2006 Tour Europe

The melodrama has really cheered me up!

I can only think of 2 rock shows in Europe in the past 20 years which have suffered fatalities as a result of crushing. Donington '88 whiich sold over 100,000 tickets in a venue suitable for maybe 70,000 or so, had no Golden Circle, or safety barriers placed throughout the crowd, in a slippery, muddy field on a sodden day. Roskilde (I think?!) was the other about 5 years ago.

Whilst there may be some I am forgetting, rock shows have an exceptionally good safety record, and the variety of crush barriers (including the Golden Circle), security cameras and increasing security guards are improving this all the time. Bon Jovi shows have been amongst the least dangerous of all I have witnessed! Even when the drunks attack, annoyance, and maybe a minor bruise is the worst you are likely to suffer.

10 hours? Have you seen a doctor?

With 6 friends, a round of drinks in london will cost you £20. There are mroe than enough people who are prepared to pay twice that to attend a rock show, in a park, in the city centre, on a bright sunny day for the experience and an excuse to get drunk. They may not set out to get into a fight, but we all know what alcohol can do to people.

Please, do not talk to me like I am making shit up. The lack of attention the fans around me paid to BonJovi at the last Hyde Park show was shocking (the mobile phone chatter alone drowned out the band), and the pissing on the ground story was from Simon and Garfunkel at the same venue. Can you think of any band less appropriate for that kind of behaviour?

As I said, right at the start of my post. Yes, often people do take advantage. Yes, it can be annoying.

You would rather the weakest and rudest people in the crowd dictate how you treat everyone else? Would you really not return to your original spot and all your friends, knowing you had done nothing wrong, simply because you dindn't want people to think you were one of the "bad guys"? Have a little coiurage!

You honestly can count me in that number! I do not, however think my ticket price entitles me to any more room than it takes for me to plant my feet, especially if I am close to the front of a show. If there is room infront of me for someone to stand, I would expect that space to get filled up in a flash.

totally agree with you mate. if you wanna be at the front get the day off work if you dont then you have no right to expect to be at the front.
if you turn up late tough shit.

no one has the right to get past people who have been waiting all day for a good spot

How can you define what size the space in front of you should be though?
I have experienced people squeezing through to spaces where there is no way in hell they would fit without shoving into someone else to squeeze through.

There was also a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Dublin in 1996 where a girl was killed from the crushing & shoving that went on.

I agree with whoever up there said if you have to work of the day of the concert, and if you arrive late then its tough luck. You will be a lot further down than the rest of us that arrived earlier than you.

Im not sure about the 10hr without peeing bit! I certainly couldnt do it. But I was lucky enough to be there with 3 others last time and we took it in turns to leave. Also if you meet others around you, then its a lot easier to move around and take turns leaving your space. Well...thats what I experienced.

Milton Keynes 2001 taught me not to trust concert security in the slightest. There may not have been bad crushing but, according to my friend's dad who took us along and didn't have a ticket himself, he was able to stroll right into the Bowl without bumping into one police officer or security guards who were supposed to be keeping peope out. No ticket and he got to watch half the show for free and where were the police during all this - watching the concert as well! Nice to see that they treat all 60,000 fans' safety with such neglect!

It's quite simple - nobody drinks more than they need to to keep their fluids up. Drink too much and you need to pee. Drink too little and you get dehydrated and headaches set in. This was at probably one of THE hottest days I have ever experienced in London and we all managed to keep fluids up without needing to go so, it can can be done! I siincerely doubt also that everyone of the 120,000 or so people that were there went to the toilet at least once during the gig!

I'll just say it once ~ God Bless the USA!
I cannot imagine not being able to pee for 10 hours!!
I honestly don't know if I could do it... even for Bon Jovi.
Of course if that was the only way to be close to the stage I guess I would have to but I am so glad that we don't have to queue up, run to the front and not be able to leave even one time. I don't know how you guys do it...

To be honest...for me...when I am at a concert and Jovi are playing you just dont think of anything else. Last concert I was at once it was over I needed to go so so badly! But I didnt notice while the concert was going on.
Concentrating too much

Totally agree!!! Last concert I went to (huge concert, 180000 people!!) I left home at 7 am, was there before 9 and I managed not going to the loo - the show ended after midnight. Guys, our body's resources are amazing

But as you said - probably not the healthiest option!

I actually remember Hyde Park quite clearly and can honestly say that we all went about an hour before getting to the venue, lasted the 10hr show, the hour or so it took to get from the gig back to East Croydon train station and then a whole 4 hr drive back to Lincolnshire before finally gracing a toilet seat again - so that was 16 hours!

Ouch!

Like Irishshin said though, you completely lose track whilst you're there!

Sorry, I have absolutely nothing constructive to add, but it excited me somewhat to see someone mention my hometown

I can't really believe that anyone would be that petty not to let someone go back to their mates if they'd been for a piss or to get a bottle of water. If you move back to let someone pass and they then just stop in the space you've left and stand in front of you then yeah it's a bit annoying. If you're standing behind a group though and one goes off for whatever reason and then asks you if they can get passed you to get back to their friends then surely it's just the decent thing to do to let them back in. If someone wants to push to the front I'm not that arsed as long as they don't stand directly in my space as described above. It's not like they are making me go further back.