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You'd think by now Fenway Park would know how to get people in quickly
By adamg on Sun, 07/17/2016 - 8:30pm
Doug Sieber had a bird's-eye view for the long lines outside the Paul McCartney concert tonight - stretching to Boylston Street.
@universalhub @BostonGlobe lines for #paulmccartney @fenwaypark gate B extend all the way to Sweet Caroline's pic.twitter.com/ZCp0lzNMI1
— Jason Turgeon (@yacht_boy) July 17, 2016
@universalhub Dining in the Fenway, gawking at insane lines for Paul McCartney, likes of which I've never seen: pic.twitter.com/Hfyuyoc8tF
— MC Slim JB (@mcslimjb) July 17, 2016
@mcslimjb @universalhub They didn't have this problem with the Dead & Co. Shows and probably half the audience was tripping out.
— Paul MacMaster (@pmacmaster) July 17, 2016
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Comments
pure theater
It's a damn good thing that recent history hasn't shown that checkpoint lines are not attractive targets, and that cramming together thousands of people next to open roads poses no security risk whatsoever.
What a disgusting show of security theater.
disorganized mess.
the show itself was great, the absolute lack of instruction in getting folks to the correct lines for the correct gate and in creating clearcut lines for bag searches was atrocious. it was so disorganized. the saving grace: music didn't start until 8, and once inside, staff were pretty helpful. some general announcement should have been made, in conjunction with clearcut signage. neither were present.
Nothing to do with security
Heard from a reliable source this was an operational issue completely unrelated to security.
There were huge back-ups
There were huge back-ups getting into the Dead show Sat evening. Gate C was closed which just overwhelmed the other gates. Many still outside when the show kicked off at 6:45
It was really bad last night as well.
That tweet about Dead & Company was only half correct. They got everybody in on Friday very smoothly with no delays, but last night was horrible. The line was almost as long as the one in the picture above. In fact, the band started with thousands of people still in line. They are lucky it was an older mellow crowd. I've been to other events where people have gotten upset and rushed the gate. Unless Fenway fixes this, someday you may be reading here about victims getting trampled by impatient fans. The Who in Cincinnati wasn't really that long ago.
the who/cincinatti tragedy
that actually was a long time ago, 1979. it was also a very different set of circumstances, general admission, first come first serve seating for one of the biggest bands in the world. I believe they only opened 2 doors after a lengthy delay and a mad crush ensued. today's backups are security checks. I get it that it seems dangerous to have all these people clumped together but everyone must pass thru security or you could have something far worse take place inside the park. possibly even worse than the dead's music.
Concerts can solve this problem...
By opening the gate early, and having opening acts play 3-5 hours before the main act. They also don't have to serve alcohol the whole time if they think that is an issue.
Not sure what the times/acts were here though so I could be wrong.
So headliner at 8, opener at.
So headliner at 8, opener at...3?
Sure why not?
I went to the Luke Bryan concert at Foxboro on Sat. Granted, this is a place people drive to, tailgate and party before (which gives people something to do before). Parking Lots opened at 1pm. Stadium opened at 3 or 4. Opening acts start up around 5. Luke Bryan came on right about 9pm. No lines getting in at what looked like a sold out show (50K people?)
It was a long time ago. A few
It was a long time ago. A few months after that a friend and I went to see Zappa play at an ice rink in Danvers. Same type of situation, there was no seating inside, a crush of people outside, and once the doors opened it was a madhouse. I think you're right, security checks alleviate this to a certain extent and I think people are generally better behaved. Someone in that crowd threw a cigarette lighter that hit Zappa; he threatened to walk off.
Ah, what kind of puerile POS
Ah, what kind of puerile POS would do such a thing? Well I'm glad concertgoers these days are more mature, I suppose.
Uncouth concert behavior
Concertgoers may not throw things as much anymore, but one thing that happens now that did not happen back in the 70s is this constant coming and going, coming and going all throughout the show. Exactly where are these people going? They can't ALL be going to the bathroom so constantly. Another ridiculous thing of the new concert behavior is the large amount of people who come in late (unrelated to security issues), even an hour into the show. They paid a fortune for tickets then come strolling in anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes late.
Unreserved "festival" seating
was a big cause of the Who concert tragedy. Many places banned such seating after that happened. I assume Fenway had reserved seating.
Sir Paul
I hope the people got to see Paul sing a bunch of silly love songs.