Hosting an outdoor concert in gale force winds.
Discussion
Not sure if anyone else had the misery of attending Bryan Adams at Montrose on Sunday evening?
Basically Scotland was being battered by gale force winds and about the only thing that somehow managed to survive the weather was this concert.
The venue opened at 6pm, but on health and safety grounds all tents were closed. There was no beer and people had paid additionally for a VIP bar and section. There was various temporary structures including the sound tent and the camera man's gantry was dead centre in the crowd. There was the large stage too.
Due to the gale force winds the PA system and TV screens were lowered.
At 8pm the concert still went ahead. There was loads of people posting on social media about not being able to hear and complaining about the bars. At 8.30pm they bowed to the pressure and opened the bars even though the winds were getting stronger. They promised the sound would improve and the winds would get weaker. None of the two happened.
There was 12,000 people in the field and you genuinely couldn't make out much if you weren't at the front. The PA system looked very small for a gig this size, but doubled up with the speakers being lowered to the deck and gale force winds blowing the rest of the sound diagonally backwards, people in the crowd couldn't hear at all. If you weren't there you wouldn't believe just how bad it was.
The company who hosted the event are in complete denial. They deleted all the complaints from the social media pages. It reads as if everyone had a great night when that wasn't the case at all.
The people who did raise issues were all attacked as if they were in the wrong. Apparently they should accept gale force winds and be happy Bryan Adams came to Montrose. It was their fault for not squeezing to the front row, ignoring there was 12,000 other people.
Thousands of people left early.
I raised the issue with Ticketmaster but they don't want to know. They are just a company who secure tickets and no more they tell me.
So how did this concert manage to get the go ahead in gale force winds and should we all have grounds for a refund?
I fully accept that an outdoor gig is at the risk of bad weather, but gale force winds that close many parts of the arena for most of the night and reduce the sound so much that people can't hear surely can't be deemed acceptable?
Basically Scotland was being battered by gale force winds and about the only thing that somehow managed to survive the weather was this concert.
The venue opened at 6pm, but on health and safety grounds all tents were closed. There was no beer and people had paid additionally for a VIP bar and section. There was various temporary structures including the sound tent and the camera man's gantry was dead centre in the crowd. There was the large stage too.
Due to the gale force winds the PA system and TV screens were lowered.
At 8pm the concert still went ahead. There was loads of people posting on social media about not being able to hear and complaining about the bars. At 8.30pm they bowed to the pressure and opened the bars even though the winds were getting stronger. They promised the sound would improve and the winds would get weaker. None of the two happened.
There was 12,000 people in the field and you genuinely couldn't make out much if you weren't at the front. The PA system looked very small for a gig this size, but doubled up with the speakers being lowered to the deck and gale force winds blowing the rest of the sound diagonally backwards, people in the crowd couldn't hear at all. If you weren't there you wouldn't believe just how bad it was.
The company who hosted the event are in complete denial. They deleted all the complaints from the social media pages. It reads as if everyone had a great night when that wasn't the case at all.
The people who did raise issues were all attacked as if they were in the wrong. Apparently they should accept gale force winds and be happy Bryan Adams came to Montrose. It was their fault for not squeezing to the front row, ignoring there was 12,000 other people.
Thousands of people left early.
I raised the issue with Ticketmaster but they don't want to know. They are just a company who secure tickets and no more they tell me.
So how did this concert manage to get the go ahead in gale force winds and should we all have grounds for a refund?
I fully accept that an outdoor gig is at the risk of bad weather, but gale force winds that close many parts of the arena for most of the night and reduce the sound so much that people can't hear surely can't be deemed acceptable?
I think everyone was expecting it to be called off after the events of Sunday. It appeared to be a very easy decision to make. I know people would be upset, but I think most people would understand it would be the sensible decision in the circumstances. They forecast was known days in advance and the winds were going long before people had to travel.
We tried to stand at a few locations and genuinely couldn't get a spot to hear at all. There maybe was pockets of space towards the front, but it was pretty packed from anywhere we were and we couldn't move forward or see these pockets of space. A few of the people with us aren't the most comfortable at squeezing to the front,however they shouldn't have to do so. The gig was at capacity was it not? It was a 12,000 ticket event if I've read correctly?
The ticket mentions about not being liable for reduced entertainment levels, or something close to that effect. There's a big difference between reduced entertainment levels and not hearing any sound at all.
I can see the license granted to T in the Park this year with the restrictions for continuation in adverse conditions. The wind speeds predicted were 60mph. TITP has to shut everything down at 56mph. Even at the lower grade working at height and the sides of the stages have to be opened. None of this happened at Montrose.
The organisers were saying the winds were dying when they were clearly getting stronger.
We tried to stand at a few locations and genuinely couldn't get a spot to hear at all. There maybe was pockets of space towards the front, but it was pretty packed from anywhere we were and we couldn't move forward or see these pockets of space. A few of the people with us aren't the most comfortable at squeezing to the front,however they shouldn't have to do so. The gig was at capacity was it not? It was a 12,000 ticket event if I've read correctly?
The ticket mentions about not being liable for reduced entertainment levels, or something close to that effect. There's a big difference between reduced entertainment levels and not hearing any sound at all.
I can see the license granted to T in the Park this year with the restrictions for continuation in adverse conditions. The wind speeds predicted were 60mph. TITP has to shut everything down at 56mph. Even at the lower grade working at height and the sides of the stages have to be opened. None of this happened at Montrose.
The organisers were saying the winds were dying when they were clearly getting stronger.
Edited by Driver101 on Tuesday 9th August 15:20
Edited by Driver101 on Tuesday 9th August 15:30
I'm a huge gig goer and regularly go to outdoor gigs and festivals. I was at Belladrum the 3 days before, will be at Biffy Clyro at Bellahouston Park and Party at the Palace in the next few weeks. I'm used to what to expect and happy to stand in the pissing rain and take a beating. It's luck of the draw but you can prepare yourself for the rain.
I just think gale force winds and genuinely not being able to hear anything from the majority of the venue is way beyond acceptable.
It didn't come on unexpectedly, it was predicted in the long term forecast, and the winds were high from 18 hours before the gig.
Ticketmaster say they will forward an email address for someone to contact directly. I was reading the comments of others and it does appear refunds are not going to be offered, including the VIP bar tickets that were £20 over and above the £50 ticket price each plus all fees, even though it was closed the majority of the night.
It appears the line they are getting taken down the guilt trip route. They were made to feel bad as the organising committee work for free and the event makes no profit.
12,000 tickets at £50 each, VIP top ups at £20 each, £5 a drink once the bars opened and various food vans and they aren't making anything out of it?
There wasn't any support act either which we did know in advance.
The winds didn't drop at all. They were clearly getting stronger as the night went on.
I just think gale force winds and genuinely not being able to hear anything from the majority of the venue is way beyond acceptable.
It didn't come on unexpectedly, it was predicted in the long term forecast, and the winds were high from 18 hours before the gig.
Ticketmaster say they will forward an email address for someone to contact directly. I was reading the comments of others and it does appear refunds are not going to be offered, including the VIP bar tickets that were £20 over and above the £50 ticket price each plus all fees, even though it was closed the majority of the night.
It appears the line they are getting taken down the guilt trip route. They were made to feel bad as the organising committee work for free and the event makes no profit.
12,000 tickets at £50 each, VIP top ups at £20 each, £5 a drink once the bars opened and various food vans and they aren't making anything out of it?
There wasn't any support act either which we did know in advance.
The winds didn't drop at all. They were clearly getting stronger as the night went on.
Edited by Driver101 on Tuesday 9th August 16:57
Ticketmaster responded and have basically said it's nothing to do with them. They sent me the generic email for LCC live.
Montrose Music Festival themselves haven't responded to emails. It reads as if they are in total denial of any issues at all. They have deleted a lot of the complaints from their social media pages. The pages now look as if everyone had a fantastic night, but complaints were plenty before.
There was a lot of running dialog between them and people at the gig on the night.
From the biggest event in their history they've managed to post one photograph and one video.
Here's the video. This video has better sound than we had. The wind does look a bit calmer at this point and there was sound.
http://sendvid.com/9sf1xe6r
Montrose Music Festival themselves haven't responded to emails. It reads as if they are in total denial of any issues at all. They have deleted a lot of the complaints from their social media pages. The pages now look as if everyone had a fantastic night, but complaints were plenty before.
There was a lot of running dialog between them and people at the gig on the night.
From the biggest event in their history they've managed to post one photograph and one video.
Here's the video. This video has better sound than we had. The wind does look a bit calmer at this point and there was sound.
http://sendvid.com/9sf1xe6r
Edited by Driver101 on Tuesday 9th August 21:56
Wacky Racer said:
These things happen. Deal with it.
I went to The Buxton Pop festival in 1973, with Chuck Berry, Nazareth, The Edger Broughton Band and more.
It was 1500ft up on the windswept moors above Buxton, the rain was sheeting down, mud was nearly up to your knees and the Hells Angels started a mud fight pelting EVERYONE with wet mud, even the artists on stage.
It was great fun.
Also the 1975 Reading festival with wishbone Ash, festival goers had to put up with HUNDREDS of sometimes half full beer cans being thrown from the back, at least two hit me on the back of my head....
Not so great fun.....
Festivals eh?
There's a big different between a festival and single band doing 2 hour concert though. Not only was the bad weather forecast, and severe weather warnings in place, the gale force winds were active 18 hours before the start. I went to The Buxton Pop festival in 1973, with Chuck Berry, Nazareth, The Edger Broughton Band and more.
It was 1500ft up on the windswept moors above Buxton, the rain was sheeting down, mud was nearly up to your knees and the Hells Angels started a mud fight pelting EVERYONE with wet mud, even the artists on stage.
It was great fun.
Also the 1975 Reading festival with wishbone Ash, festival goers had to put up with HUNDREDS of sometimes half full beer cans being thrown from the back, at least two hit me on the back of my head....
Not so great fun.....
Festivals eh?
It should have been postponed.
DanSI said:
58warren said:
I was there - about 30 metres from the stage and although it was gusty, the weather stayed dry and it was a sunny evening.
The speakers were occasionally overcome by strong wind so the sound would fade briefly now and then, but all in all I thought it was a really good concert. There was plenty of space towards the front if people had wanted to move forwards a bit.
I thoroughly enjoyed the evening,
Your experience, which contradict the OP, almost make it sound like you were at a completely different concert/venue. The speakers were occasionally overcome by strong wind so the sound would fade briefly now and then, but all in all I thought it was a really good concert. There was plenty of space towards the front if people had wanted to move forwards a bit.
I thoroughly enjoyed the evening,
Didn't know BA was still doing the rounds.
If you got near the front you were fine. A little bit of shelter from the wind by the stage and the speakers were facing down into the people standing at the front, not pointing over their heads as normal.
A lot of people clearly had a great night. There's as many complaints as there is positive experiences.
We didn't see pockets of space. It looked really busy from the different view points that we took. The people I was with aren't comfortable squeezing to the front. Why should they either? Surely at a concert you should be able to hear from anywhere in the watching arena?
The video I linked on page 1 was from nowhere near the back. It was also from well into the gig when the promoters say it was fine.
Here's a picture looking back from the stage to show how many people were there. There was 12,000 people, so the people at the front were OK, I'd say even before halfway back you were not.
This is the stage setup. Is that even enough of a sound system for a clear night with so many people?
AbzST64 said:
My folks were there and ma few folks from my work, they all had a great night and said it was a bit blustery but didn't dampen the spirits and was even quite sunny (as per your picture) for a while.
I think to be honest as has already been said, damned if they do, damned if they don't. Someone will always find something to complain about.
They won't issue refunds unless i guess they get enough complaints which from hearing from others they won't as they all enjoyed it (apart from yourself and a minority of others).
All our group were vastly disappointed, everyone around us, no matter where we moved, were all complaining and thousands of people left very early. I also know a few other who went and they all shared my experience. It's maybe still a minority, but it's still thousands of people. I think to be honest as has already been said, damned if they do, damned if they don't. Someone will always find something to complain about.
They won't issue refunds unless i guess they get enough complaints which from hearing from others they won't as they all enjoyed it (apart from yourself and a minority of others).
Most of the complaints have been removed from their social media pages too.
There's a video on page one showing how quiet it was 1/2 back. That was when the wind wasn't that high.
It was actually sunny most of the time, it was still exceptionally windy. Blustery is downplaying things a bit too much. It was Gale force winds in the area and across Scotland.
The 6.10pm train out of Aberdeen(the Montrose line) was cancelled due to trees on the line.The met office had a severe weather warning in place, There was recorded gale force winds in the area, the beer tents were closed due to the high winds.....yet a lot of people didn't notice any of this.
My earlier point about the sound system. Someone has just told me that Bryan Adams apologised during the concert. I had been told he had, but had no idea what was said as we couldn't hear. However he was apologising about the sound and said that large speakers had to be removed from the setup due to the wind. So the sound system was underpowered even for normal conditions.
I do appreciate the dammed if they do comments. However these winds were forecast well in advance, there was serious incidents all across Scotland all day, the winds were still present and continued through the night after the gig.
They let people in at 6pm and didn't deem the temporary structures safe until 8.30pm, Bryan started at 8pm, even though the winds hadn't gone down.
We were all prepared for it to be cancelled and fully expected it to be. I'm sure most people would have thought the same and lots of people asked the question. I'm sure meveryone would have understood in the circumstances, especially with plenty of notice.
The organisers should have taken the decision much earlier before so many people travelled. We all knew what the weather would be. They should also not let them into a venue even they had deemed unsafe.
Edited by Driver101 on Wednesday 10th August 18:09
Edited by Driver101 on Wednesday 10th August 18:09
Edited by Driver101 on Wednesday 10th August 18:34
TheRainMaker said:
A maximum wind speed limit would have been worked out, if that limit is hit the kit comes down, nothing the organisers can do about it.
The crew would have been monitoring it very closely, believe me they don't want to bring it down either.
If they had to react during the concert I'd understand they had to do something. My biggest issue was the winds were predicted and had been going from the night before. The crew would have been monitoring it very closely, believe me they don't want to bring it down either.
They should have postponed it long before people even needed to travel.
There was a bit that came out from someone involved with the show. Apparently Adams also explained during the show(we couldn't hear) that they to remove a lot of the sound system earlier in the day. They also didn't conduct any sound checks either.
MoFest have told people who have emailed that the responsibility of the gig has nothing to do with them.
LCC LIVE Events haven't responded to anyone who has made a complaint.
This page is on Citizens advice Web page.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/consume...
Edited by Driver101 on Saturday 13th August 11:49
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