Increased security for a Foo Fighters show in Australia on Tuesday led to insane lines and fan complaints, as some found themselves at the back of the line in an entirely different suburb from the venue, according to coverage of the concert.
Lines were so ridiculous that the start time for the concert was actually pushed back to allow for the backup to be cleared, a delay of about 30 minutes, according to Musicfeeds.com.au.
According to fan posts on social media, the lines made for a rough start to their evening, though to be fair to the band, reviews of their performance in recent gigs on their tour have been stellar.
“End of the queue to get in to Ethihad general admission is on the corner of Spencer and LaTrobe. Literally in another suburb,” tweeted Aussie comedian and author Jo Stanley (@realJoStanley). “Got here 40 mins early. Going to miss start of show. Devastated.”
Travis Deans (@travvydeans) tweeted “Trying to get to Foo Fighters queue back to spencer street nearly a kilometer long this is ridiculous what sort of shop are you running (sic).”
Geelong Advertiser sports editor Nick Wade (@nick_wade) posted a photo from the back of the line, which shows the venue off in the distance, with hundreds of fans in the immediate foreground:
What’s going on @EtihadStadiumAU. Entry lines hundreds of metres long, slinking all the way from gate seven back down Spencer St for #foofighters. Never seen this before pic.twitter.com/YFZMpsakmE
— Nick Wade (@nick_wade) January 30, 2018
He later posted a poll to the site, asking “If you arrive at 6.40 PM for a concert that starts at 7:45 PM with a general admin ticket, should you expect to get in to see the first song? #FooFighters – 82% of the 150-odd respondents agreed that “yes, 75 min is plenty” rather than “No, 2hr delays are ok.”
It is unclear what specifically caused the holdup, besides the general “added security” caveat. “[Foo Fighters] requested additional security so we’re following their security protocol because fan safety is paramount,” an Ethihad Stadium spokesperson told News Corp Australia.
Finding the balance between secure entertainment venues and fan experience is an important concern right now in the concert and sports world, as venues need to balance the very real need to protect fans from those who would use a massive crowd to do harm with the concurrent need to get people in and out of the building. It would appear that Foo Fighters fans in Australia saw the downside to that balance this week, but at least it appears that everyone got in and out safely, and a good time was had at the show, if a bit delayed.
The ride home, however…
Couldve given us a few, maybe 1 per line, extra trains to clear the foo fighters gig @metrotrains
— Matthew Harvey (@MattMan85) January 30, 2018
