that buses were being allowed by but there were large gaps inbetween buses with no traffic so the blockage was well before this. We eventually spotted our first garda directing traffic.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We arrived at the gates and were told our tickets had been cancelled by request so I had to go to the box office to collect our new tickets. A minor MCD **** up for us specifically but it was another one on the list....[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We entered the gig to find the place was crazy busy with ridiculous queues for the bars (double what I have ever seen) and the fact that they took the bottles off the bags of wine (wine in capri sun type bags) confirmed for me that bottle tops are taken off not for safety (i.e. throwing full bottles) but for to make more money by people dropping drinks or simply drinking quicker so that they do not have to hold their drinks. The first example of horrendous security occurred in these lines. People were jumping the barriers and queues and one guy jumped the queue about 5 times all the way to the top and every single time the security saw him, came down to him, gave him a stern look and then proceeded to help him get back over the barrier into the top of the queue. People were getting so angry and tension was mounting[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Luckily we missed the Blizzards (I know short notice to replace Thin Lizzy but once again what were they thinking? they might as well have had the script. no offence to any of the bands but they didnt suit supporting ACDC no matter how good they are in their own genres)[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We caught the last few songs of the Answer who were pretty good. ACDC came on and were incredible. Absolutely incredible and I will write about that on my own blog[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]The show ended and we headed home. We had met up with two other friends that drove from Cork and they headed for the park and ride. The way out for them was split into 4/5 diferent sections for each park and ride/exit but they told me later that they all simply blended back into one section after a few minutes. What kind of organisation was this? Speaking to my friends the next day they said that none of the security/staff knew where to go for each park and ride so everyone was following each other. The queues were incredibly long as expected and my friends didnt get back home to Cork until 7am. The gig finished at approx 11.30pm with no traffic on the road to Cork once they left Dublin.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]However they were shocked on in the queues that no one could tell anyone which bus was going where and fights broke out as the tension cracked. They eventually boarded the bus and the driver actually said he didnt have directions to the park & ride and also did not know which one he was supposed to go to..... Also the bus left only 3/4 full again and the paying fans actually protested with the driver explaining that there were 20 or so empty seats. When the mcd staff came on board to see what the problem was they said that it was due to safety reasons. Empty seats for safety reasons? I understand not having anyone standing but if it is not safe to sit in a bus then why would anyone ride one ever????[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]We ourselves got very lucky accidentally by going down a wrong turn. We were directed back through some trees and ended up on a bus back to dublin pretty quickly but looking out the window i was horrified to see a scene similar to gladiator or Lord of the Rings with thousands of people queueing for the dublin bus with security trying to hold them back. Our bus was also not full.[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Speaking with my friends on Monday one said that he honestly thought the revolution could have started that night as people who paid e86 for tickets were pushed to breaking point by the lack of giving a **** from MCD. People were treated like cattle and like **** and I cannot believe that concert was allowed to go ahead. 70, 000 capacity in a place that is notoriously hard to get to. Oxegen has improved but that is because the same amount of people (less if you assume the day trippers arrive after the campers) arrive on Thursday evening, Friday morning, afternoon, Evening, night and Saturdays and it still takes ages....[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]I am appalled and would love to know what to do about it. I will never go to Punchestown or anywhere above a capacity of 10,000 that is not central[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Were you there yourself?[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Gary/G-Man"[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Do with it what you will......[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Thanks[/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif]Gary[/font]

PMSL with the trees and the forest that's exactly what it was like!

On the ground where I was though it was more like Schindler's List - thanks to the blonde hunk in the blue Quiksilver t-shirt for hoisting me up out of the mayhem

Christ Almighty one can only imagine what next weekend will be like....:eek:

Bluefoam · 30-06-2009 12:38pm

Does Angus do a 20min solo at all the concerts on this tour?

Mr Moon · 30-06-2009 1:02pm

I thought they were 100 times better in the point!!

I know they're older now but at least they were playing in time at the point and at a proper speed, some of the songs seemed so slow in Punchestown!!

Life on the road must be getting to them cause it's affecting their playing, saying that they do know how to put on a show!

I'm not going to go into the traffic nightmare which we have all read enough about at this stage!!

If you have a complaint contact MCD/Dublin Bus & AGS!!

lipsmackin · 30-06-2009 1:05pm

Have been to ACDC in Barcelona, o2 and Punchestown
We are a joke in this country. Was sent to 3 different entrances in o2 (the last being the VIP). At the last entrance refused to move again. Amazingly was allowed into the venue straight away. Have to start complaining. It seems to be the only answer.

Punchestown was a joke. :mad:
Barcelona didn't have one negative thing about it.

Stewards everywhere, alchol sold by vendors circulating through the crowd. Bathrooms everywhere. Stewards guiding people where to go. Loads of merchandise stands throughout the arena. Reasonable prices for food and drinks. When it was all over we just walked out into the well lit exit routes and were guided straight to exits and waiting taxis and buses. No problems or stress involved and a great end to a great night.

The answer seems to be that we have to start complaining and not just accepting this as the norm. We were treated like cattle being herded along in the dark.

Angus did do his solo in all other concerts but the Punchestown one seemed to be longer. Not down on the ground for as long but can't say I blame him. He was giving it his all in the rain and I for one appreciated his efforts.

Only wish I was going to Glasglow.

Racecaller · 30-06-2009 1:22pm

MCD have to procure licences to run these events. What government department issues these licences?

Oh The Humanity · 30-06-2009 1:35pm

Racecaller wrote: »

MCD have to procure licences to run these events. What government department issues these licences?

Probably the department of agriculture, after all they treat punters like cattle.

They will probably soon start electrocuting us with cattle prods next year :rolleyes:

aidanf · 30-06-2009 1:43pm

Racecaller wrote: »

MCD have to procure licences to run these events. What government department issues these licences?

I believe it's the local county council that issues the licence so in this case it would be Kildare county council.

Ash.J.Williams · 30-06-2009 1:53pm

The Park and Ride facilities will be serviced by a dedicated fleet of coaches that will cater for all patrons needs. All Park and Ride coaches will travel on dedicated routes and will receive priority both to / from the venue.

MickClince12118 · 30-06-2009 1:58pm

Quadsey wrote: »

opening bands were rubbish

ehh the blizzards were **** but the answer were awsome if u were close enuff

MickClince12118 · 30-06-2009 2:02pm

hillerbees wrote: »

What a load of bull...the best live bands/performers in the world are the best LIVE bands because they interact well with their audience... Queen, Whitesnake, U2, Status Quo to name but a few. If you don't want the social interaction between band and fan and between fan and fan buy the record or dvd and stay in your shell.

well all the bands uv mentioned i dont believe are worth p*ss especially O2 sure all you need is bono talkin about world peace for a great concert! lol i like a bit of interaction just not too much the way the guy from the answer was interacting with the crowd i thought was perfect not too much and not too little

Starie1975 · 30-06-2009 2:19pm

Splainc - Well put. So many of us feel the same. AC/DC class but MCD ****ed it up for us. So what are we going to do about it????

blastman · 30-06-2009 2:52pm

Maybe if MCD spent less time and money on frivolous lawsuits and more on hiring and training stewards, it would result in a better day out?

Just a thought.

IeatRainBows · 30-06-2009 2:55pm

Bluefoam wrote: »

Does Angus do a 20min solo at all the concerts on this tour?

Yeah, saw them in Rotterdam in March & he did a solo on raised podium. It had better organisation, crowd control & no pants weather but the atmosphere was nothing like punchestown - really docile crowd

blastman · 30-06-2009 3:01pm

IeatRainBows wrote: »

Yeah, saw them in Rotterdam in March & he did a solo on raised podium. It had better organisation, crowd control & no pants weather but the atmosphere was nothing like punchestown - really docile crowd

It's part of Let There Be Rock, they did in the Point in 96!

Was at that gig in Rotterdam, as well as the O2 in in April, and I agree about the crowd.

IeatRainBows · 30-06-2009 3:11pm

would have given anything to see them in the 02 - not a hope of getting a ticket but at least I got the opportunity to see them in a smaller venue

Clarehobo · 30-06-2009 3:11pm

Starie1975 wrote: »

Splainc - Well put. So many of us feel the same. AC/DC class but MCD ****ed it up for us. So what are we going to do about it????

Well, I for one am going to write to the Garda traffic corp, MCD, Kildare CoCo planning department, the government department that oversees planning and if I can find out the insurer for that event they will be getting a letter too.
Twice I was in extremely dangerous situations and only for quick thinking the first time and a Dublin bus employee helping the second time I could have been injured or worse.
I'm sure no insurer would touch them if they knew what that set up was like. Maybe the owners of Punchestown should get a letter too while I'm at it;)

Dublin bus will be getting a letter too - not to give out so much as explain what the setup was like and ask them if they could not push this back to MCD and ensure they have a safe set up in future.

At the end of the day, if we do not give feedback to the proper authorities nothing will change. We all have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other to complain this time or someone will get killed eventually.

If Kildare County Council knew it would be run this badly & could have resulted in loss of life, would they have granted planning permission?
Will they grant it in future if MCD carry on with débacles like this?
If you insured these events, would you expose yourself to such high risk situations?

So no more ranting on this forum: I'm going to start typing and sending it to the people that can make a difference, not burning the ears off of everyone else who knows exactly what happened out there.

amtaxi · 30-06-2009 5:50pm

I've already had discussions about the bad management of these events. Taxis offically were banned from bringing people to and from the concert - I managed to get a few people out (10 mins per trip) but could not collect anyone. I drove on roads where people were walking - it was a total sham and it's a miracle that noone was hurt or killed. There are normally hundreds of taxis in Naas but because they were banned from this event (& all music events) they were working at the Curragh for the day. I witnessed 1000's of people waiting for buses that never arrived. Unfortunately like everything else in this country nothing is done until something happens. I brought one couple back to Dublin who had got the bus from Dublin and walked from Kill they gave up at 9.30 and went straight back to Dublin - they never got as far as Punchestown. Maybe if more concert goers complained officially they might cop on.

BiffoGooner · 30-06-2009 6:29pm

What a gig.I've been to a fair few and never seen anything like it.We were in the left side of the pit behind a massive cutout of John Braken

.The Intro was class, and Brian came running down the side of the pit right where we were during Rock and Roll train.Looking back at the crowd during Highway to Hell was a sight to behold.Thought the Answer were great aswell.Coming out of the red carpark was a nightmare though, swerving around drunken eejits walking in the middle of the road.Surprised no one was knocked down.

Had only one major complaint and that was the stewards not letting people back to carpark for their coats, even when we were getting soaked.Thought there was gonna be riots at one stage up there.Didn't help that the stewards didn't really give a s*** and there were rain jackets for sale OUTSIDE the gates.

jasonducks · 30-06-2009 6:31pm

I'm glad to see so many people are outraged with the organisation of this incredible event. I actually went on the last word yesterday evening and spoke to Matt Cooper about my feelings towards MCD's handling, you can listen to it online at todayfm.com it was monday 29/6/09's edition of the last word at about 18.20.

Any way as I said on the radio AC/DC were amazing and put on one fantastic show but everything else was a shambles. I can and only did talk about my own experience and that of my girlfriend. After all that was promised my MCD in the aftermath of Slane they failed the concert going public once again,

Immense queues for basic services and an extremely overscrowded are to be somewhat expected although I genuinely feel that 80000 is way too many people for punchestown to cope with- there was so many people there that they were pushed right up to the food vendors .

What I cannot get over is the organisation of the exit arrangements. Once the show had finished everyone was herded out through the one gate in almost complete darkness and I remember thinking this is madness if someone goes down they'll be trampled as it was impossible to see the ground. I heard one old rocker saying it felt like we were being marched to the gas chambers and it did.

There was only one sign telling people to get into the correct lane but there were no lanes it was just the same mass of people. There were no signposts indicating where to go to get the shuttle buses from and no sign of any stewards either, the one guy we did speak to was no use and hadn't a clue where anything was.

When we finally found a queue that we knew was going to Goffs we were there for more than two hours barely moving 4 foot forward until half past one when the stewards went off duty and the gardai took over. People were getting incredibly irate as is to be expected when you make people who are tired hungry and cold stand in the one spot for several hours. I don't mind queueing if there is light at the end of the tunnel but here we watched as bus after bus drove by not stopping not being flagged dow by the stewards. Some buses empty others only half full, no communication as to when a bus might come and no stewards or medical personnel anywhere near the body of the queue.

We finally got a bus to Goffs after almost three hours where we found that the stewards there had also finished on account of them only being paid up until half one which resulted in 7 or 8 lanes of traffic trying to exit the park and ride with no one directing traffic for at least 40 minutes until the guards took over this responsibility as well.

Of course this was a rock concert and some delays are to be expected when dealing with so many people. MCD refused to come on air and defend themselves to me choosing instead to use a very original and convenient excuse along the lines that it was a rock concert and they had told people to expect up to 3 hour delays exiting the venue- IF THIS IS TRUE WHY ONLY PAY YOUR STEWARDS UNTIL HALF ONE??? just because its a rock concert doesn't mean you can treat people like sh1t...

MCD advised people to use the park and ride service promising priority exit for those that did so- why were we nearly the last people to get out of there?

In our queue people were getting very frustrated and I would say furious with the whole thing and its lucky things didn't get any nastier than they did. One woman in our queue had 2 kids with her who simply passed out with exhaustion she carried them through the queue who in fairness let her pass right through she just said that she'd had enough and demanded a place on the next bus.

As soon as I was off the radio the texts came flying in along the lines of saying i was a whinger and what not. These people obviously did not have the same experience as I and several hundred more did of being totally abandoned in the freezing cold with only one 52 seater coach every 25 minutes. fair play to these people I'm delighted they had a good experience but they werent the only people there.

Whinging?? people were 'whinging' for years about crowd safety in England until Hillsborough happened- is that what its gonna take here before concert promoters and MCD in particular start treating concert goers like people and not just cash dispensers.

I'm appalled with the ignorance, shortsightedness and total incompetence shown by MCD at this gig. Thet turned a great day out into something completely different and i'll always remember it as a shambles.

I for one will not forgive them. I will never again attend any major outdoor event like this if it is ran by MCD Promotions and I said this on the radio, to hell with MCD. I urge everyone who feels the same way to make a formal complaint to MCD if you havent done so already. Speaking out is the only way things are going to change.

BlubberyGiraffe · 30-06-2009 7:05pm

The concert was amazing! Absolutely amazing, the song list, the atmosphere.

MCD really sucked the fun out of it tho, they had us waiting in the SAME spot for roughly 2 hours. There were 3 main queue's for cars. I was in the middle and then literally 3 new queue's formed into our one making it impossible to get out.. so annoying.

The crowd was insane tho. Watching people being crowdsurfed right over the railings into security's arms was hilarious and only got old when the occasional person kicked you or landed right on your head.

Did anyone think the "Let there be rock" 20 min solo was ****ing amazing?

slavetothegrind · 30-06-2009 7:18pm

Let's see if we can find out who in the co. council issued the licence and get a copy of it under FOI legislation.

Be interesting to see the terms and conditions.

Also would like to know who enforced the terms of the license, who was on site to inspect the implementation of the terms.

I can't help but believe the only terms and conditions the county council are really interested in appear numerically on the cheque they received.

We all recently voted our councillors in so let's ask them....

Request sent by email, will post reply.

SeantheMan · 30-06-2009 7:29pm

Would it be of any worth getting an online petition created to get something done about MCD and the organisation (lack of) at the concert ?

At present it would seem that its just a few people complaining of forums, and mails/letters being sent to MCD and Dublin Bus etc, that could easily be thrown in the bin.
But if the press were told that a few thousand people had signed petitions etc condemning MCD im sure it would have a greater impact on future events ?

melekalikimaka · 30-06-2009 7:45pm

i'm fairly sure mcd read this...

Professey Chin · 30-06-2009 7:58pm

SeantheMan wrote: »

Would it be of any worth getting an online petition created to get something done about MCD and the organisation (lack of) at the concert ?

At present it would seem that its just a few people complaining of forums, and mails/letters being sent to MCD and Dublin Bus etc, that could easily be thrown in the bin.
But if the press were told that a few thousand people had signed petitions etc condemning MCD im sure it would have a greater impact on future events ?

Online petitions really mean fcuk all. They can be dismissed as people repeatedly signing and have never really had an effect. Really only registered post can prove its been recieved and ignored if a reply hasnt been recieved.

SeantheMan · 30-06-2009 8:03pm

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Online petitions really mean fcuk all. They can be dismissed as people repeatedly signing and have never really had an effect. Really only registered post can prove its been recieved and ignored if a reply hasnt been recieved.

Thats not true, I remember signing the online petition for the creation of an official soundtrack to the Transformers, movie, i know its quite off topic, but up to 5,000 signed it and this was the reason for the creation of a Transformers Score CD.

You never know till you try anyways

Professey Chin · 30-06-2009 8:08pm

SeantheMan wrote: »

Thats not true, I remember signing the online petition for the creation of an official soundtrack to the Transformers, movie, i know its quite off topic, but up to 5,000 signed it and this was the reason for the creation of a Transformers Score CD.

You never know till you try anyways

And just out of curiosity, does this not apply anymore ? Only it still shows up in certain forums on boards, always annoyed the feck outta me

I signed that petition too

But that was something that would easily make more money then itd cost.
This would cost more money for MCD and we all know profit is their number 1 concern

And nope doesnt apply anymore.Dev has an announcent with the details somewhere

Clarehobo · 30-06-2009 8:15pm

SeanTheMan - I think all that was settled about MCD but I'd say it'll be coming back fairly soon....

UltimateChin - most people won't bother writing a letter so an online petition is one of the best ways to get a reaction from them.

One thing about the planning permission: if you build a house and do not adhere to the terms of the planning the county council has set out, people can complain to the issuing county council planning office and they will come down on you like a ton of bricks.
I'm sure if enough of us complain to Kildare county council, they will have to launch some sort of enquiry...

Mortar12 · 30-06-2009 8:19pm

This was about as good as it gets for me. After 2 songs at the front getting murdered and not been able to see anything anymore I headed back through the crowd. I somehow managed to blag my way into the pit and found myself with in 10 foot of Brian Johnson and the man Angus at times, and for the Encore I pushed right in and my favourite tune of theirs 'For those about to Rock' just the best F***ing show I have ever been to. Just wish They were all 20 years younger so they would be calling again...cant see it though, I heard a few people saying Johnson has had enough with the long Touring, he didnt look like it Sunday night that is for sure.

I'd love to speak to the two lads from Kerry that were beside me in the pit again, one was about 40 and the other 50, the three of us were going bananas in there....Brilliant...Brilliant....Brillian....Brilliant...Brilliant.

So sorry to hear alot of you had a bad end to the day, I was on a private bus so it was ok for me, still 2 hour wait to get out but at least I had a seat to sit in. What I couldnt understand was how dry my clothes were, I know it P*ssed on me for ages but bone dry coming out, must have evaporated off me !!

Starie1975 · 30-06-2009 8:27pm

I've an email address set up Concertsafetyinireland@gmail.com. Send all your stories to it, pass it on to all your mates and ask them to do the same. Anybody who was at slane should sent on to that e-mail address too. I'll compile all the mails and send them on to all the press, Kildare Co.Co, Meath Co co and anyone else you guys think I (or we) should send it to. Not trying to be a do gooder or be a winger but I think we should do something about what happened.

gandalf · 30-06-2009 8:35pm

Just sent a complaint into Kildare County Council via here http://kildare.ie/CountyCouncil/CustomerCare/

If someone can let me know which Government Department we can complain to let me know. Have also mailed newstalk.

Am considering the HSA but they only cover workplace accidents and safety so I doubt they cover events. Any one know who would cover events from a safety aspect?

30-06-2009 8:39pm

Starie1975 wrote: »

I've an email address set up Concertsafetyinireland@gmail.com. Send all your stories to it, pass it on to all your mates and ask them to do the same. Anybody who was at slane should sent on to that e-mail address too. I'll compile all the mails and send them on to all the press, Kildare Co.Co, Meath Co co and anyone else you guys think I (or we) should send it to. Not trying to be a do gooder or be a winger but I think we should do something about what happened.

Complain about what?

All I remember is the gig of the year. The long walk etc etc is a distance memory

lordgoat · 30-06-2009 8:53pm

rarnes1 wrote: »

Complain about what?

All I remember is the gig of the year. The long walk etc etc is a distance memory

You can read right? Then use that ability to read the long list of complaints posted by people. Again, the same as in the Slane thread, i find myself having to deal with annoying posts from you. Anymore of them and they won't be in this forum.

If you wish to reply to this do it by PM.

Loopy · 30-06-2009 10:59pm

Jesus, I cant believe some of these stories..
We too went and thought AC/DC absolutely rocked but the organisation was a farce.
Park and Ride my arse..
Took an hour to get into Goffs
We then walked for an hr and half to punchestown down back roads as the queues for the shuttle were an absolute joke.
Queued again for beer for 40 mins and then 20 mins for a burger.
By the time they came on I was shattered..:p

Luckily, we got collected at the gig and amazingly walked out the gate walked for ten mins and lift was waiting my sis-in-law - how the hell she found where to go is beyond me as she hadnt a clue where punchestown was.. And shes only a teenager...

Something should be done about MCD
Greedy bastards have no concept how to run an outdoor gig

I cant believe there was 1 tiny exit for 80,000 people
Where in the name of God would you get it?

Having said all that, the band were fantastic...

Latchy · 30-06-2009 11:34pm

I believe Slane was a bit of nightmare this year to .Like way to many people there than should have being .These promoters would not get away with it in other countries but sometimes you think in Ireland they do .Glastonbury may have it's faults but compared to slane / punchestown it's well organised .

Ciaran · 30-06-2009 11:44pm

AC/DC were awesome as most have said, but like nearly everyone else I had a nightmare getting out. The queueing for the Goffs buses was a joke; a huge crowd of people trying to squash into little funnels by the buses with barely any movement until the Dublin Buses saved the day. There were hardly any stewards either, I'd be afraid of what could have happened if the crushing got any worse.

I got in reasonably early (before the gates opened) so didn't have big problems on the way in, it was pretty slow from Naas to where the two routes merged but not much worse than what I expected tbh.

Numina wrote: »

Here's a question for everyone. Did anybody even see one black person there?Because out of the thousands of people that I passed, not one of them was black.

Strange question. There was a black guy in front of me (just behind the pit barrier on the right) before AC/DC came on.

Latchy · 30-06-2009 11:45pm

Originally Posted by Numina
Here's a question for everyone. Did anybody even see one black person there?Because out of the thousands of people that I passed, not one of them was black

Hundreds of them in Glastonbury ......some were even on the stage

al123 · 01-07-2009 12:11am

well its 2 days after the concert and I am still in bits after the longest walk to punchestown.Got off the bus around 4 on the motorway and walked untill about 8 ish, missed the blizzards and did not think the answer were that great. Took us over half an hour to buy the overpriced pints, and dont even get me started on getting back to dublin. Acdc were unreal, but the whole getting there and back completely ruined the whole experience. People are right to complain about the services, for the amount of money that were paid for the concert and bus tickets it was a joke. Surprised no1 got hurt. Definately best and worst concert iv evr been to. Never again would i set my foot to a concert in punches or anywhere outside dublin.

grimm2005 · 01-07-2009 2:45am

I'm surprised so many people had trouble getting to the gig. We left town about 1:15, in punchestown around 2:30, queued till around 4/4:15 (which was worth it when we got pit passes), had a burger and a beer with no queue and chilled out on the grass till the music started.
Sounds like it was worth gettin there a couple of hours earlier from all the horror stories. The buses back were the only problem, although by the sounds of it it coulda been worse. twas about 1hr30 wait for a bus and then about another 1hr30 before back in dublin. The crowd organisation was horrendous alright but not enough to spoil the night for me

fritzbrilly · 01-07-2009 7:37am

ac/dc were and always will be amazin, everyone who was there was there to see them, that bloody field they put us in was a joke u would put ****in sheep into it and the beer and food wass crap and usual ireland rips off the people.....................long live ac/dc thank god they rocked

GlindaGale · 01-07-2009 7:51am

Ciaran wrote: »

AC/DC were awesome as most have said, but like nearly everyone else I had a nightmare getting out. The queueing for the Goffs buses was a joke; a huge crowd of people trying to squash into little funnels by the buses with barely any movement until the Dublin Buses saved the day. There were hardly any stewards either, I'd be afraid of what could have happened if the crushing got any worse.

Hang on, Dublin Bus saved the day? What? In my opinion, they were the biggest problem. We were queing for an hour and a half at the top of the Dublin bus queue and were then told to go down the other end as they were only letting people on there. We walked to the other end of the queue only to be told to go to back to the top of the queue as they were no longer letting people on the busses at that end. It was a disaster, I saw so many half-filled busses leaving the venue and they were letting people with no tickets on, therefore creating a riot which blocked the way of the buses, creating a huge traffic jam at the exit. When we finally got on a bus, we had to sit on it for an hour and a half before it even moved.

You're right about the stewards, I saw very few and the ones I did see were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people in the queue. I saw one poor steward bawling her eyes out as some guy in the queue had hurled abuse at her and his girlfriend slapped her! Ridiculous.

Ronan|Raven · 01-07-2009 8:31am

I think he was referring to Dublin Bus saving the day at the queue for Goffs park and walk.

As soon as the Gardai arrived on scene and took over and got the dublin bus double deckers down to us things actually moved in a relatively fast amount of time. If they had a fleet of double deckers for the park and ride it would have been cleared in no time.

You left the gig followed the overhead signs that were just about visible with the amount of lighting went around the maze of barriers designed to funnel you into the area for goffs and then after seeing one or two stewards you arrived into a mass of people, surely it would have been a better plan to hold people back in the funelling section and then filling up each boarding area..

dcr22B · 01-07-2009 8:37am

Firstly, sorry to hear about all the horror stories for people who bussed it to the gig.

My story was a hell of a lot simpler and strangely much less stressful.

Left the IFSC in the car after being at the Dubs match in Croke Park at 6pm, arrived in Johnstown at 6.50pm (just caught the back end of the ridiculous traffic snarl-up at J8/J9 of the N7). I'd already devised a backroad route on the map before leaving (and had verified it with the Gardaí in Naas last week to make sure the roads weren't open). Arrived at the Blue Car Park at 7.15pm and parked down in Section B5.

Gig itself, no more needs to be said about it than what was already mentioned here.

Walked back to the car afterwards arriving at the car for 11.45pm and exited by 12am (despite being told that we would have to wait at least an hour before exiting). Home for 1.30am!

That said, I'll always be driving to these kind of gigs from now on or avoiding them like the plague and sticking to urban gigs.

GlindaGale · 01-07-2009 8:46am

Ronan|Raven wrote: »

I think he was referring to Dublin Bus saving the day at the queue for Goffs park and walk.

As soon as the Gardai arrived on scene and took over and got the dublin bus double deckers down to us things actually moved in a relatively fast amount of time. If they had a fleet of double deckers for the park and ride it would have been cleared in no time.

Oh right, I was unaware of that, I was obviously too busy whinging about my own situation at the time to notice anybody elses, I have heard that the park and ride was a joke!

Bluefoam · 01-07-2009 9:25am

dcr22B wrote: »

Walked back to the car afterwards arriving at the car for 11.45pm and exited by 12am (despite being told that we would have to wait at least an hour before exiting). Home for 1.30am!.

To get back to B5 by 11.45 you would have to have missed the encore!

I don't see the point in paying €86 for a gig and not staying for the full show... AC/DC were incredible, I wouldn't have missed a moment of it... & would have accepted another 3 hours wait just to get one more song out of them....

dcr22B · 01-07-2009 9:47am

Bluefoam wrote: »

To get back to B5 by 11.45 you would have to have missed the encore!

I don't see the point in paying €86 for a gig and not staying for the full show... AC/DC were incredible, I wouldn't have missed a moment of it... & would have accepted another 3 hours wait just to get one more song out of them....

Maybe it wasn't 11.45 pm but we definitely saw the encore and the fireworks as well and we were out of the car park within 15 minutes.

I fully agree with you about paying so much and leaving early.

Quint · 01-07-2009 10:05am

I sent a complaint to MCD via their feedback thingie. More complaints the better, usually no one actually bothers complaning and even though MCD know it was a disaster, they can say "we only had 2 complaints from 80,000 people".
I'm mailing kildare CC, these guys shouldn't get licences for concerts with such bad organisation

budhabob · 01-07-2009 10:08am

dcr22B wrote: »

Maybe it wasn't 11.45 pm but we definitely saw the encore and the fireworks as well and we were out of the car park within 15 minutes.

I fully agree with you about paying so much and leaving early.

We did similar, saw the encore and fireworks, walked back to the car (the lack of drink taken meant we could overtake all the wobblers), took us bout 15mins to get out of the car park, and 40mins home to portarlington. happy days.

opinionking · 01-07-2009 11:52am

it seems most of the people here would be best suited to a pusscat dolls, or maybe a mcfly concert????

why would you go to acdc if you cant put up with a bit of rain and maybe some traffic....

I travelled from Limerick and had no troubles at all, was there for blizzards and home at 4, am i complaining like all of you??

No.

To the ones who the rain didn't bother and enjoyed it, thumbs up, it was ****ing unreal.

DUBACC · 01-07-2009 12:00pm

Defo the best gig i've seen in years. I can't comment on getting to and coming from the gig by bus but, as i mentioned earlier in this thread, we drove in and it was simple. An hour from bray to the blue car park and same coming home.

AC/DC Punchestown 28/06/09

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