Radiohead @ Nissan Pavilion: Stormy Weather

On US-29 in Northern Virginia, thousands of cars sit idle in the rain with engines running, only to turn around, hours later, and return home. Welcome to Radiohead's eco-friendly 2008 tour. How did this happen? Let's start at the top.

As we've noted previously, Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va, approximately 35 miles outside of the city, isn't exactly the most accessible venue around. Out of the reach of both Metrobus and rail lines, the venue can only be reached via a series of narrow local roads that branch off of Lee Highway (US-29). So we suppose the argument can be made that it was inadvisable to even try attending the show, given yesterday's storm, which the Capital Weather Gang has called "a late spring Nor'easter of historic proportions"--three to six inches of rain, 40-50 mph winds and daily rainfall records at all three of D.C.'s major airports. Despite these facts, the tickets for the show (we've got a few unused ones sitting in front of us here) are clearly labeled "RAIN OR SHINE", so you can't blame tens of thousands of folks for making the trek out to Bristow, in an attempt to get their money's worth.

So, what happened? Live Nation has yet to return our call, and we'll absolutely update when they do. But it seems to us like last night's debacle was the result of a number of factors: unprecedented rainfall, flooding, construction on the roads leading into Nissan and poor planning on behalf of the venue. While we can't yet offer an explanation of exactly what happened, we can commiserate with you by sharing our own tale of woe, presented here in timeline format:

UPDATE: Here's a statement from Live Nation's spokesperson:

Due to last night’s torrential rain storm, multiple road closures and a late-arriving crowd led to delays for some music fans entering the parking lot at Nissan Pavilion. While we have no control over Mother Nature, we certainly are disappointed that some fans were delayed in getting into the venue and were not able to see all of Radiohead’s performance. Fans whose entrance was delayed, are urged to contact customerservice@nissanpavilion.com

6 p.m.: We leave D.C. (14th & T St. NW) assuming a one-hour trip and hoping to see the Liars' set, which is billed as starting at 7:30. A little optimistic? Perhaps, given the rain. But certainly within reason.

6:30 p.m.: Once we hit I-66, it's clear that the rain is causing some serious slowdown. It seems that the further we go, the worse the rain gets, resulting in almost zero visibility at some points. We revise our arrival estimate to 7:30, hoping to catch the tail end of Liars' set.

7:30 p.m.: We arrive at exit 44, one of two exits that can be used to access the Pavilion. There's a line of cars waiting to exit the interstate. We queue up, revising our estimated time of arrival to 8-8:30 pm, depending on how long the line leading into the parking lot is. We probably won't get there in time to see Liars, but at least we won't miss the main event.

8 p.m.: We finally make it off of I-66 and on to Lee Highway (US-29). The traffic on Lee Highway is bumper-to-bumper, moving only a few inches at a time. At least we we'll probably get in in time to see Radiohead, who we guesstimate will go on at around 9 p.m.

8:30 pm: We reach the road that leads into the Nissan Pavilion. A large yellow sign on the side of the road reads "Right turn for Nissan Pavilion." When we reach the intersection, however, we see that the road has been completely blocked off by flares and police cars. A policeman waves us across the street, motioning for us to go straight instead of turning. We go straight, yet have no idea where we're going. We decide to follow a car ahead of us with Georgia license plates, which, we reason, must also be going to see Radiohead.

9 p.m.: Still stuck in gridlock, on an unknown local road, we're starting to give up hope. We see a few kids leave their cars and wade into the wet grass at the side of the road, in order to relieve themselves. We briefly consider following their lead but decide to hold out for the (hopefully?) dry confines of the Pavilion's bathrooms.

9:30 p.m.: Maybe Radiohead won't go on until 10? Right?

10 p.m.: Inch-by-inch, we approach what looks like a major intersection. There are a number of police cars and officers at the intersection, directing traffic and setting down cones and flares. It looks like they're starting to close off the road, lane by lane, in preparation for the return traffic. This is a bad sign. Regardless, we manage to squeeze through before they close off our lane.

10:15 p.m.: Fans can be seen walking along the side of the road, some with umbrellas and ponchos, some completely soaked from head-to-toe, seemingly impervious to the elements. It seems like some of them may have parked in the parking lot of a Best Buy that can be seen in the distance, in order to avoid the line leading into the venue's lot.

10:30 p.m.: Okay, this is getting ridiculous. We've been in the car for four hours, three of which have been spent waiting in line. We need a plan of action. We notice that a few cars are dangerously pulling a U-turn on the narrow road and jetting off in the opposite direction. We're decide that if we're not in the parking lot by 11, we should just cut our losses and turn back.

10:50 p.m.: At last, we reach the main entrance of the parking lot. The entire entrance is blocked off by parking cones and flares and police are directing cars to turn around and head back toward the interstate. The car in front of us rolls down its window and waves a policeman over. The officer yells to them that they cannot enter the parking lot and must turn around. On the drive back, we see that police have completely blocked off all roads leading into the venue. We were, apparently, one of the last cars allowed through this roadblock, before being turned away at the entrance.
-Mehan Jayasuriya