Searches prompt long wait
Single stadium gate turns into massive gridlock
First, you weren't allowed to drink in the parking areas, and then you had to wait in a long line more than an hour to get into the concert.
It's not what many concert goers expected at the Dave Matthews Band's Fourth of July concert at "The Joe."
Charleston police announced late last month that they weren't going to tolerate alcohol consumption by tailgaters outside the evening concert. Police were seen giving warnings to many people seen with beer bottles and cans, and cups smelling of alcohol. It was not immediately known if any arrests were made.
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Then, only one entrance to the stadium was opened, and not until about 45 minutes before the warm up act, The Old Crow Medicine Show, took the stage. The Medicine Show could be heard playing in the distance while ticket holders were waiting in a line that at times stretched down Fishburne Street to Hagood Avenue and all the way to The Citadel Hagood Avenue gate.
Ticket holders were wall-to-wall outside the gate moments before Matthews went on. Charleston Police Capt. Gary Tillman said eight lanes were open to search and admit people, but they arrived all at once and there was a bottleneck.
The gridlock at the gate was the biggest disruption reported during a Fourth of July that other departments said was a relatively quiet day.
Men's pockets and ladies' purses were searched. A manager of employees conducting the search said it was for "contraband," including alcohol and knives. The manager, who would not give his name, said he wished the matter had been handled better.
"I can't believe they had just one entrance," the manager said.
Police spokesman Charles Francis said he could not provide any figures Friday night regarding warnings given or arrests of people seen drinking outside the show.
Many ticket holders said the alcohol ban and the long line put a damper on the day.
Hannah and Patrick Jones of New York said they timed their trip to see friends in Charleston so they could see Dave Matthews. "It's terrible," Hannah said of waiting nearly an hour in line.
Sisters Katie and Dottie Atkinson, their mom, Colleen, and a family friend came to the show from Orangeburg. "They knew that 15,000 people were coming here," Katie said about the long line.
"It's pretty crappy," Denise Frazier of Cottageville said about the wait.
Will Folk of Charleston said the city's policy prohibiting parking lot drinking is backwards.
"They actually are promoting drinking and driving," Folk insisted. Those who can't drink outside a concert will drink at home and then drive to the show, he said.
"I know friends that are drinking at home and driving," Adam Taylor of Mount Pleasant said.
Folk said that in the best interest of public safety, people should be allowed "to drink before the show and then walk to it. You're not going to stop the drinking," he said.
Folk maintained that the city's strict enforcement of alcohol laws is why "no big shows come here. If you're going to expand the city, you've got to be open to this," he said.
"It's not a concert environment without drinking before a show," Mike Simpson of Chicago said.
"I came here for two reasons: The Dave Matthews Band and to get drunk," declared Rhett Hutcheson, a Georgia Southern University sophomore. "One of America's favorite traditions is drinking on the Fourth of July," he added.
But the gridlock at the gate subsided as the show went on, and once inside, the crowd's mood was liquid and festive.
Reach Eddie Fennell at 745-5865 or efennell@postandcourier.com.Devin Grant contributed to this story
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Comments
postman01 (anonymous) says...
This is the kind of thing that indicates the need for a new police chief and the disciplining/termination of some officers.
The police CAUSED THIS PROBLEM. Period.
July 5, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
Have any of you ever been to a college football game?
July 5, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rdhttc (anonymous) says...
Good thing DMB made up for the long lines and high price. The show was great-the staff at the Joe terrible. I'm not sure ALL the blame falls on the police, even though they didn't help matters-the Joe should have been better prepared to handle the crowd. For $73 a ticket I expected a lot more. Being able to hear BOTH bands inside would have been nice. Not every other note from Fishburne where we waited for over a hour. Come on Charleston-get it together! We may never have another big name like DMB, if you don't.
July 5, 2008 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
Wonder I got into the KY versus SC game easily last year on that great night when our Gamecocks won even though I like KY too since my late mother was from there. Oh for the good old days when concert security just waved detectors to make sure you did not have a gun, knife or bomb. Now you have to empty everything like you are going into a city hall or courthouse. House of Blues in Myrtle Beach is bad for this style of search. I am glad I am old now and remember handing my ticket to be torn and then running full blast to the stage of concerts at Savannah Civic Center or running for the best seats at Gaillard. The only delay was sitting close to the doors waiting for them to be opened. And cameras were allowed too. There were no searches, only fun and tickets around $4 to $7. But this is a different day.
July 5, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
I remember those days, too, KidYendor, and I was in the front row for many shows at the Gaillard....Edgar Winter, J. Geils, America, ZZ Top, etc. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. It appears that the Joe was not the best site for this concert, given the size of the crowd, parking, traffic, etc. I would fault the organizers of the show for that.
July 5, 2008 at 1:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
Yeah wonder, I saw Edgar with my high school love (she didn't love me but we went out now and then) at Gaillard and ZZ at hot County Hall among others, and Geils at Savannah. I have great pics of Ronnie Van Zant and the rest of Lynyrd S. at Gaillard. He reached out over the first row and handed his big cup of Jack Daniel and Coke to us in the second row to us under 18s. It was 60% Jack and %40 Coke at minimum. Did Dave Matthews hand out any Jack? He should have done a Jim Morrison and chastised the security for the wait and bottleneck to get in. Now I am not against detectors of weapons and bombs but pocket emptying is very annoying. Can people out there post on the search on them and if they were pocket emptied and patted down or metal detected? Of course it took me two hours to drive two miles to the CAFB airshow so a one hour wait might not be so bad. But it is somewhat bad.
July 5, 2008 at 1:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wonderdog (anonymous) says...
I wasn't at the show, but security searches tote bags, pocket books, and anybody who may appear to have a flask at all the college football games I have attended in the last 4 years or so. I hear that the Georgia - Florida game (a/k/a The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party) is not what it used to be. That's just life in the world today. I don't necessarily agree with the tailgate regulations or those at many other venues, but I don't blame the cops/security for doing their jobs. I still think the Joe just isn't suitable for a show as big as Dave Matthews Band.
KidYendor, the Edgar Winter show was one of the best I have ever seen (or at least in my high school perspective it was). Frankenstein!!!!!!!!!
July 5, 2008 at 4:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tulane75 (anonymous) says...
It seems clear that the officers were instructed (ordered) to perform the searches, in part, because of the demographics of the anticipated crowd and the type of music. Although it is a different police department, I am guessing that security will not do this kind of search at the Lyle Lovett concert tonight. Stated differently, if Lyle Lovett and his Large Band (?) or the Moody Blues were playing at the Joe last night, I bet security would have been handled differently. Maybe it should be handled differently! But why would they want to search law abiding citizens without some reason to believe there is a problem?
July 5, 2008 at 7:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KidYendor (anonymous) says...
wonder the show that I have always told others was the best was Emerson Lake and Palmer at Savannah Civic Center in '73 or '74, I have the ticket stub in my photo album with others. My elbows were on stage center, I have pictures of Lake looking down at me. They played for at least 3.5 hours and it was right after the Charlotte concert that everyone talked about for years with the flying piano up in the air. My second best was probably the original Skynyrd at Gaillard. Tulane they probably hand search people just because they can and no one will complain because they want to get in with their $75 ticket. Look at the packed house for Elton John in November there weren't any unjust searches that night. They just need metal detectors to walk through and gunpowder/explosive detectors like at airports, that is enough. People should not be frisked to go to a festive concert especially on Independence Freedom Fourth of July Day.
July 5, 2008 at 10:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dwatts (anonymous) says...
The terrorist have won.....just look at us...we don't trust anyone anymore.
July 7, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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