May 12, 2008
Morning Roundup: Water and Weddings Edition
Good morning, D.C. The big news from the weekend was that water fell from the sky for an extended period of time. More than three inches of rain has fallen in the District since Sunday, with more than four inches in the Dulles area, causing thousands of twee Radiohead fans at Nissan Pavilion to send out endless twitter updates about the relative sogginess of their skinny jeans overnight. Of course, the weekend also saw the wedding of one of D.C.'s most famous party girls. We have to give Jenna Bush some credit for having a pretty spectacular dress.
Officers in Rawlings Killing Return to Work: The Post reports that James Haskel and Anthony Clay, the two D.C. police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings, will return to work next week while an MPD investigation continues into their conduct. The two officers have been on administrative leave since Sept. 17, and were recently cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the incident.
Lead Fire Investigators' Qualifications Questioned: The Examiner is questioning the qualifications of the investigators assigned to some of the city's major fires from the last couple of years, including the Eastern Market fire, the Georgetown Library fire and the Mt. Pleasant apartment fire. In six major fires, the fire department assigned firefighters as lead investigators who had been detailed from rescue or engine companies, and were not certified as fire investigators. There's some concern these investigators will be easy to discredit in court, but the department says all the investigators are fully qualified.
Briefly Noted: National Zoo seeks additional fire protection ... Lanes reopen on New York Ave. after partial road collapse ... Capitol Heights woman charged with drowning her 4-year-old son in a bathtub ... One person dead in an apartment fire in Southeast ... Developmentally disabled man dies after falling into Anacostia river.
Photo by brownpau
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the hell with twitter, etc. it was just raining out there, and i had an old-fashioned crappy time because i mised the entire show. never, never, never going to nissan for anything.
Deluge 2008, perhaps?
The rain didn't just cause thousands of Radiohead fans to send out endless Twitter updates. It caused thousands of us to miss the entire show. Traffic was a mess, and one of the roads in flooded out. They were turning back people at the entrance. My friends and I gave up about 1/4 mile from the place (after detouring all the way around it) when it became obvious Radiohead had just started the encore. I'm never going to Nissan Pavilion again, and I hope Radiohead (and Live Nation) can find a way to schedule another show in the area (in the city would be nice). But I'll get over it eventually.
Jenna's dress was quite nice. I wish that I could say the same for Mrs. Bush's satin blue burlap sack. Yuck!
Oh and raining is an understatement. I could have kayaked to the show.
I'll second what Mike B wrote. Some sort of explanation is definitely called for from Nissan Pavilion on this one. If your venue depends on auto access (as Nissan does), and people can't get in by car, then, frankly, you ought to give them their money back. At a minimum you ought to apologize for making them sit in lines of traffic six miles long for a few hours. Would it have been so hard to send a guy with a bullhorn out to tell us we weren't going to get in?
I sense some angst among Radiohead fans.
yes, i am an angry radiohead fan.
my boyfriend and his 2 friends had to drive separately from me because the one with the car was up for the weekend for richmond simply for the show. so, i drove ahead while they picked up another friend to go to the show. i was, at most, 30 minutes in front of them. probably only 15.
i get there at 8:45pm, after leaving at 6:15pm from columbia heights. radiohead goes on a 9pm. i watch the entire show (i leave after karma police because...)
my boyfriend and his 2 friends never got into the show. they were pretty devastated - they love radiohead. i left early because they gave up after they were turned away at the entrance and told there was a "detour." they were still trying to get into the venue during the 1st encore. they gave up and went to ihop. so i left the venue to meet them, before it was over.
i DEFINTIELY think that nissan pavillion owes them their money back. does anyone have any ideas as to how to go about doing it? they TURNED THEM AWAY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE PARKING LOT!! only 15 minutes after i had gotten in the parking lot.
I will say it could have been worse. Someone my friend knows who made it in said someone in the lawn section (talk about fun) came down with hypothermia and it took them 30 minutes to get a stretcher to her. Nice response time.
I made it to the venue for the Radiohead show before the opening act went on. With that, the roads leading to the venue and the parking lots were horrible. There were flash flood warnings throughout the evening. While the event was listed as "rain or shine", the responsible action would have been to cancel or postpone the show (instead of putting people's safety in danger).
I didn't bother going to the Radiohead show. After the Bull Run shows rained out in 2001, I didn't think I was going to have any luck this time around either. That sucks that you guys were stuck in traffic.
I saw Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood walking on M and 25 Sts NW on Saturday. Those guys had the worst hair styles I'd seen in a while - maybe flock of seagulls? ok, maybe not that bad but pretty dang close.
Sounds like that 15 minutes made the difference. Some friends left about 15-20 min before my car did and made it in for Radiohead (missed Liars). We got the detour. Talk about timing.
At the very least they could have had more info on that electronic detour sign I saw. All it said was "detour, road flooded."
do you think there is anyway those who missed the show could make a huge stink for their money back? i honestly think, as a matter of law, that they deserve their money back.
someone needs to sick the Karma Police on Radiohead and the Nissan Pavilion. sounds like a bunch of bollocks to me. you should get your money back.
didn't it rain like mad the last time someone huge came to Nissan and people lamented about how they'll NEVER try to go there again? the venue's going to run out of patrons if this poor quality of service keeps up.
also, i remember there being an article about how Radiohead is trying to go green on their tour, encouraging people to take mass transit to get to the shows, yet they picked the least travel-friendly venue in the area. with cars sitting, idling, in all that traffic for hours and hours, i think this show negated any possible 'greening' any of their other shows may have done.
Contact info for Nissan Pavilion's customer service.
customerservice@nissanpavilion.com
(703)754-6400 phone
(703)754-6429 fax
I plan on contacting the venue via email stating that they owe people who puchased tickets an explanation as to why they were turned away and what the procedure is for harsh weather conditions. They owe people explanations. My guess is that Live Nation could care less, as they already had everyone's money for this sold out show.
Others should contact them as well.
General questions, information, community:
customerservice@nissanpavilion.com
(703)754-6400 phone
(703)754-6429 fax
Mailing address:
Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
7800 Cellar Door DR
Bristow, VA 20136
We left Arlington a little after 6:30. Got to Exit 44 at 7:30. We finally got to the Detour - Road Flooded sign at around 8:45. Then we gave up and headed home.
Nissan definitely screwed up. There were flood warnings for Manassas well before 7:30. The show should have been cancelled or postponed.
i'm glad that i wasn't alone in feeling screwed over here.
radiohead screwed up in not actually looking into whether or not the venue they chose to play actually lived up to their "reduced carbon footprint" schtick.
it obviously didn't.
prince william county deserves some flack here for not having a decent contingency plan to deal with this. don't they have a plan 'b'? i'd hate to see how they deal with real emergencies. probably just round everyone up, call them illegal immigrants and call it a day.
(yeah, i'm not in a good mood)
that sucks those who got detoured. fwiw - thom yorke dedicated green plastic trees to you.
word of advice, when you go to a show & it's pouring rain & 25000 people are also driving all the way out there, you might want to leave, you know, early.
i suggest writing letters to nissan and the commissioner for fairfax county. i did that last night when i got home. the police were not helpful in the least last night and honestly we didn't know what was going on really.
i wrote to the chief of police office and will be writing to nissan and more and as many people as possible.
i don't care about the money.
i care about what if there was a bio attack or something what would fairfax do?
yes going to nissan sucks. we ALL know that who have been there. not a big deal.
we left in sufficient time even in rain to get there, i know we did. we all knew we did.
we had a blast in the car. me and my friend were going to get out and kick down this sign that said 'no open fires before 4 PM' which we thought was funny.
i just think the little people get forgetten about. just sitting in cars not knowing anything.
a cancellation would have been fine, a redo on the tickets a new show or something.
my friends that eventually made it to their lawn seats told me that they couldn't make it under pavilion even though it wasn't to capacity
that sucks too for the rained on folks.
i am very curious as to how many tickets were actually scanned for a supposed sold out show.
so if anyone knows how to find that information that would be good to know for when i try to get money back.
thanks.
Well, after standing and being soaked we sat in the car for over an hour before even moving. Left around 11pm (karma police) but were in the back lot parking... Didn't make it to 66 until 1:30am
Never, never, never Nissan.
Radiohead, I don't blame for the weather but your attempt at low-carbon? A complete and utter joke. Thom York's comments were well received in that they recognized the state their fans were in to even be there. BUT, huge apology show/refund? Abosolutely called for. I had three other car loads of friends who couldn't make it. But like you said, Live Nation has the money in their pockets...
I went to a show when Nissan Pavilion first opened. Haven't been back and will never go back.
The venue is mediocre at best, and the access is about as bad as it gets.
You might want to resend your letters to Prince William County, and to the Sherriff of Prince William County.
Cry me a river! No... wait, don't.
I could care less about you whiny babies who overpaid for tickets to a show, then felt compelled to go to said show in such a deluge.
Try having your home that has no prior history of flooding take on water. Try having most of your neighbors' homes take on water -- even those that are up on slopes with good drainage. Deal with 2-3 inches of FLOWING water on the surface outside your home when the nearest creek is a half mile away and 20-50 lower than where you are.
You bought tickets for a show that was "rain or shine". Was Nissan's management irresponsible dickheads for not cancelling or postponing? Yup. Were you equally as irresponsible for trying to go anyway? IMNSHO, yes.
ellabellalee, While I think your anger is justified, Fairfax doesn't have a horse in this race. Nissan is in Prince William County.
Hey ellabellalee...why would you write to the commissioner for Fairfax County? Nissan Pavilion is Prince William County.
That was indeed a shit show last night. We entered right before Radiohead started but, thinking we'd get a headstart on the droves that would be leaving at the end of the show, headed for the car at 10:15. I guess everyone else had the same idea and we sat in the car for over two hours (yes, unfortunately idling for much of that time) before finally being routed all across PWC by the police.
Nissan Pavilion is dead to me.
@I hate Rain
they turned people away at the door. they were denied entrance. yes, they bought tickets that were "rain or shine." they tried to go to the show in the RAIN, but were not allowed. that makes them completely justified for a refund.
To bad Radiohead wasn't on Saturday.
Then, if Kanye was on Sunday he could've thrown in some excellent references to Katrina & Prince William County hating black people.
"do you think there is anyway those who missed the show could make a huge stink for their money back? i honestly think, as a matter of law, that they deserve their money back."
Uh, which law, exactly? Read the back of your ticket. My guess is everyone's screwed unless Live Nation decides to play nice.
Hate_Rain: Sucks about your house, but no reason to shit on everyone else.
So awful! We tried to beat the rush by leaving the show at 10:30 and sat in the parking lot for 2 hours only to be redirected away from 66 for another hour once we were free of Nissan's awful parking claws.
Nissan should refund us all for not having the foresight to cancel the show.
I'll never forget seeing Coldplay at Nissan, and while it wasn't flooded- it was a horrific nightmare.
never again, and I'm glad I stayed away this time. I almost bit the bullet and tried it out again just because I love Radiohead.
Yeah, but Coldplay also had a lane on I-66 closed due to road work. During rush hour. Beautiful. That's the only other time I've been to Nissan. I've learned my lesson.
well, i dont have my ticket stub handy, but i did learn in law school that just because it's on the back of a ticket doesn't mean its the law.
i would have to dust off my contracts text but i'm pretty sure by paying for a ticket and then being denied entry to the venue would result in a breach of contract.
Everyone saying they will write letters to Nissan and Live Nation. Could you write a summary of your experince and send it to tips@consumerist.com. Its a consumer rights website that I'm sure would be interested in posting a story about it and when things get posted, companies are more likely to respond and do something for those affected.
You can see the site @ consumerist.com. Good luck to everyone trying to get something done about the crappy night.
My first and last time to Nissan was a year or so ago to see Roger Waters play Dark Side. The traffic to get to the parking areas was utterly insane. Even leaving waaaay early, we still missed the first few songs b/c of the traffic backups and the incompetence of the parking lot crews to provide information on which lots were full. And the long drive home late at night was also miserable with fog and deer conspiring against us.
Never again Nissan.
Good point.
Although the rain and traffic were beyond horrible, I can at least say that the show was incredible. We left DC at 5:30 planning to tailgate in the rain a bit before going in (har, har!). We parked at about 7:30 in the driving rain (already driving through some deep puddles to get there) and ate chicken salad and drank beers in the minivan.
Although we got soaked through getting to our seats, we were inside for the show so managed to stave off hypothermia (barely). The light show and video on stage were beautiful and the performance was one I won't forget. They dedicated Fake Plastic Trees to the fans who couldn't make it because of the flooded roads (didn't sound like they were aware that they were turned away at the gate -- different story).
Leaving was, as others have said, awful. We stayed through the end and it took us about an hour and a half to get out of Nissan. We weren't on 66 until 1:30... it seemed like they were directing all of the traffic to one road (two lanes at its narrowest point) to get onto 66. Between the post-rain thaw in the car, the rain and tail lights and the three sleeping passengers in my car, it was all I could do to stay awake for the drive home.
One other note of frustration: Nissan automatically includes a $6 parking fee on every ticket. This means that 8 of us in 2 cars paid $24 to park each car, while people who don't carpool and add to the clusterf*ck pay a lot less (as little as $6 per car!). One idea might be to charge for parking by the vehicle at the gate to give a break to people who carpool...
Wow . . . I waffled back and forth about going to the show, mostly because I hated the idea of having to eat $100 or more worth of tickets, but it sounds like I made the right choice by deciding not to go. I was worried mostly about the discomfort of watching a whole concert on foot holding an umbrella (stupid lawn tickets!), though, not about spending hours and hours in flooded parking lot traffic.
I am glad I went because I was never before able to see Radiohead (last time I tried was Bull Run debacle). That said, those who did not attend made the right decision. What a disaster of a rain storm and location. Thousands of cars having to go through one lane of traffic for miles to get onto 66? Priceless. Still, it was an amazing show. I can't believe people were on the lawn for that one. Those are some dedicated (crazy?), and probably sick today, fans.
I learned my lesson about Nissan without even going there. I just happened to try to get home from a day trip in the Blue Ridges the same day some god awful country-pop band was playing there. I got stuck on some random VA US highway for about an hour. Never again, Blue Ridges...
it's ni