Standing in the O2 cattle market

rossie1977

Turpentine wrote: »

That's the only real complaint I'd have about the place. And they're not pints, they're crappy plastic 500ml cups.

pretty much standard in every major arena though, was at a miami heat basketball game at the american airlines arena in miami in november, $8 for a plastic cup of watery beer and they wouldn't give it to me without an id (i am 34)

Ash.J.Williams

If you are a band lucky enough to be of o2 cailibre ie you can command audiences of over 10,000 punters, there are certain rules you need to follow that more niche bands of "button factory" size fanbase do not.

When I go to a see one of my favourite bands, i generally do not want it to end and feel particularly lucky if the band enjoy themselves enough to play extra encore etc or break from the script a little...

However in the o2, bands need to realise that only 3000 or so of the people there are actually fans, and the rest are there for a night out and generally do not go to gigs or liked the band in their younger days and have slacked off since they got married or had kids etc...

This may have nothing to do with Roger waters, however i have heard complaints about other o2 gigs, where people have had to leave to get busses and trains and get home for the babysitter etc...

so for a succesful o2 gig, bands need to stick to the 9pm -11pm time slot, play "all the hits" and no experiments or "new stuff".

I totally disagreee with all this but it's just what i've been noticing...

Shando316

I've been to countless standing gigs in the O2, and I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

blastman

Turpentine wrote: »

That's the only real complaint I'd have about the place. And they're not pints, they're crappy plastic 500ml cups.

And they're filled with Heineken

jill_valentine

My sole gripe with the 02 is that you've got nowhere to stash bags/coats/etc, but that's to be expected with a venue that size, it would just be impractical.

2cool4school

o2 is a styley venue in fairness great grub clean bogs nice pints it has everything you could possibly want

i love the way those lads wander around in the seated area selling drink too so handy

only thing i think they could do better is to sell candy floss too i love it but ive never seen it for sale in there

Mickolution

Turpentine wrote: »

Absolutely zero shame. In fact I'd wager they're probably proud of their ability to fleece Joe Punter.

They're not "fleecing" anyone. They charge prices people are willing to pay, same goes for the food/drink there. It's called economics.

PTH2009

been in the o2 a number of times.

i only once stood for a gig which was Guns N Roses and i did not like it full of drunken idiots, throwing stuff around, falling all over the place but thats how it is plus the main act kind of ****ed up the evening too.

I was seated for a number of gigs and have no complants about the view of the stage but the a thing that drives me mad is people getting up every few minutes going to the toliets for drinks etc. People who come in late when the act is on stage, people deciding to have chats when the act is on and people up dancing blocking peoples view.

Its a good venue and something Ireland needed.

My trips to the o2

WWE Undertaker RIP tour- Nov 2009
Kiss- May 2010
Iron Maiden- July 2010
Guns N Roses- Sep 2010
WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Tour- Apr 2011
Rush- May 2011
Def Leppard- June 2011
Journey- June 2011

AdMMM

thing that drives me mad is people getting up every few minutes going to the toliets for drinks etc

I know times are tough, but still......

flas

blastman wrote: »

And they're filled with Heineken

wrong, carlsberg

poundhound

I've been to the point/O2 about 120 times and this is my take. It's not the venue that's the problem but the audience themselves. I've been to gigs with my wife, Beyonce etc and the standing area has been hassle free.
However, when I've been to shows like Pearl Jam etc, the floor is full of drunk zombies "pin balling" off other people.

So the same venue but different experiences.

I do think the security need to be more strict and turf out the gob****es who ruin the gig for people in their vicinity.

I sat at both Roger Waters shows and they were probably the best shows I've ever seen. They certainly rank alongside the legendary AC/DC gig in the point in 1991.

jill_valentine

You might not be wrong there. Was talking to some roadie types there at a show a while back, they said it was the drunkest crowd they'd ever seen, and it definitely showed.

Grid.

Excellent venue ... I've little to complain about it, pricey for food and drink , but thats the same everywhere..... the main problem is the drunken idiots that ruin it for everyone.

Ally Dick

Must be something to do with laddish bands attracting a more knackery clientele e.g. Kasabian, Oasis, Prodigy, Kings Of Leon etc. Probably wouldn't be as many drunken men at Lady Gaga! I was surprised to see so many at Roger Waters though. We're not talking drunk teenagers! Definitely older clientele falling around drunk. One bloke was so drunk he was stood with his eyes closed beside me!

Thundercats Ho

I stopped drinking at gigs years ago, and it's much much better.
I used to be of the opinion that you needed a few to get into the mood for it. What a fool i was!

StaticAge11

I have to say I am delighted they have stopped putting that barrier down in the standing area. My view of Muse was terrible in 09 as we were stuck to the side, couldn't see the full light show

NIBBS

poundhound wrote: »

I've been to the point/O2 about 120 times and this is my take. It's not the venue that's the problem but the audience themselves. I've been to gigs with my wife, Beyonce etc and the standing area has been hassle free.
However, when I've been to shows like Pearl Jam etc, the floor is full of drunk zombies "pin balling" off other people.

So the same venue but different experiences.

I do think the security need to be more strict and turf out the gob****es who ruin the gig for people in their vicinity.

I sat at both Roger Waters shows and they were probably the best shows I've ever seen. They certainly rank alongside the legendary AC/DC gig in the point in 1991.

I don't get how anyone could complain about the O2 and at the same time say the Point was great - the O2 is so much better as a venue it really isn't comparable - yes they could definitely have done some things better, but it's a good venue.

poundhound is right, the audience itself is the problem - Ally, the fact that there is ample bar space available in the arena doesn't cause people to be idiots, it's a million times better for people to be able to purchase food and drink when inside if that's what they want to do, I've found easily as many drunk idiot girls as guys at gigs lately, it's just a fact that Ireland now has a very ignorant population (ok that's too general - but there is certainly a lot more ignorant "me me me" people in this country now) - I've been to a tonne of gigs in the O2, very different types of music, and there's always some drunken idiot, the level was much lower where I was for Stevie Wonder than Pearl Jam.....

blastman

flas wrote: »

wrong, carlsberg

Even worse again...

blastman

Thundercats Ho wrote: »

I stopped drinking at gigs years ago, and it's much much better.
I used to be of the opinion that you needed a few to get into the mood for it. What a fool i was!

Actually, I'd say you're right. You need to be pissed to put up with some of the morons that you meet at gigs these days....

formbypc

rossie1977 wrote: »

why would anyone want to sit at a rock concert

Because of general health and age, my feet, legs and back start to ache after about half an hour or so of queueing outside, and that's before I've even got into the gig......?

formbypc

rossie1977 wrote: »

pretty much standard in every major arena though, was at a miami heat basketball game at the american airlines arena in miami in november, $8 for a plastic cup of watery beer and they wouldn't give it to me without an id (i am 34)

California, 1998 - Had to take passports everywhere to get a drink.

Warfield Theater, SF - one of us went to the bar, couldn't buy drinks for 3 of us without the other two also going to the bar and showing ID.

At the time, I was 49, and my travelling companions around 45 or so .....