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Downtown Rocks fallout

J

Jeffmidtown

Guest
With the events that happened Saturday night at Underground surrounding 99X's show, will there be any fallout from the or promoters towards the radio station?

For those who did not hear the story, there were a number of reports of people having minor injuries near the front of the stage as well as people climbing the light towers and jumping into the crowd.

Rodney, I know you were at the Idol show Saturday, but why did the AJC decide not to cover this as 11Alive was the only station to report it and might 99X have any comments about this?

Also, if anyone was there and think that 11Alive may have blown this out of proportion, post your experienes as well.....

TTFN<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
I heard quite a bit of radio traffic on the APD frequencies, so it wasn't like the media didn't know there was a problem.

Underground Atlanta is a horrible choice for holding rock concerts. I went ONCE to see Sound Garden (I think 99X sponsored that) back during the Olympics, and you could tell there was a powder keg waiting to explode. I was rather surprised 99X made that choice for Downtown Rocks.

I didn't see 11 Dead or Alive's reporting, but I would think based on the radio traffic, it would deserve a little news coverage.


>
 
I headed out to the concert Saturday night after being a Weezer fan for over 10 years- I found the crowd to be too rowdy and out of control for my tastes and ended up getting on a jam packed Marta train at 10:20 without seeing the rest of the show. They sounded great, but there were too many people to make it a pleasent experience for me. It helped that they announced a new tour with the Foo Fighters, which gave me the inspiration to buy a ticket to that rather than stay in the madness. I'm surprised there weren't any reported serious injuries.

Has anyone heard any approximate attendance figures for the show? The only number I've seen is 20,000, but I don't know how reliable the source is.

If you check out Weezer's website, you'll be able to see many comments from attendees of the show - http://www.weezer.com


> With the events that happened Saturday night at Underground
> surrounding 99X's show, will there be any fallout from the
> or promoters towards the radio station?
>
> For those who did not hear the story, there were a number of
> reports of people having minor injuries near the front of
> the stage as well as people climbing the light towers and
> jumping into the crowd.
>
> Rodney, I know you were at the Idol show Saturday, but why
> did the AJC decide not to cover this as 11Alive was the only
> station to report it and might 99X have any comments about
> this?
>
> Also, if anyone was there and think that 11Alive may have
> blown this out of proportion, post your experienes as
> well.....
>
> TTFN
>
 
It sounded like a few sprained ankles. Big deal. I spoke to our cops reporter. He said the cops pooh-poohed any real problems and WXIA overplayed it. I did cover the Cake show and that went off without a hitch a week ago.

And 99X officials will admit off the record that this location is not ideal for a concert the size of Weezer. There are too many buildings blocking sightlines. Maybe 5,000 folks can get a decent view of Weezer given the size of the stage and the angles on Pryor and Upper Alabama. Centennial Olympic Park would have been idyllic and fit 30,000-plus comfortably but by the time On the Bricks cancelled, 99X had already signed a contract with Underground.
I'm not sure whether Stone Mountain (the 2003 summer series site) didn't want 99X back or vice versa but that was a great locale for a concert -except the traffic to get in and out was rough. The site that is now the aquarium was fine, too, but is obviously gone. The Sci-Trek parking lot works great during Music Midtown and could easily be resurrected for this concert series but I bet they would have neighborhood issues if they opted for that.

I would bet if 99X chooses to do another free concert series next year, they'd commit to Centennial Olympic Park.

> With the events that happened Saturday night at Underground
> surrounding 99X's show, will there be any fallout from the
> or promoters towards the radio station?
>
> For those who did not hear the story, there were a number of
> reports of people having minor injuries near the front of
> the stage as well as people climbing the light towers and
> jumping into the crowd.
>
> Rodney, I know you were at the Idol show Saturday, but why
> did the AJC decide not to cover this as 11Alive was the only
> station to report it and might 99X have any comments about
> this?
>
> Also, if anyone was there and think that 11Alive may have
> blown this out of proportion, post your experienes as
> well.....
>
> TTFN
>
 
> Has anyone heard any approximate attendance figures for the
> show? The only number I've seen is 20,000, but I don't know
> how reliable the source is.

99X this morning said 40,000, but they could have just been spouting off what it might have looked like. I drove past Underground when I got off work Saturday night (it's how I normally go home) and there were ambulances all over the place. I was really wondering what happened and then hear about these little, minor incidences. Big whoop.
 
> I didn't see 11 Dead or Alive's reporting, but I would think
> based on the radio traffic, it would deserve a little news
> coverage.
>

The report is on their site. And you hardly ever see radio events on TV. I was surpised to see a long shot of X's logo in the piece. Usually if you see an radio promo on TV its "a local radio station (so no press is awarded) or 99.7 The X (wrong name) was torn apart as thousands of co-eds (for sweeps) / nuns (other times)were maimed in a giant gibbon attack". The only reason anyone reported on this was because they thought there was the chance to be on scene of mass hysteria.
 
Downtown Rocks mini-review

I was at the show with my son and my girlfriend. We got there about 4:00 and there were maybe 50-100 people at most. We got as close as 2 or 3 people from the front dead center for Second Shift and the Dead 60's. My girlfriend couldn't take the heat or the rowdiness when The Bravery came on so we went to Quiznos. My son wasn't able to move at all by the time they finished their set and had been pushed a little ways back. The only way he could get out of the crowd was to have two guys lift him up and he body surfed to the front to get over the barrier and out of the way. Crowd-wise it was horrible. Simply no room at all for 3/4 of the people that were there. Bellsouth had a large screen set-up at the bottome of the hill which quite a few people took advantage of. We saw no less than a dozen or so people being carried out. The heat was stifling. My 12-hour deodorant lasted 15 minutes.

Musically it was a really good show (with the exception of the Dead 60's, sorry Jay, I know you like your English bands but these guys blew!). Second Shift was very good. The Bravery was pretty good too. Weezer was, well, Weezer.

In retrospect, I would still go, but I would have been a little better prepared ie: brought my own cooler and selected a better location to watch from from the start. <P ID="signature">______________
Talent
"I just work here for the free t-shirts."</P>
 
kidding, right?

Maybe I'm spoiled on the fact that I've only ever been to rowdy general admission shows but anyone in their right mind should know better. Here are some dos and don'ts for future reference.

Don't expect to stay with the whole group you came with (unless you're in the very back or in VIP... or very lucky).
Don't expect to maintain your spot unless you're watching Enya.
Do expect massive amounts of heat, humidity, and body odor.
Do expect to feel pain if you decide to wear open-toe shoes or high heels.
Do expect mosh pits even during the slow songs - there is always someone around drunk enough to do it.
Don't expect courtesy or injury to earn you sympathy with the behemoth in front of you.
Do expect someone to land on your head at some point. Always be on the lookout. No one likes crowd surfers but we still have to deal with it.
Don't take your wallet if you don't want to lose it. Be creative. The crotch and cleavge areas don't get much practical use anyway - make them earn their keep. Ladies, 2 words: Sport Bras. Guys, duct tape or the shoe.
Do expect to be pushed around.
Don't expect to breathe.
Do expect to whimp out at least once.
Don't expect to watch the show. If you are, then you're forgetting to watch out for the crowd surfers and moshers.
Don't expect the water to be there later.
Don't count on waterfountains.
Don't count on good weather.
Don't count on mass transit.
Do be careful (to the point of paranoia if you're a woman).

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Feel free to add.

> I was at the show with my son and my girlfriend. We got
> there about 4:00 and there were maybe 50-100 people at most.
> We got as close as 2 or 3 people from the front dead center
> for Second Shift and the Dead 60's. My girlfriend couldn't
> take the heat or the rowdiness when The Bravery came on so
> we went to Quiznos. My son wasn't able to move at all by the
> time they finished their set and had been pushed a little
> ways back. The only way he could get out of the crowd was to
> have two guys lift him up and he body surfed to the front to
> get over the barrier and out of the way. Crowd-wise it was
> horrible. Simply no room at all for 3/4 of the people that
> were there. Bellsouth had a large screen set-up at the
> bottome of the hill which quite a few people took advantage
> of. We saw no less than a dozen or so people being carried
> out. The heat was stifling. My 12-hour deodorant lasted 15
> minutes.
>
> Musically it was a really good show (with the exception of
> the Dead 60's, sorry Jay, I know you like your English bands
> but these guys blew!). Second Shift was very good. The
> Bravery was pretty good too. Weezer was, well, Weezer.
>
> In retrospect, I would still go, but I would have been a
> little better prepared ie: brought my own cooler and
> selected a better location to watch from from the start.
>
 
Re: kidding, right?

> Do expect someone to land on your head at some point.

> Do expect to be pushed around.

> Don't expect to breathe.

> Don't expect to watch the show. If you are, then you're
forgetting to watch out for the crowd surfers and moshers.

Four of my favorites from your list. I especially like 3 and 4. What the hell! Who needs to breathe anyway? Oh and yeah, that's why I came to the show, so I couldn't watch it. I guess I just expect waaaaaaay too much.
<P ID="signature">______________
Talent
"I just work here for the free t-shirts."</P>
 
Re: kidding, right?

> > Do expect someone to land on your head at some point.
>
> > Do expect to be pushed around.
>
> > Don't expect to breathe.
>
> > Don't expect to watch the show. If you are, then you're
> forgetting to watch out for the crowd surfers and moshers.
>
> Four of my favorites from your list. I especially like 3 and
> 4. What the hell! Who needs to breathe anyway? Oh and yeah,
> that's why I came to the show, so I couldn't watch it. I
> guess I just expect waaaaaaay too much.
>
That's why most folks up at the front are 13 to 21 years old. They can tolerate it! Or they don't know any better! :)
 
Re: kidding, right?

> Four of my favorites from your list. I especially like 3
> and
> 4. What the hell! Who needs to breathe anyway? Oh and
> yeah,
> that's why I came to the show, so I couldn't watch it. I
> guess I just expect waaaaaaay too much.

Breathing is overrated anyway. I've been going to concerts since I was 15 and while it should be that I've seen a lot of bands, sadly, I haven't for these very reasons.

> That's why most folks up at the front are 13 to 21 years
> old. They can tolerate it! Or they don't know any better! :)

Even at 18 some people are too old for it. It's like 2 days of boot camp compressed into a few hours.
 
Re: kidding, right?

This list also works well with mosh pits. Although, I would add 'wear steel toe boots' to a mosh pit list.

-Andy from 88


> Maybe I'm spoiled on the fact that I've only ever been to
> rowdy general admission shows but anyone in their right mind
> should know better. Here are some dos and don'ts for future
> reference.
>
> Don't expect to stay with the whole group you came with
> (unless you're in the very back or in VIP... or very lucky).
>
> Don't expect to maintain your spot unless you're watching
> Enya.
> Do expect massive amounts of heat, humidity, and body odor.
>
> Do expect to feel pain if you decide to wear open-toe shoes
> or high heels.
> Do expect mosh pits even during the slow songs - there is
> always someone around drunk enough to do it.
> Don't expect courtesy or injury to earn you sympathy with
> the behemoth in front of you.
> Do expect someone to land on your head at some point.
> Always be on the lookout. No one likes crowd surfers but we
> still have to deal with it.
> Don't take your wallet if you don't want to lose it. Be
> creative. The crotch and cleavge areas don't get much
> practical use anyway - make them earn their keep. Ladies, 2
> words: Sport Bras. Guys, duct tape or the shoe.
> Do expect to be pushed around.
> Don't expect to breathe.
> Do expect to whimp out at least once.
> Don't expect to watch the show. If you are, then you're
> forgetting to watch out for the crowd surfers and moshers.
> Don't expect the water to be there later.
> Don't count on waterfountains.
> Don't count on good weather.
> Don't count on mass transit.
> Do be careful (to the point of paranoia if you're a woman).
>
> I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. Feel free to add.
<P ID="signature">______________
Album 88 - 88.5FM
Psychobilly Freakout Mondays from 8-10pm</P>
 
Re: kidding, right?

> This list also works well with mosh pits. Although, I would
> add 'wear steel toe boots' to a mosh pit list.
>
> -Andy from 88

Not really... just in the sense that if you're on the outer rim of the pit or moshing around then you'll have tons more breathing room. Most people want to be as far away from the pits as they can so they give a very wide berth to it. (Unless you're on the floor at a Stuck Mojo show where there's no floor space unmoshed.) I actually suggest to people that want to have breathing room to stand next to the pit. It's much cooler, less constricting although you do have to watch yourself a good bit more.
Steel toed shoes are really a better bet for the people that are closer to the stage at a general admission show or for the people that are just a few bodies shy of the pit. This is where the most ferocious pushing and shoving will happen. Pits themselves vary somewhat on how many times you'll get your feet trampled. If you're in that mass of humanity with zero maneuvering space up front then you're more likely to get stepped on. Oh yeah, pits are also awesome for avoiding crowd surfers.
 
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