If you were one of the many who stood outside for more than an hour in the elbow-to-elbow crowd and 20-degree temperatures Saturday night outside Buster’s, then you will understand where I am coming from.
I arrived at Buster’s to find what looked to be hundreds of people gathered outside the entry door around 10 p.m., wondering what could possibly be causing the giant clump of people.
I stood outside for half an hour with my friends surrounded by hate chants toward Buster’s, “let us in” chants and of course, the classic C-A-T-S chant. As each minute passed without an explanation of why I was stuck out in the cold for so long, my anger escalated higher and higher.
Rumors spread through the crowd that people had rushed the door and ran in without showing their ID, however the only official explanation provided was from the man standing in front of the door telling us to form a better line if we ever wanted to get inside.
Soon police were called, taking away people in handcuffs. Eventually the paddywagon, the ultimate crowd controller, arrived for backup.
I understand Buster’s did not want to open the doors for fear of underage people running in without their IDs or tickets being checked. What made me mad was the fact that they thought one person standing in front of a hundred-person crowd could have both the power and voice to solve the problem.
If Buster’s wanted people to listen and form a more-organized line of people, they should have: a) let people know what the problem was sooner and, b) instructed on a microphone that people needing to use will call should form one line while people who had tickets should form another.
Instead, what management did was send a few annoyed Buster’s workers outside to try and yell over the screaming crowds. And there’s no way three people’s voices can overpower a crowd of angry and intoxicated college students.
If you were one of the people who paid at least $20 to see the show but left in frustration, you are probably the angriest of them all. Lets face it, in college $20 means a lot.
If Buster’s expects to host concerts of this size in the future, and expects people to trust they’ll get to see who they paid for, then Buster’s needs to come up with a different system. Otherwise this college town may take its business elsewhere.
Katie Perkowski is a journalism junior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
This is not the first time Busters has dropped the ball on a large crowd situation. The Halloween Fall Ball was a complete disaster. Same huge lines, only one band played, and the whole thing was shut down early, leaving a thousand drunk kids to wonder home for miles or wait hours for a cab (a shuttle would have been nice). I understand shows and events of any magnitude our difficult to host but they have proven they are clearly amateurs. This establishment has lost my respect.
I was at the Fall Ball. And it was amazing. If you saw the one band that preformed then you definitely got your moneys worth. The big problem with that show was that simply too many people showed up and demanded to get in when they were already near capacity. Also, a majority of the people who screamed about not getting in didn’t have tickets in the first place. The show ended up being shut down early for three reasons: The suspicion of underage drinking, the fact that someone pulled the fire alarm and the fire marshal determining that they may have gone over capacity. Three things Buster’s was doing their absolute best to avoid knowing they were going to have a crowd of that magnitude. And if you kept your ears open you’d have learned that it wasn’t Buster’s that came to the rescue when the party was shut down but instead group of intelligent and extremely chill individuals who loaned out their house so The Hood Internet had a place to perform.
As for the comment about students taking our business elsewhere I doubt that will happen. Due to the complete disaster that was supposed to be Centerpointe coupled with the closing of The Dame, Lexington residents simply have no other option but to trek to the only place still showing live music of any merit – Buster’s.
As the former Talent Buyer for The Dame, I would point out that Buster’s isn’t the “only place still showing live music of any merit”. Cosmic Charlie’s is only slightly smaller than The Dame and is pulling in many of the same acts we used to get, as well as a lot of new and exciting artists. In fact, I’ve been working with them and other venues in town through my booking company, Sprouse House Productions. If you liked what I booked at The Dame, keep an eye out for us.
Natasha’s, The Green Lantern and Al’s Bar are also worthwhile places to check for live music in Lexington. You’ll find a lot of our old staff behind the bar at The Green Lantern, one of my personal favorite bars in town.
I’m not discounting what Buster’s has been able to do so far; I’m simply pointing out that there are a lot of other options out there.
As far as the Mike Posner concert goes it was the biggest live music let down of my life. The number one reason for this is i never got in. I purchased three tickets online and waited in a line for over 3 hours from 8:30 passed 11:30. If it was really that big of a concert and you had the line moving it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal but, The doors were shut the entire time and no one was being let in. My friends said they finally got in at 12:30 and they were there before i was. I have been trying to contact them ever since and they wont answer my calls or messages. I want my money back in full. I paid for a service that was never given to me that is why today im contacting the better business bureau to file a complaint along with a crowd of my peers that also feel the same way of being wronged and cheated. If any manager or owner would like to contact me about this message just listen to your voicemails, you already have my full name and number several times over.
Mike: saying that only one band played is incorrect. The Seedy Seeds played in the front room, the March Madness Marching Band played twice, and Man Man played. If you got there late, that’s fine, but don’t say that only one band played because it just isn’t true. And yes, it was shut down early due to the fire alarm and marshall.
Buster’s has handled sell out crowds before, with the likes of Blues Traveler, Derek Trucks and Matisyahu with as few incidents as possible. At these shows, the crowds were far more behaved as well. Even the DJs at the Posner show had to tell the crowd to use their head and stay in line. When there are elements of a crowd that binge drink and rush a door, there’s just no way a night is going to go absolutely smooth. Seriously, the metal crowds are better behaved. University of Kentucky students have to learn to conduct themselves in a respectable fashion in public before any such event can go smoothly.
btw, I am an UK alum.
It’s fairly obvious that “Brent” works for Buster’s or is own of the owners.
Here’s a fun clip of the night in question……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHsNNkptKb0
This is truly unfair and the group of people who were unjustly left in the cold, need to unite and work together to make these business owners pay! NOW. The Attorney General will glady take care of you. Call your State Representatives NOW