large event safety

[doc henderson]

I thought to start this thread to discuss knowledge and concerns around attending large events with our loved ones.  Curious about your insight and practices when putting ourselves out there.  My wife is turning 60 at the end of this month.  We went to a Morgan Wallen concert with a total of 4 performers.  It was held at the Chiefs stadium.  It should be noted that the venues require us to not bring weapons and we are checked for knives and guns.  It was hot so we were allowed to bring one sealed bottle of water up to 20 ounces. 



My wife and me.  The parking lot opened at 2 pm.  the stadium not till 4:40 pm.  We had a beer and a bottle of water.  We met neighbors in the parking lot and walked in together.  On couple was like us.  the other couple, the man smoked non-stop and was throwing F-bombs in every sentence.  Overall harmless and setting near our section.  He would later tap me on the shoulder to say Hi as I voided in a urinal.  My wife booked a room at the nearest hotel.  We would have walked, but not sure I wanted to walk back at midnight after.  so, we drove.  Could see the stadium from our room.  More than a few folks in the medians of the roadway the night we arrived appearing homeless and asking for money.  The concert started at 5:30 pm. 


You get to know the local crowd.  we stayed under cover before the concert inside the concession area.  We got cooling towels for the event and it was not bad under the concrete cover.  We wanted to minimize sun and heat exposure so waited util 5:30 to take our seats.  We were at the entrance of section 102 and got to watch many of the folks in our section and ended up seeing some people half a dozen time over the rest of the evening.  Being an ED doc, you could see some great families and also some folks that should prob. not be using alcohol.  You begin to interact with those around you following unwritten social norms and making judgments about appropriateness.  We had a group right in front of us that passed, the next row up, not so much.  About mid concert, a 20 something man started getting agitated about something and confronted a 5-foot woman between us.  her husband was huge but showed restraint.  the young man clearly had psychologic, emotional and or drug issues.  Had he got punched, it would have knocked over the 4 rows just in front, and many of those people were 14-year-old girls total unaware of the issue.  He got in the face of the short lady and began repeating words and raising his voice and arms but eventually sat down and calmed down.  His family blamed the woman for something and did not try to modulate his behavior. Everyone in the crowd was standing at this point. 

My wife got this for her birth-month.  The lady behind us was in a group of ladies prob. in their forties.  She tapped us on the shoulder and had taken a pic of my wife and I from behind.  She offered to send my wife the pic if she could have her cell.  The group was moderately impaired consistent with alcohol, so we did.  You hate to not trust anyone.  I think reading between the lines, she was amazed that we were still affectionate, despite our "age".





yep, can't take my wife anywhere.  The women then kept talking to us and usually tapping us on the arm or shoulder... and occasionally on my wife's head  and stating, "she wished she had something like this".  It went a little too far but not way over the top.  at the end of a concert, one in her group went down and we helped her back up.  There was a lot of pyro tech at this concert.  some sparks some flames and some loud bangs.  the "new friend " we had made said they did not tolerate the loud sudden noise. 



My wife and I.  she was embarrassed by my cooling towel being on my head.  Hers was on her shoulder, and yes, I noticed later that her cooling fan was upside down.  She had also brought my shorts and shirt to wear, as my double knee jeans and composite toed redwing boots were deemed "not appropriate for a birth month celebration".  I did tell her in case of emergency I would rather be wearing protective gear.  Did I mention it is her birth-month?    I am wearing the shorts and sandals.




Now we are home safe.  3-hour drive.  My wife looked at the news.  It took a bit for MW to come out, but he was the last of 4 performers and they did do a major stage change, so did not seem unusual at the time.  Come to find out there were threats of someone shooting people at the concert and the delay was to make sure things were safe.  lots of security in two different colors and state troopers.  We prob. had more security than Trump did at his event.  The drive back to the hotel took half an hour due to foot and car traffic, and lots of the fastest route roads were closed to one way traffic.  Glad to be home and that the wife is happy.

[Magicman]

Congrats on what seemed to be a wild fun filled night especially since Georgia was holding your butt!! 

[doc henderson]

Thanks Lynn. I am sure you and miss Pat have pics and stories to tell.  I was tired from the drive, the heat, and the congestion getting in and out.  Lots of waiting and being patient with people from all walks of life.  There was lots of potential danger, but it worked out.  It is interesting to me that my wife is generally aware, but not really moment to moment.  She really did not want me to wear my logger jeans and leather boots (what I wear daily when not at work).  I was mandated to not have a knife or gun.  Only allowed one bottle of water.  It was advertised we could refill them from water fountains but never found them.  The most convenient refreshments were 20 bucks for a 25-ounce alcoholic beverage.  I was pressured by my wife to wear what looked good.  So, we all know what might be safest, but we compromise.  If there had been a shooting, most of the injuries would be from that many people trying to run out.  Crowd size combined with the heat and alcohol...glad we are home safe. 

[Magicman]

The event personnel did their jobs but there is no way to control a crowd during a panic situation. 

We have Oak Ridge Boys Fairwell Tour tickets for October 5th but it will not nearly be that large of a crowd.

[doc henderson]

Well, I hope if miss Pat grabs your ash, you will ask the drunk ladies behind you to take a pic, so you can post it.  

[barbender]

 Good story, Doc. 

 My wife and older daughters don't like taking me places like that, because I tend to be hyper aware just due to the fact that things are by and large out of your control. You hope security does a good job, because your safety is by and large in their hands. 

 Normal community events and such are no problem, in fact on the flip side the wife and kids usually part ways with me at those because I'm visiting with everyone I come across. 

 Anywhere I can't bring my gun or knife, I tend to be nervous😊

 One of my sisters was at the Route 66 Vegas shooting, thankfully she wasn't injured but she definitely has mental scars from that. 

[doc henderson]

The majority seemed to be wholesome folk.  could smell some marijuana and lots of alcohol flowing.  the young girls I mentioned were what looked like friends and or sisters with two adult women.  As a dad and husband, ED doc and scout leader, I automatically had them under my umbrella of group safety.   It was so cute.  they were decked out and out on the town with best friends (including their moms).  They were dancing like no one was looking.  The were lip-syncing to the song "excuse me, you look like you love me" and pointing at each other.  brought tears to my eyes as it was funny but also endearing.  They were in the row just ahead of the 6-foot-tall kid havening the meltdown.  

[doc henderson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQQ5E4LAdA

the trend now is for girls to lip sink to this song and post it.

[SawyerTed]

Glad y'all had a good and safe time!  And good for you that Georgia "showed her appreciation" for your efforts to celebrate her 29th AGAIN!  (As the photo shows) 

Some of the "challenges" you experienced have convinced us to stick with smaller venues.  The outlandish behavior stands out more, I think.  Maybe that curbs the nonsense some?

The larger venues just disappoint me.  The "experience" just never lives up to the hype and hassles for me.

We either have to pay a premium for bigger acts in small venues or forego bigger acts to stick with smaller venues.  

[doc henderson]

https://x.com/ViralThingz/status/1819673468222210326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1819674557118328919%7Ctwgr%5E5b69d2c22253452f8e2e473ef29969c3c98c4058%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Fmusic%2Fmusic-news%2Fmorgan-wallen-concert-shooting-threat-kansas-city-chiefs-stadium-1235746167%2F

[doc henderson]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/man-arrested-morgan-wallen-concert-terroristic-threat-1235073740/

[Wlmedley]

I don't get out much and tend to be uneasy around a big crowd.About 5 years ago my son asked me if I would like to see Bob Dylan who was coming to Charleston to perform at the Clay Center (a smallish but nice place). I agreed to go and had a fairly good time although I couldn't understand what he was singing most of the time.My son is a big fan (imagine that) and I respect him as a song writer.Who ever was in charge kept everything under control and being the crowd was mostly older folks I didn't see any trouble.I'm mostly a fan of outside events such as fairs and festivals where I can come and go as I please.Glad you made it back okay Doc.Memories always seem better than the actual event anyway.