SLANE 2009 Oasis - All Discussion - No ticket sales.

dublinstevie

not one person out of how many replies has commented on how good a job was done by DB drivers under very awkward and dangerous circumstances,all the problems of slane this year is down to far too many people there,pure and simple.dublin bus drivers drove through the day,nite and into the next morning,the vast majority of them doing it on their WEEKEND OFF,just to transport a lot of drunken arseholes to a concert venue that wasnt capable of handling such numbers,hats off to db drivers,wasnt their fault,they load a bus and drive,job done,didnt help by a number of idiots banging bus doors,opening bus doors by the emergency buttons,a lot of the problems were down to drink and arsehole culture

The Blonde One

Got a reply from MCD:

Dear *************,
MCD apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank you
for your feedback regarding the Oasis concert at Slane on Saturday
June 20th.
We are currently looking into your comments and will send an
appropriate response within 5 working days.

Kind Regards,

MCD Customer Care

Teresa1984

we probably would have got home quicker on the back of one of those cows!!!!!:D

also, i don't think anyone is saying anything about the drivers themselves, it certainly must have been nerve-wracking to drive through the crowds. however if the controller (who i spoke to) had actually done his job and there had been co-ordination between all involved to control the crowd, tell people what was happening, etc, people would in all likeliness have been more understanding. it was the poor customer service, not just the delays that has people upset and dissatisfied.

Mental Mickey

dublinstevie wrote: »

not one person out of how many replies has commented on how good a job was done by DB drivers under very awkward and dangerous circumstances,all the problems of slane this year is down to far too many people there,pure and simple.dublin bus drivers drove through the day,nite and into the next morning,the vast majority of them doing it on their WEEKEND OFF,just to transport a lot of drunken arseholes to a concert venue that wasnt capable of handling such numbers,hats off to db drivers,wasnt their fault,they load a bus and drive,job done,didnt help by a number of idiots banging bus doors,opening bus doors by the emergency buttons,a lot of the problems were down to drink and arsehole culture

Bingo.

Ron DMC

dublinstevie wrote: »

not one person out of how many replies has commented on how good a job was done by DB drivers under very awkward and dangerous circumstances,all the problems of slane this year is down to far too many people there,pure and simple.dublin bus drivers drove through the day,nite and into the next morning,the vast majority of them doing it on their WEEKEND OFF,just to transport a lot of drunken arseholes to a concert venue that wasnt capable of handling such numbers,hats off to db drivers,wasnt their fault,they load a bus and drive,job done,didnt help by a number of idiots banging bus doors,opening bus doors by the emergency buttons,a lot of the problems were down to drink and arsehole culture

Totally agree with you.

The bus drivers were amazing and had a lot of shite to put up with from people complaining and falling around their buses and causing trouble.
It was not the drivers' fault that there weren't enough buses or that the buses couldn't move because people were in their way.

I was the last one off my bus getting off in Parnell Square and I personally thanked the driver for a job a well done. The look of relief on his face as we got off was something else. He was as tired as anyone and shouldn't have had to put up with the abuse that he did.

I mean so what if you were late getting back to town? You all got there (eventually) thanks to the bus drivers, so don't take your frustration out on them.

but1er

Help

wat songs did blizzards do??

cant find it anywere on the net

thnks

columok

Just to clarify the bus drivers themselves were great and put up with all kinds of rubbish. The problem was that nobody had briefed them or organised a system to deal with tens of thousands of people.

Gavin "shels"

The Blonde One wrote: »

Got a reply from MCD:

Dear *************,
MCD apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank you
for your feedback regarding the Oasis concert at Slane on Saturday
June 20th.
We are currently looking into your comments and will send an
appropriate response within 5 working days.

Kind Regards,

MCD Customer Care

When did you send them an email? I sent them one yesterday afternoon with no reply yet!

The Blonde One

Gavin shels wrote: »

When did you send them an email? I sent them one yesterday afternoon with no reply yet!

I sent it yesterday on their feedback form. I didn't say much, just that they should be thankful no one was injured during the mad rush to get on the buses.

Our bus was mental! People kicking the doors, generally going insane at the bus driver. You couldn't blame them though, ours was the last visible bus on the Dublin Road, so people were obviously thinking they were gonna be stranded.

Shabbah

dublinstevie wrote: »

not one person out of how many replies has commented on how good a job was done by DB drivers under very awkward and dangerous circumstances,all the problems of slane this year is down to far too many people there,pure and simple.dublin bus drivers drove through the day,nite and into the next morning,the vast majority of them doing it on their WEEKEND OFF,just to transport a lot of drunken arseholes to a concert venue that wasnt capable of handling such numbers,hats off to db drivers,wasnt their fault,they load a bus and drive,job done,didnt help by a number of idiots banging bus doors,opening bus doors by the emergency buttons,

I totally agree with the above. I had a decent experienced and friendly driver on both journeys (both too and from Slane) and they both did their absolute best with the situation they faced at the venue, I really don't think the whole problem lies with Dublin bus (well definately not the drivers) whatsoever. Sure, they probably should have had more buses in operation. All I'll say, is fair play to the two drivers I was lucky enough to travel with. I cannot comment on other drivers, but personally, I wouldn't fancy their job on a day like last Saturday. Any other event I have been to of this scale has had buses parked in an orderly fashion and people (possibly from Dublin bus?) directing people into ONE particular bus until it's full, then the next bus etc.....I feel sorry for the bus drivers stuck in the middle of the mess on Saturday night, they obviously had very little direction in the situation and had to face all and anger head-on. I'd blame the people at the top (of MCD and MCD and even the Gardai) The ones on the ground couldn't possibly have controlled the siatuation any better than you or I. And Dublin bus did NOT create that stupid mess in the forest that I was caught up in either!!!

There was absolutely NO organisation done in relation to parking for the buses, and/or directing people to buses afterwards..... where the buses would turn etc., and I think the whole event needed MORE staff (security/stewards etc) who were equipped with knowledge of what was happening, when and where...... and willing to pass on directions/information to the punters/bus drivers if and when they needed it.

I was lucky though, hopped on the first bus I saw and it was full and moving within 5 minutes. I may have been lucky with the driver I got, he wasn't going to wait around for any reason and although it was very tricky moving such a vehicle through masses of frustrated and upset people, he did it and we got back to DUblin in no time. Everyone was very relaxed on our bus, some asleep, most just glad to be getting the hell out of there.

a lot of the problems were down to drink and arsehole culture

I don't necessarily agree with that!! I've been to many events of this kind and I have never EVER felt so nervous than at Slane 2009! I was on edge all the time.....so were many other people. People were on edge, making them narkier than usual and generaly unhappy....this could have bveen avoided if the event was controlled a little better. It wasn't the crowds fault, it was the lack of event staff and control and planning......there will ALWAYS be the odd skanger causing problems but mostly, it's dealt with in a timely manner by a member of staff.....I saw very few event staff allllllllllllllll day.........what happened?? Cutbacks at slane too?

chalkitdown1

but1er wrote: »

Help

wat songs did blizzards do??

cant find it anywere on the net

thnks

Buy It Sell It
Miss Fantasia Preaches
Trust Me I'm a Doctor
Three Cheers for Modern Medicine
Postcards
Fantasy

In that order.

I uploaded Fantasy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aNnRBCo3LQ

I got everything except Postcards on video. I'll upload them eventually.

pipandtink

I paid 80 Euro to be penned into a cage .... see photo ... and further 20 to walk miles down a dark lane, sit on a bus for 2 hours with no drink and no seat, then another 1 1/2 hours into dublin...
we left the concert at 10.30 were herded like catlle arrived home (a miracle) at 5.00am !!!!

NEVER EVER AGAIN!!! :eek::mad:

evil_seed

Can someone please either post or pm me the setlist for kasabian & prodigy. thanks in advance

NickNolte

A nation of ignorant arseholes who'll happily pay top dollar to be treated like crap. A sweeping generalisation but a very apt one. :rolleyes:

I attended the gig on Saturday with people of various nationalities - Irish, English, Scottish, French, a Canadian and an American... and none of them could believe what they were going through. Luckily they had a good sense of humour about the whole thing but I, for one, have never been more humiliated to be Irish.

To all the Irish people defending this fiasco - just know that a larger number of foreigners think we're a nation of hick, useless scumbags than they did before last Saturday. For shame.

suzieb

Hoping one of the Mods can change the link to the Garda Traffic Division on the first page?

I just got a rather curt reply from them saying they are the Dublin Division and don't deal with this area.

The proper address is Drogheda_DV@garda.ie (hope this is ok to post here).

On another note I seem to be the first person thats got a reply from them on Boards anyway so I am hoping more people that are online complaining about issues with management etc on Saturday take the time to mail them.

Suzie

lordgoat

Keep it on topic guys

Ally Dick

pipandtink wrote: »

I paid 80 Euro to be penned into a cage .... see photo ... and further 20 to walk miles down a dark lane, sit on a bus for 2 hours with no drink and no seat, then another 1 1/2 hours into dublin...
we left the concert at 10.30 were herded like catlle arrived home (a miracle) at 5.00am !!!!

NEVER EVER AGAIN!!! :eek::mad:

Slane is a young man's game...and you can add to that the fact that Mountcharles books artists without a care in the world as to the safety or the logistics of the crowd. If the weather is good, nobody gives a **** about how people get in or out of Slane. The powers that be just want to rip people off for beer and then fleece them for a bus fare home. I wouldn't be caught dead out there....and I live in Navan !

Ally Dick

NickNolte wrote: »

To all the Irish people defending this fiasco - just know that a larger number of foreigners think we're a nation of hick, useless scumbags than they did before last Saturday. For shame.

About eight years ago, I visited Playa Del Ingles and stayed in the Irish area. The pubs and toilets were filthy. You wouldn't ask a pig to swill in them. I then went to the English centre and it was spotlessly clean in the pubs and the pub toilets. This upset me deeply. It made me realise that Irish will put up with inferior service, and we DESERVE what we get because we do. What happened at Slane doesn't surprise me in the slightest. We put up with it. Many will grumble but not many will take the time to ring and complain. In an Irish person's mind, problems only last until they put their head down to sleep. We wake up the next day and it is all forgotten. Other nationalities wouldn't put up with this and would demand proper service, after paying so much money to go to a concert. No doubt the same will happen next year, the VIPs will laugh and sneer from the Castle and Mountcharles will laugh all the way to the bank. Personally, I always smell a rat when it comes to concerts in fields. I am too old now, but I would rather sit home in the comfort of my armchair. That's where I intend to enjoy Glastonbury next weekend !

BrianD

Shabbah wrote: »

Any other event I have been to of this scale has had buses parked in an orderly fashion and people (possibly from Dublin bus?) directing people into ONE particular bus until it's full, then the next bus etc.....I feel sorry for the bus drivers stuck in the middle of the mess on Saturday night, they obviously had very little direction in the situation and had to face all and anger head-on. I'd blame the people at the top (of MCD and MCD and even the Gardai) The ones on the ground couldn't possibly have controlled the siatuation any better than you or I. And Dublin bus did NOT create that stupid mess in the forest that I was caught up in either!!!

There was absolutely NO organisation done in relation to parking for the buses, and/or directing people to buses afterwards..... where the buses would turn etc., and I think the whole event needed MORE staff (security/stewards etc) who were equipped with knowledge of what was happening, when and where...... and willing to pass on directions/information to the punters/bus drivers if and when they needed it.

You can't blame the promoter for this. The blame must lie with the bus company. Dublin Bus have been doing this gig for years and must have they would have their own operational plan in place. They would have been consulted on what they needed. If we assume that the majority of the audience (plus the 20,000 fence jumpers that somebody else claims) were in by say, 7pm, then Dublin Bus had approximately 3 hours to turn the fleet around and get it ready for departure. Also if there was less buses then people then either DB withdrew buses or there were freeloaders. I am guessing plenty of the latter. It's the responsibility of the bus company to police/supervise the operations. Perhaps you should ask Meath CC, Dublin Bus or MCD for the event plans to see how the bus company should have done it. Also, it is a fact of the matter that the buses have always been parked further away then what people might expect.

I don't necessarily agree with that!! I've been to many events of this kind and I have never EVER felt so nervous than at Slane 2009! I was on edge all the time.....so were many other people. People were on edge, making them narkier than usual and generaly unhappy....this could have bveen avoided if the event was controlled a little better. It wasn't the crowds fault, it was the lack of event staff and control and planning......there will ALWAYS be the odd skanger causing problems but mostly, it's dealt with in a timely manner by a member of staff.....I saw very few event staff allllllllllllllll day.........what happened?? Cutbacks at slane too?

It's not the local hall that you were at. If you have 80,000 people in a field you are not going to have a "member of staff" every 5 metres to come over check on your behaviour. Unfortunately, it was your fellow drunk Irish concert goer that made you feel uncomfortable and that's a fact of life. If the crowd was unruly then it was the crowds fault not the stewards fault!! There seems to be a complete lack of a concept of a personal responsibity by Irish audiences and that everything is out of their control. If something goes wrong it's always someone elses fault. One minute they don't want supervision and next they can't get enough of it.

BrianD

dublinstevie wrote: »

not one person out of how many replies has commented on how good a job was done by DB drivers under very awkward and dangerous circumstances,all the problems of slane this year is down to far too many people there,pure and simple.dublin bus drivers drove through the day,nite and into the next morning,the vast majority of them doing it on their WEEKEND OFF,just to transport a lot of drunken arseholes to a concert venue that wasnt capable of handling such numbers,hats off to db drivers,wasnt their fault,they load a bus and drive,job done,didnt help by a number of idiots banging bus doors,opening bus doors by the emergency buttons,a lot of the problems were down to drink and arsehole culture

I accept what you are saying about the "drink and arsehole culture" that unfortunately has become a trademark of Irish audiences (more interested in the drink than the music). And fair play to individual drivers for taking it in their stride.

However, I don't accept what you are saying about the venue and the Dublin Bus service. The venue has been through a planning process and is licensed to hold the 80,000 people that attended. Dublin Bus have been doing this event for quite a few years and are well used to it. Not only that they charge punters a premium for getting there and back. This is not a public service - it's a profitable venture for them. Why were they caught by surprise? A ticket was required to get there and back - it's quite easy to work out the demand, X tickets = Y buses. It's also up to the bus company to work out the Qing system and all the operational matters which, I understand take place, outside the venue.

NickNolte wrote:

A nation of ignorant arseholes who'll happily pay top dollar to be treated like crap. A sweeping generalisation but a very apt one.

I attended the gig on Saturday with people of various nationalities - Irish, English, Scottish, French, a Canadian and an American... and none of them could believe what they were going through. Luckily they had a good sense of humour about the whole thing but I, for one, have never been more humiliated to be Irish.

To all the Irish people defending this fiasco - just know that a larger number of foreigners think we're a nation of hick, useless scumbags than they did before last Saturday. For shame

This is what I mean where Irish audiences fail to live up to any form of social responsibility. The audience paid top dollar to treat themselves like crap. It's not the event organisers, stewards, gardai or bus drivers who cause Irish audiences to behave - it's themselves!!! I am unsurprised that your foreign friends must have been aghast - audiences just don't behave like that in their home countries! I am unsurprised that you feel humiliated and audiences should be looking at themselves in the mirror instead of wondering why the promoter didn't assign a steward to every single member of the audience to save them from themselves.

BrianD

pipandtink wrote: »

I paid 80 Euro to be penned into a cage .... see photo ... and further 20 to walk miles down a dark lane, sit on a bus for 2 hours with no drink and no seat, then another 1 1/2 hours into dublin...
we left the concert at 10.30 were herded like catlle arrived home (a miracle) at 5.00am !!!!

NEVER EVER AGAIN!!! :eek::mad:

You should have respect for the people who died at Hillsborough. The situation you describe and provide a photograph bears no resemblence to what happened there or even comes near it.Did you spend the entire evening in the "cage" or was that remark just for dramatic effect? So why do you liken your inconvenience to a real disaster? That's disgraceful.

Firstly, it's a herras fence that you have photographed. A type of temporary fencing. Not exactly a cage is it? If the crush was a serious as you say that fence would be on the ground. They don't have much load bearing properties. I see a number of security guards restraining the crowd presumably to manage the numbers going through the gates. Is that not what they are supposed to do?

mspacman

BrianD wrote: »

You should have respect for the people who died at Hillsborough. The situation you describe and provide a photograph bears no resemblence to what happened there or even comes near it.Did you spend the entire evening in the "cage" or was that remark just for dramatic effect? So why do you liken your inconvenience to a real disaster? That's disgraceful.

Firstly, it's a herras fence that you have photographed. A type of temporary fencing. Not exactly a cage is it? If the crush was a serious as you say that fence would be on the ground. They don't have much load bearing properties. I see a number of security guards restraining the crowd presumably to manage the numbers going through the gates. Is that not what they are supposed to do?

That "cage" in the picture looks like the queue for the bar at the top of the hill near the Dublin entrance, and it doesn't look like much of a crush to me. Exactly like it was when I went to that bar. The queue up there moved fairly fast, so people weren't in that stretch of the queue for more than a couple of minutes.

Comparing the situation to Hillsborough is completly and utterly ridiculous!!! People are taking this WAY out of hand now.

Shabbah

It's not the local hall that you were at. If you have 80,000 people in a field you are not going to have a "member of staff" every 5 metres to come over check on your behaviour. Unfortunately, it was your fellow drunk Irish concert goer that made you feel uncomfortable and that's a fact of life. If the crowd was unruly then it was the crowds fault not the stewards fault!! There seems to be a complete lack of a concept of a personal responsibity by Irish audiences and that everything is out of their control. If something goes wrong it's always someone elses fault. One minute they don't want supervision and next they can't get enough of it.

IN the past 15++++++ years I've been at countless LARGE events (not ceilis and "hops" as you might be imagining) similar to Slane in both Ireland and the UK and I have never EVER come across such a disorganised and understaffed event as Slane 2009!! I've been at events with a 90% "scumbag" contigent (or that's the way they may have seemed to some people) like Creamfields UK and witnessed nothing even remotely resembling the mayhem nd mess of Slane 2009. You cannot possibly defend what went on? I am not only talking about the desperate bus problem, but the constant fights inside with no security and/or garda presence to bring a bit of calm to the elevating situations, the herding of thousands of people through a narrow fenced off section of a forest......the lack of facilities (ie. bar)....the organisers, yes THE ORGANISERS and not Dublin Bus, that so many are blaming for the whole shambles), are so very very lucky that there were not fatalities this year, it's actully nothing short of a miracle. And the hostility of alot of people there was brought on by constant pushing, shoving and queueing for hours on end...again, which could have been avoided with a bit of planning and forward thinking......the majority of hostility was brought on by being totally and utterly let down by the organisers of this event!! Frustration, Upset and Disappointment festering within most of the punters, is not going to help the atmosphere at an event which was attrociously badly organised to begin with.

If some guy starts thumping the face of another guy right behind me at any event I've PAID to get into, yes I would expect there to be some sort of member of staff or 2 nearby to intervene before they're is some random strangers blood drippin down my hair! None of us need babysitters but when you pay to get in somewhere (like Slane where the organisers were raking in the cash!!!!) you expect it to be well managed, well staffed and you expect the facilities to be as good as can be expected for an event of it's kind!! There ARE simple (not impossible) standards that all festival/event goers have learnt to expect, and most of these were not met at Slane 2009.

(we all kno there might be mud, there may be rain, there may be no loo-roll, there may be rather long queues, there'll always be alot of walking....there'll be very little choice at the bar and the drink will be sh*t but available sh*t....etc.....but we expect to be treated with respect also....as paying punters) .

BobSloane

Teresa1984 wrote: »

I was Robbie Williams and the Chilli's at Phoenix park and both were very well organised. the usual walk, you'd be tired like, but very safe, and plenty of stewards around who were actually effective if there were messers. enjoy coldplay!!:)

I find it hard to believe you were at the chilli's. If i'm in dublin and someone mentions going somewhere that requires going into the phoenix park i react like the kid in the omen when he was being brought to the church. I have not set foot in phoenix park since that terrible day - not even to go to the zoo! If I ever do something with my life and the president wants to honour me at the aras i'm afraid i'll have to tell her to go fck herself

brigadear

A question to all posters who have complained to Lord Fart ARse and MCD,etc, what are you expecting out of it. We wont get our money back. And Slane will be on again next year until somebody dies.

The Blonde One

I don't think anyone is expecting their money back- people are just voicing their concerns to the powers that be. If next years Slane runs a bit smoother - result!

lordgoat

brigadear wrote: »

A question to all posters who have complained to Lord Fart ARse and MCD,etc, what are you expecting out of it. We wont get our money back. And Slane will be on again next year until somebody dies.

Someone has already died at slane, under very tragic circumstances.

Comments like this are of no use to the thread. Fine ask what people are doing but there is no need for that attitude.

This opinion has been expressed a few times and i think it's incredibly disrespectful (granted i don't think many people in here know what happened) but likening it to a potential Hillsborough/other disaster is also just as bad.

Silverfox

lordgoat wrote: »

This opinion has been expressed a few times and i think it's incredibly disrespectful (granted i don't think many people in here know what happened) but likening it to a potential Hillsborough/other disaster is also just as bad.

To be fair, as I understand it the Hillsborough situation was caused in part by someone removing the barricades and letting everyone in to ease the crushing and other problems outside the stadium. People who weren't supposed to be let in were let in or they were let into the wrong area, causing the overcrowding and allowing the people at the front to be crushed. Also when it all went wrong, there was no proper way to get the ambulances to the injured people. We should just keep in mind that there are a number of worrying similarities if not an identical situation here. It's a particularly sensitive issue given that the Hillsborough disaster happened 20 years ago this year.

lordgoat

Silverfox wrote: »

To be fair, as I understand it the Hillsborough situation was caused in part by someone removing the barricades and letting everyone in to ease the crushing and other problems outside the stadium. People who weren't supposed to be let in were let in or they were let into the wrong area, causing the overcrowding and allowing the people at the front to be crushed. Also when it all went wrong, there was no proper way to get the ambulances to the injured people. We should just keep in mind that there are a number of worrying similarities if not an identical situation here. It's a particularly sensitive issue given that the Hillsborough disaster happened 20 years ago this year.

You're well off the mark. And It's completely off topic. There are no need to draw comparisons.

pipandtink

BrianD wrote: »

You should have respect for the people who died at Hillsborough. The situation you describe and provide a photograph bears no resemblence to what happened there or even comes near it.Did you spend the entire evening in the "cage" or was that remark just for dramatic effect? So why do you liken your inconvenience to a real disaster? That's disgraceful.

Firstly, it's a herras fence that you have photographed. A type of temporary fencing. Not exactly a cage is it? If the crush was a serious as you say that fence would be on the ground. They don't have much load bearing properties. I see a number of security guards restraining the crowd presumably to manage the numbers going through the gates. Is that not what they are supposed to do?

Firstly HOW DARE you say I have no respect for the people of Hillsbourough... because I remarked that the scence was reminiscant of the images and feelings I saw of Hillsbourough, I'm English and have a lot of feelings about that tragedy, myself and many other girls were pulled out of that crowd, just before I took this photo as we were being squashed, pushed over and trampled on..... look at the photo and see the guy on the left hand side actually putting on additional bars to keep up the fences to keep people in!!!!!!! when they should have been removing them... even one of the Northern Irish stewards agreed with me..... what was worse was the forest walk with drunken idiot kids getting drunk and fustrated and pushing people out of the way..... how it was NOT another Hillsbourough I am astounded by... pure luck for the Slane organisers, I have the UTMOST respect for Hillsbourough, victims, survivors and their family's. get off your high horse. same reply to the poster below.