U2360 Mayhem in Montreal
One of our @U2 staffers braved the elements and the logistical challenges at the U2360 show in Montreal last night. His first-hand account of what transpired both before the show in the General Admission line, as well as afterwards when 80,000 fans were trying to leave the Hippodrome concert location can be summed up in one word: nightmare. Here is what he told us:
Montreal has been a mess. GA Line in? No metal barriers, just caution tape. Instead of going in a line everyone went forward instead and crushed up to the front. For the last 3 hours we were packed like sardines standing there and when the line started moving people went mad. I saw one girl get trampled. I myself was physically checked into a security guard. No one slowing people from running, in fact they seemed to be encouraging. People being slammed into walls, people pushing over top of people, saw a couple of people hurt going in by a crowd that was out of control. After the show? A nightmare. The city was shut down for miles around the venue. No buses, taxis etc. could get near. 80,000 had to rely on one subway platform and everybody was trying to get out of torrential rain so went directly there. Two hours in the rain waning to get in station I got sick. We told police. First aide was in station and couldn’t get in past crowd to access. No alternative plans. Ambulances couldn’t even get there. No offer to help me get in. Finally did pass out and security hauled me away. Horrible feeling coming to and watching yourself being dragged away. It would have taken several hours to get into subway had we waited. Total disaster. Thankfully friends did convince someone to let them in so I knew where thy were. Montreal is utterly unprepared for this. And they are not helping, but rather hindering. The whole system is seriously flawed here.
His advice for fans attending tonight’s show: Be prepared for cold rain as there is a good chance for it tonight; be prepared for long queues for transportation from the show; and if you have GA, please be respectful to the other people around you. Also, be prepared for local security to not be helpful.
He reports that the GA line today is like yesterday, only difference being that fans are not allowed to leave the line. He reports they have done nothing to create separate lines to control the crush of people in the back from pushing forward to enter the stadium.
His experience is not alone. The #u2360mtl Twitterfeed last night had similar stories from fans “surviving” the GA line. From what is being posted on the feed today from fans in the GA line, it doesn’t seem to be any better.
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Wow…..I was planning on lining up early, but my flight was canceled and I didn’t get to the stadium until 3. So glad I missed the chaos, now that I read about it.
I did have the pleasure of waiting out in the freezing rain trying to get in the subway station though. Can anyone please enlighten me as to why, when THOUSANDS of people are in the rain and trying to get in the Namur station, there were security guards standing in/ blocking HALF of the doors?! Total nightmare.
Just a bit overdramatic. We were in the grandstand and left after the show. Yes, it rained like hell, but everyone was patient and had smiles on their faces after an incredible show. The metro wasn’t the only way out, the buses were running as well. We left the show at 11:15 and were in bed by 1:30. Bravo Montreal, Bravo Boys!!!!
The location made transport a predictable snag - NDG is a fortress with only a couple outlets on the ~east side (island compass points - it’s really northeast or something)and DeCarie as a moat. According to the officials it went better than predicted, see:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/take+Come+early+prepared/5078355/story.html
Also note they said because DeCarie was shut down some people walked to a second subway station - might check a map for that option tonight.
Anyway, hope it goes better tonight & wish I was there with you. A $1 to anyone that can get Bono to say “Tabernac!” (Quebec swear that shows Quebec’s Catholic background meaning roughly (if you had to translate it) G*ddamn tabernacle)
Also from the roadclosing map it shows three stations and three locations for taxis a bit away from the site — were they not used post-show?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/pdf/U2-circulation_public_23-juin.pdf
Having been in the GA line at Nashville, I thought I had SOME clue what to expect in Montreal. But noooooo. Friend and I arrived at 1030 and joined queue. Many details contributed to my belief that security was not prepared for this experience. At 230, the line rushed forward, and people behind me broke through a barrier to cut in front of 100 or more people. At that point, all in line were standing, close together, in a very, very hot situation. My friend and I moved to the outer edge of the line and ultimately gave up our spot in line as there was just too much risk for personal injury. I thought the rain afterward was actually a saving grace for making the exit more orderly, but I did not really understand why they insisted on herding everyone through such a small opening in the fence. We had driven and parked over a mile away, so didn’t have to deal with the subway, but the whole GA scene was quite unpleasant and I was hoping they would have regrouped and made some changes for today’s line. Hope it all worked out ok, as people are now in stadium. So glad I decided against going both nights.
Is there a city and a venue in the world that can accommodate 80,000 people smoothly? Seriously, you have to plan and accept inconvenience for events the magnitude of a U2 concert.
I thought the road closures around the Hippodrome were an excellent measure that HELPED with the crowd control as the restrictions on cars and parking alleviated traffic to the site.
Nothing wrong with walking. Just Get On Your Boots!
P.S. Geez, I was back home in Ottawa by 2:30 and that included a walk up Decarie to Cote Vertu, with my 12 and 9 year old daughters in tow!
Best concert ever(Saturday show). Got there at 3:30pm and had front row center in GA. It was smooth to get there via Metro. Getting through the ticket checks was a breeze and as mentioned front row, yoohoo!! After the show we decided to walk to the metro station before the venue station. We were able to get on no problem. People at venue station were surprised that the metro was already full. Anyway, all in all I rate it a 10. As q side note Interpol was not very good. Great job to all involved, seems to have been the complete opposite from Friday.
At least you guys got to see and hear U2. For many of us fans around the world, even though we might have had the comfort of our warm, dry houses (beds in my case), there was no chance of even catching a biit of the excitement of the first part of the concert as u2.com completely crashed! Not good enough U2.com. Live Nation should know by now that millions of fans round the world are likely to want to tune in to a live audio stream and so should have been prepared for this. All the hype and build up to the ‘Live in Montreal’ ended up a non starter. Very frustrating and a poor show from U2.com. Deliver what you promise / charge a membership for!!!
For once, proud to say that in Italy a concert for 80 thousand bystanders is kept under control much better than here. Security didn’t really got one right: half barriers, half free space, what strategy was that?
Though I admit that STM did its best to suggest alternative route to Namur: I walked to La Savane and before 1:00 I was downtown.
Pour “la gang”: if you’re out there: a huge thank U for these 2 unforgettable nights!
I agree the GA line was a mess. Can we say wristband people? We arrrived about 9:30 A.M., the people just in front of us had been “numbered” with a marker up to 500. There were not enough barriers as people arrived. They put up more barriers, an obviously did not have enough as they put up barrier then rope then barrier. Thought we were good to get into the inner stage, being just over 500 back. At around 3 P.M. for some unknown reason the line started to move without warning, during the soundcheck. Everyoine scrammbeld to grab their stuff and try to keep their place in line. People jumped into the line from they aisle beside the GA line (where hte security guards were). We got crammed together for about 2 hours, could not sit down anymore. When they started to let people in, it was a free for all. The entrance was complelely at the opposite entrance to the stage. Everyone was running. When we got there the inner stage was completely full. If you say you arrived a 3:00 P.M. and got centre stage, you cut the line. We attended the concert at Croke Park in Dublin in 2009. The GA line was handled much better. You were asked when you got there if you wanted to go in the pit or the floor. The people that wanted into the pit were wristebanded. The line was in aisles, as opposed to a continuous line. One aisle was admitted at a time. The first ones there, first in.
The GA line in Montreal was a complete disappointment.
I arrived Sat morning at 9:00. Was number 428. They let us in at around 4PM; we had heard it would be before 5. Was fairly orderly. We were strongly encouraged NOT to run by the security guards. We did of course run like hell after our bags were checked and got very close to the stage in the inner circle. I thought it ran quite smoothly; sounds much better than Friday night. I guess they learned from their mistakes. Did take an hr to leave the venue; then walked 45 min to get home (thankfully not needing the metro).
Have to say my experience Friday night was different. We arrived on sight at about 4pm, via metro which was a breeze. The GA line was already moving and there seemed to be a sense of order, no rushing, pushing, jumping. I was surprised we were able to get about 8 deep outer rail on Adam’s side, given how late we arrived. Show was great. The trip back to the car in the rain. Folks were upbeat and pleasant as we made our way back to the metro. There was another station a few blocks away with signs in that direction as well as signs for the buses to take you to another station. All of this was clearly explained on the STM sight and had folks taken the time to plan their travel like it was stressed to do, they would have had a bit more of a stress free experience. We did get a bit squeezed and squashed getting into the Numar station doors, that would probably be the only complaint.
One of these days, someone’s gonna die in a U2 GA queue and then everyone responsible will be all, “we couldn’t have foreseen this terrible accident…blah blah blah…random fate…” And they’ll be really wrong on all counts.
This is a fixable problem and the fact that it’s still happening in some venues just shows that some venues are prioritising their profits over our safety.
I thought the dedicated shuttle buses were just beyond brilliant. They worked like clockwork, even in a raging storm, and we were at Jean Talon in 10 min. both nights. And then, when *that* train got several stops along to the Berri-UQAM metro station where many people had to change lines, there were actually even security people stationed along *that* platform too, making sure the optimal number of passengers got in each car and nobody had to guess or push or get squashed. Compared to other U2 stadium shows I’ve been at, I found it an astoundingly good public transportation plan, with unusually thorough publicity before it.
Now the day 1 GA security, on the other hand… yiiiiikes.
I was at both shows, my first GA ever on Friday. We arrived around 1:00, first ones after the barriers ended. Got caught in the 2:30/3:00 crush, most scary part of which was the number of young drunk angry guys. Good spots on inside rail Adam’s side. Exit in rain was as orderly as possible, upbeat crowd. Back to hotel via metro in less than 2 hrs. Sat we had stand seats (scary when they started to sway during EBTTRT). Hung around for an hr or so, then caught a bus to alternate station. STM sent warnngs for weeks about the transport options and tweeted after the shows, even answering my tweeted ques. I think they all did a good job. Felt appropriately European in Montreal - crazy GA, exuberant crowd, and rain!
Expecting my next/last show in Meadowlands to be completely different experience.
I went to both Montreal shows all the way from Australia. Getting out of the show on the first night in the rain was a nightmare. One station . No busses etc. A fantastic concert by the best band in the world. However, Montreal has no idea how to host an event.