Well a few months ago I got the Ian Brown Ep on Itunes which meant I could also get priority tickets to see my teenage pinup Ian Brown at Brixton Academy. I hadnt been to a gig there in a while and loved the Stone Roses SO much thought I would go both nights (Im 38 now, hardly go to any gigs in the last few years to be honest), but had some REALLY, to me, odd experiences... 1./ The first thing I still cant really get used to is the smoking ban, I do welcome the ban, but feels so odd no smoking at a gig, when I went to the loos, they were Jammed full of sweaty blokes puffing away, and using the sinks as ashtrays...pretty disgusting really the sinks were full of fag-ends ... 2./ No Gum allowed...on the way in on the first night I was searched and the steward asked me to remove my packet of chewing gum, I thought that was a bit odd, then he threw it in a bin, I was in a kind of mild state of shock... he said gum wasnt allowed because of the carpet...I seriously thought he was taking the mickey (is this a common thing nowadays ???), I found him rather rude and thought he wanted a fight or something. The next night when I had Another problem at the place a steward confirmed that yes, apparantly, no Gum was allowed on the premises... 3./The nice steward who told me about the gum the 2nd night first of all pushed me back because I had unwittingly tried to enter the "Disabled" section, it seemed to be to just be a quiet area, the area wasnt signed or anything, and again at first it felt like the steward was just taking the mickey, but when he explained he was fine... having an exclusive disabled area is a new one on me, fair enough but make it clearly signed...the gigs were being ruined for me by this Health and Safety stuff...then I saw...4./ Huge signs either side of the stage (too blinking clearly signed) signifying no crowd surfing.......is that normal at gigs now too ???? So you cant chew, smoke, surf or chat up a disabled girl at a gig these days ???????? blimey, New Labour/Nanny State etc. Finally, 5./ I was also stuffed financially the second night. I had got 2 tickets but ticketmaster had screwed up and I didnt get them in the post, they said no probs pick up at ticket office.Turned out my mate couldnt come the second night so would be on my own so was gonna probably sell my spare ticket on (not bothered about profit). I got to ticket office nice and early (about 7pm, late gig, Ian Brown on at 11.30 and lady checked my bank card and ref number tickets were ready for me...but I couldnt pick them up until I was going to enter the building, err because the were duplicate tickets and may be credit card fraud or something....WHAT... so ticketmaster screwed up so I end up wasting time, and Money as because I was on my own she would only give me One ticket unless there was a second person with me when I went in ???!!! Also I asked the cashier would the ticket office still be there about 11pm as that was when I was going in...she said it "Might "be, I asked her to be a bit less vague and let me know when the ticket office closes, she couldnt..... luckily I decided to return at 10pm ticket office was still open and went and watched Ian Brown do a decent gig, even if it was the same set as the previous night with a to be honest pretty poor Fools Gold and 2 dancing girls, Oh and Brownie stropped off for a few mins cos the band kept mussing up one tune. Overrall a weird experience of a gig... makes One feel old and out of the whole gig thing........blimey in my day folk would be spliffing up in these places (not me though, honest)
Last edited by Manic Miner : 06-12-2009 at 04:07

Do you know what a paragraph is?

seriously I do, but cant do them on computers (never had training)...I just tend to gush and use ... how would I insert a paragraph (serious, I dont know, tab doesnt work does it ?

i think you're overreacting a little bit!

i go to a fair amount of gigs - the gum thing i've never heard of before. rarely get searched, unless its a big stadium gig.

the smoking ban might make it different, but its definitely much better.

so none of this is can really be pinned on the old nanny state nonsense - that's just tired cliche.

crowd surfing can be a bit dangerous, so its hardly that dumbass a H&S thing.

and the ticket mix up was just unfortunate.

the main thing surely is a good crowd stood watching a good band, and enjoying the music.

Iain

I've only been there once, and that was to see The Offspring back in 2005. I thought it was an alright venue.

Sadly, I was loaded with cold at the time, so I needed to keep drinking water. A pound for a small bottle

As for the No Crowd Surfing signs, I actually wanted to steal one for my bedroom

Im a smoker, and to be honest, I think banning smoking at gigs is a good thing. A number of times I've been burnt, or had ash flung over me, and it's just bloody annoying. As for the gum thing, I also pretty much agree with that to; I don't want to walk out of there with chewing gum stuck to my shoes and the bottom of my trousers, which has happened before.

The worlds gone soft

does that mean smoking and crowd surfing are hard?

what is this, the school playground?

Iain

I was there last week watching the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (excellent, by the way). The seated area at the top used to be my favourite place - good view, and everyone stands up and dances anyway.

I was horrified that they'd stopped people from standing up It's not exactly dangerous. So everyone had to sit there, like we were in a cinema or something. Just awful. There were wardens wandering around telling people to sit down. Killjoys.

you dont need training to create paragraphs, have you ever thought about skipping a line or two, that is how you parargraph

What?


It's the shift key.

Wow, that really sucks. When I went to the NME awards at Brixton this year, they did try to get people to sit, but no one listened, so they gave up. I don't see what's dangerous about it, the circle is hardly high. Surely it's more dangerous for people standing in Level 4 of the O2 arena. Makes no sense.

Im seeing Florence there next Monday, and Im not sitting down!

Remember to smuggle your gum in your bum

nope shift key doesnt do it for me...just tried shift\tab no good either...seriously never known how to do paragraphs on pc is there any websites that can teach me basic word processing ? (serious)... about time I learnt I guess

I hate all the bollocks at gigs.

No personal filming, no recording songs, a lot of gigs don't allow cameras, you can't enjoy yourself for fear of some jobsworth security guard pulling you over the barrier and chucking you out.

Some bands I have seen have fun with it. Bjork used to make gestures with her hands when the security stopped people taking photos. Skin from Skunk Anansie just broke all the rules... crowd surfed, climbed up balconies, went into the crowd

I was going to see Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Sunday just gone but my nanna died so I had to come home. Karen O apparently came down to the crowd a couple of times?

The last gig I went to was Skunk Anansie in Manchester Academy. It was an awesome gig and the security weren't that bad, until the end. I wanted to check out the Merchandise stall. It was 10:40ish. They said "too late" and practically escorted me out (well, one guy did). What a dick. Other people were queueing up for it.

When I was at a Bjork gig I phoned someone during a song they wanted to hear. The security quickly came over, flashed his torch in my face and gave me an evil look.

They do these things to save themselves from any legal issues, though. If someone is injured in the venue, despite it clearly being their fault (e.g. crowd surfing and falling on their head), then they venue can be held responsible. Also, some artists can be arseholes and make demands to stop certain things happening. I recall a friend going to Patrick Wolf's gig and he apparently told the security that the crowd should not sing. When the crowd sang along he threatened to stop the show

Did you know that some venues actually charge if someone wants to film? Apparently Brixton Academy charge £1,000 for using a simple hand held camera!

What kind of computer do you have?

its just a net book (my NC10), but I have never used a paragraph in 15 years of having a PC... true... (never did CV's or anything)... so say I want to end this paragraph and skip a line for a new one NOW ??? (what do i press?)

Exactly my point... when I used to go gigs they were unpredictable "events"...similar to the way Festivals are now, people turning up in 4x4's !... basically music scene became middle aged and (arguably) more middle classed... and no one headbangs either
Last edited by Manic Miner : 09-12-2009 at 22:58

Enter / Return.
It's the arrow on the right hand side of the keyboard.

ok just trying that now... lets see
Yeah...
Yeah !!!! Seriously, THANKS !!!
Thats great, thanks, what a dumbo i have been

i think you're stretching it to say you get thrown out for enjoying yourself, unless you can't enjoy yourself at a gig, watching the band, having a drink, a bit of a dance, and a bit of a jump.


actually, people on mobile phones during gigs can be really annoying.

[Dom Jolly][i]HELLO! I'M AT THE GIG!! THEY'RE AMAZING!!! BUT I THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO GIVE YOU A CALL!!!! LISTEN TO HOW AMAZING THEY ARE!!!![/Dom Jolly]




i think health and safety cops the flack for too much - i think its just a reaction to the nonsense compensation culture that has developed over recent times.


arse! i saw Damien Rice once, and he got a bit arsey with people talking through songs. a bit precious perhaps, but as above i do find it really annoying standing next to people chatting. not the odd comment, but really having a prolonged conversation during a gig. because of the music they they have to shout, and it can be really distracting if you're stood next to them.

but that's my lot at gigs - far too often i end up stood behind the tallest guy there, and next to the annoying two people who spend the night chatting.

Iain

Chewing Gum
I was at Govt Mule concert a couple of weeks ago at The Forum, Kentish town. My bag was searched and the chewing gum was taken. Never had that happen before. I'm not the sort of person who would dispose of gum by spitting it out on the floor but you only need to look at the pavement to see there are plenty of people who do, so I didn't really have a problem with it.

Brixton AcademyHave been to two gigs there recently.
The Black Crowes - so much beer spilt that my shoes stuck to the floor! Sound levels were waaay too loud also and im used to noisy gigs.

Lynyrd Skynyrd - A seriously overcrowded gig, could barely move. For the first time since Robbie Williams Knebworth gig I was worried about safety issues. We left early and I really don't think I would attend another Brixton gig.

The last 4 gigs I've been to at the Manchester MEN & Academy, I've just waited until about an hour in and smoked anyway. As long as you keep it on the down low, you're not going to get noticed, and judging by the clouds of smoke i certainly wasn't the only person doing it.

To be honest. all the gigs i've been to in the last couple of years have been pretty relaxed, never got checked for chewing gum or camera phones or anything like that. I've even seen people blatantly smoking weed at the Jay-Z gig, nobody gave a crap.

as a non smoker, it would seriously piss me off if you started puffing away in my face.

Iain

As a smoker, i seriously wouldn't care.