Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Caps Thankful for Varly in 2-0 Win
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
The heated comments in today's Morning Roundup mostly concern what appears to have been a really rough, weather-related time for concert goers at Sunday night's Radiohead concert at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va. Consumerist has since picked up the thread, highlighting some of the more incensed venting on the part of fans who were turned away from the venue thanks to road flooding and parking issues at the sold-out concert.
Our critic, Mehan Jayasuriya, was one of hundreds, if not thousands of concert goers who never made it inside the venue last night, and you can read Mehan's tale in full below the jump. We've also since heard from people who did manage to make it in to see the show, who told us that Thom Yorke expressed his condolences for the terrible weather thusly: "We know how tough today has been for you guys. Sorry. This is a nasty summer. It's not nice." Colin Greenwood wrote much the same thing on the band's web site today, lamenting what certainly feels like a curse between D.C. area fans and Radiohead concerts.
Mehan's story is below. If you managed to see the show and want to share your thoughts on the concert itself in the comments, we'd welcome them.
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
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Just for some minor clarification, did Mehan take exit 44 or 43B. My friends and I took 44, which does not go to Lee Highway. 43B does. If you took 44, you eventually hit a detour that eventually took us back around the other side of the pavilion because part of Wellington Rd was flooded. I have no idea what the issue was for people coming from Lee Highway.
i absolutely sympathize with those fans who didn't make it to the show last night- but radiohead definitely made up for it with an OUTSTANDING performance.... with fake plastic trees being dedicated to those who couldn't make it in and a ridiculous 24-song set and 2 encore performance.
and this http://www.radiohead.com/themostgiganticflyingmouthforsometime/ is radiohead's stance on holding concerts in mass-transit-friendly venues.
let's support the band and hold our venues accountable so bands like radiohead will continue coming to perform in dc.
The theory is good, but does Nissan Pavilion meet ANY of the items on that list of criteria? And mass-transit accessible isn't on the list at all. In fact, it barely gets a mention in the whole post you reference.
Indeed, I do hope Radiohead will continue to perform in DC. But if Gainesville, Virginia is as close as they're going to get to DC, as far as I'm concerned, they aren't in DC.
The rain played a part in this, to be sure, but it was fundamentally an awful choice of venues by a band that supposedly gives a shit.
I'm not much of a ranter usually, but I would like to point out that for a band that stresses the importance of carbon footprint reduction, to select a venue which required me to operate a motor vehicle for 7 hours in order to attend their concert is a bit hypocritical. Reminds me of Eco-Dave (Matthews) dumping his tour bus dumpings into a river.
I'll never go to Nissan again, and I've lost respect for a great band.
After reading about this debacle, it makes me even more peeved at DCSEF for failing to market the underutilized RFK Stadium for concerts. Between DC United and occasional friendlys between USA Soccer and other opponents, there's not a lot going on there. Granted, the missing stands from the pre-Nats days need to go back in before it's a truly suitable concert venue, but that's not rocket science.
Whichever of the monster concert promoters is booking Radiohead's tour obviously went with the venue with whom they are in cahoots, rather than the one that best applied to the band's philosophy. But if the DCSEF wasn't selling RFK as an option, whose fault is it, in the long run?
I like how Live Nation's response glosses over the fact that many fans missed the entire show, rather than just "delayed." At least they're asking people to contact them. We'll see if any good comes of this.
Whichever of the monster concert promoters is booking Radiohead's tour obviously went with the venue with whom they are in cahoots
Live Nation is both the tour promoter and venue owner/operator.
How can a fan of a band hold a venue accountable once the band chooses that venue? Not go? What if I like the band more than I hate the venue? The band needs refuse to play venues run as poorly as Nissan, especially if they are going to make a fuss about carbon emmissions. I really thought Radiohead was worth putting up with Nissan. They were brilliant, but not Nissan. Not again.
Don't tell me this is Mother Nature's fault. Any venue that holds 5 months of rain or shine events where some 10,000 - 15,000 cars are required for attendees to arrive, should drop a few bucks on an interchange or two. Maybe even one that doesn't flood.
Posted this at the end of the morning roundup, but thought it would fit well here too.
-------------------------------
Nissan charges $6.00 per vehicle for parking. At 25,000 seats that is $150,000 per sold out show. Yet this venue has never had even remotely adequate parking infrastructure, nor have they attempted to create reasonable access to major arteries. Shows with substantial rain happen every summer. Prince William county should realize they could legislate their way into a perfectly reasonable revenue source in order to improve the Nissan traffic situation and perhaps improve the mess that is Manassas and Gainesville in the process. Live Nation will put as much of that money in their pockets as they can as long as legislators throw money at them. I'm looking at you Ike Leggett and Montgomery County. Fools.
I think this calls for Radiohead to add a date in DC proper (Verizon Center?) to make it up to their loyal fans. ;)
As MikeB points out, Live Nation owns Nissan Pavilion. So my point stands: the promoter booked the show at the "venue of least resistance." And when it comes to the monster-size promoters, the artists seldom get any say in where they're booked.
Live Nation is a money grubbing embarrassment of a promoter: in it only for themselves, damn the artists, damn the fans (save for their money).
The DC government needs to get RFK back on the promoters' maps. Sure, Hill East will bitch (as they always do about.... well, pretty much anything), but RFK does nothing but burn city funds unless it is put to some use. Simply having 20-or-so soccer games a year ain't gonna cut it - they need concerts and other events to come back (and yes, I'd even try to get Formula 1 or IndyCar to hold a race in the parking lots again).
Okay, I get that everybody who didn't get to the show had a lousy time, and those of us who ate the cost of their tickets and just didn't go have our own share of regrets, but this "review" is just a waste of pixels.
Fine, the designated DCist reviewer didn't make it to the show, but thousands of other people did. Stories identical to Mehan's have already been posted ad nauseam in the Morning Roundup thread, and I really don't see what value was added by including a lengthy, painstaking accounting of someone's failure to get to the show in place of an actual review of the concert which did, in fact, take place. If what you wanted to say was, "We didn't get there, so you'll have to post reviews of the show yourselves in the comments" you could have done it with a sentence or two.
I think there are a few important things to consider here:
LiveNation: as a concert promoter they are just money hungry and don't really care about concert goers experience.
Everyone traffic at Nissan sucks. This is an understatement. Mother nature and tsunami's aside its totally negligent and offensive for a multi-million dollar corporation to build the LARGEST venue in the region and connect it to the main highways with one lane roads. Its just insane. Even with the rain if Nissan were remotely accessible this would not have been the debacle it became.
Nissan itself is also pretty crap. Unless your inside in certain parts of the pavillion the sound is crap and echoes. The pavillion wasn't designed with sound quality in mind its sheet metal, I-beams and rebar, there isn't even any sound proofing or tiling. Again, offensive ploy to cram as many people as possible into the space and make that $$$$.
Which leads me to my next point: I adore Radiohead but given their environmental stance about getting to shows why would they schedule Nissan? LiveNation doesn't have a great rep in the music industry anyway so its surprising they would go with one of their venues and then the location is really conflicting regarding their environmental stance. With other bands I wouldn't be so surprised but Radiohead is clearly a group that has set themselves apart by bucking music industry standards in preference for doing the 'right' thing a lot of the time.
Which leads me to my last point: for those of us that made it in to the swampy lawn, the band requested that Nissan not use the video jumbo screens. Our theory on this was because the stage lighting was very specific. Either way if a band wants the audience to only watch the stage they should play at venues where the audience can actually see them. Paying that much, fighting the traffic, rain etc it was frustrating to squint at the stage while listening to the crap echo due to the terrible sound at Nissan.
Sorry to be long winded and to all of those who didn't make it in I'm sorry. My lesson is learned, avoid LiveNation like the plague and never go back to Nissan Pavillion. Hopefully next time Radiohead will play a smaller venue with multiple shows (ha wishful thinking) or just settle for something other than Nissan. I can't think of any band I would ever brave that place for again.
Avoiding Live Nation is a noble cause, I suppose, but it's getting harder and harder. They will be opening a Fillmore in Silver Spring and have been talking about opening a House of Blues in DC for awhile now. Other Live Nation DC area venues, according to their website, are:
* Nissan Pavilion
* Nationals Park
* Sixth & I
* Warner Theatre
* National Cathedral (what? seriously? I will pay good money, drive through a monsoon in hours of bumpter-to-bumper traffic, and even sit in lawn seats at National Cathedral, just to see The Pope-ah! rock out on his guitar)
It seems like Live Nation is turning into the Clear Channel of concert promotion.
It seems like Live Nation is turning into the Clear Channel of concert promotion.
They already are. They were spun off from Clear Channel two or three years ago.
The link to the Radiohead site is an interesting read. I guess they felt Live Nation has instituted certain environmental practices the band liked. And they didn't want to play in arenas because they felt those were too sterile, too many ads, etc. I guess I understand it.
Quoting MtP:
"Nissan charges $6.00 per vehicle for parking. At 25,000 seats that is $150,000 per sold out show. Yet this venue has never had even remotely adequate parking infrastructure, nor have they attempted to create reasonable access to major arteries. Shows with substantial rain happen every summer. Prince William county should realize they could legislate their way into a perfectly reasonable revenue source in order to improve the Nissan traffic situation and perhaps improve the mess that is Manassas and Gainesville in the process."
Amen. Prince William County should have required MUCH better access/parking facilities when they approved plans to BUILD Nissan Pavilion. And you would think the venue and county could handle event traffic by now, what with the many concerts they put on each year..... very pathetic event management.
I knew it would be bad, so we left DC at 4pm and got out there by 5:30, with enough time left to go to the grocery store and back to get tailgating supplies.
The ordeal with the hundreds of people that couldn't get into the venue cannot be over-emphasized, but we also can't forget that conditions were not much better inside the venue for those of us who arrived much earlier at Nissan Pavilion. My friends and I, who had water-resistant jackets on and were not really that under-dressed for the weather, hung out under a tent while Liars performed, and moved on to the lawn when Radiohead were about to take the stage. The rain kept coming down so hard, and the wind was so strong that I was just shivering withe the cold, and there was just water everywhere. I understand the concept of concerts being held "rain or shine," but this concert took place with a complete disregard for the safety of the fans, the musicians, and the crew that works at Nissan Pavilion. After they played their fifth song, we couldn't justify staying any longer because we would be extremely cold and we knew that we would be stuck in a gridlock for at least two hours trying to leave the parking lot, not to mention the conditions on the roads were getting worse by the minute.
I thought Radiohead did put on a great performance for the few songs I did see, and I was very glad that I at least got to see them play "Lucky." Yet there was just no way I could enjoy the concert with an acceptable level of [dis]comfort, and that should be enough of a reason for a cancellation/postponement of the show.
In the end the night was a great disappointment, and while I did manage to enter the venue, I still sent an email to the customer service at Nissan Pavilion requesting a refund. I've seen a lot of people arguing that fans should have budgeted more time to arrive early, or that they could have stuck it out because Radiohead is worth it, but I am not up to jeopardizing my health and safety for a concert, and I just wish Nissan Pavilion shared that mindset.
That sucks. I hope everyone gets their money back!
There were so many mishaps at the show last night, but as a concertgoer that left early due to 4 layers of drenched clothing, my biggest frustration lies with Live Nation, the owner of the venue.
10:30pm: left a little past half of the show (much to my dismay) and painfully made my way back to our car. We noticed the backup increasing and were just hoping that we would make it out before the chaos at the end of the show. Got in the car, attempted to dry off and warm up a bit, pulled out of the space, and then got in line to leave lot F (as in ***ked).
1:50am: we were let out of the parking lot on an incredibly long detour that would take us back to 66.
In this time that passed while sitting in a running car, there was NO COMMUNICATION to all of us just SITTING in this muddy lot. Now when we arrived, they seemed to have this parking thing down--well organized, staff everywhere. But afterwards, I guess they just left us to fend for ourselves. Not knowing whether we would be stuck there for a few hours, or for the evening. I called Nissan and boy, was that a waste of time. Greeted by a rude employee on the phone, I was told that they had no clue. SO I called the non-emergency police to try to get an update, where an extremely pleasant officer explained what exactly was going on and the reason for the delays.
Now, would it really have been that hard for them to get some staff out there to keep their customers in the know? Or was their job done since we had already paid up and suffered through an amazing show in HORRIBLE (and I mean dreadful) weather...perhaps listening to flood advisories and coming up with some kind of alternative to holding a show in a venue that was not capable of handling this inclement weather.
It was unfair to us, and it was unfair to a band like Radiohead to have to pay for Live Nation's lack of common sense.
They put people in a compromising situation and should have no right to coordinate shows of this magnitude.
It might be too late for anyone to read this, and people might just get pissed at me anyway, but I left DC at 4, got to Nissan at 5:30. At that time the parking was easy, there were no delays besides some on 66 leaving DC, but once we got to Manassass, no problems. They even sent us into the VIP lot because there were 4 or more of us in the car.
I ate a picnic in my car with friends. We accepted that we would get soaked and just went for it at 7. By the time we got to the lawn we were soaked and muddy. We moved to the front and when the time looked right we ran up to the back of the seats and snuck over and in. We sat about 5 rows in and still got rained on because of the wind.
The show itself was phenomenal. They played Fake Plastic Trees which was what I really wanted to hear. They played for a long time, did two encores, and were brilliant.
It is terrible that people really didn't get in, and I probably would have been miserable on the lawn (I was still frozen and soaked in the seats). I blame Radiohead and Live Nation both, but Live Nation more.
Radiohead can't be expected to know all the details of every town they go to and what the best venue would be, but they could do a little research, or pay someone to. It wouldn't have been that hard to find out that Nissan was not the best place for this show, but, I can understand why that is not how they are spending their time.
Live Nation on the other hand should have been more prepared, everyone knew the storm was coming, if they weren't going to be able to make it happen and get everyone in who had a ticket, they have a responsibility to cancel the show and reschedule it. And if they knew that not everyone was getting in, they should have let all the freezing soaked people on the lawn into the covered seats area (where there was a lot of empty space) so they could at least be slightly comfortable for the show.
In my opinion it was worth it to go, and honestly, I think that leaving DC anytime after 5 for a 7:30 show at Nissan is not a good idea regardless of the weather. When you bought the ticket you knew the roads getting their sucked. But Nissan owes everyone who did not make it in their money back, and they should also give at least something to those stuck in the lawn.
Yeah, what's this lazy nonsense about reviewing a car ride to nowhere? Did'ya consider interviewing someone who, you know, actually saw Radiohead last night?
I was shivering, soaked to the bone in 48 degree rain coming down at such a slant as to somehow soak my pants to the crotch despite my $1 poncho.
I watched as two guys in t-shirts and shorts, huddled for 40 minutes under the sliver of roof that overhangs to the pavilion, say "F__k this. Radiohead ain't worth it." and waddle off through the muck.
Trying to perch on the slope of a mud-slicked hill, I cursed Radiohead for indulging in two encores--when one or none would have sufficed--after showing sympathy toward their fans' predicament.
But the light show was amazing. Their energy on stage even managed to warm me up a smidgen. As a moderate fan of Radiohead, I heard some new songs last night, and respect any band for varying the song-sheets from one show to the next.
Thom even managed to make the obligatory political statement--we're near DC, after all--and not come off like a rambling, self-absorbed, drunk rockstar. It amazes me how inane these guys can be when they diverge from their lyrics.
Leaving the show and getting detoured around the strip mall was annoying. Even with the heater blasting, I was still finding it hard to think nice things about what I had just endured.
Future advice: when Radiohead urges its fans to respect the Earth, they can lead by example and jam out in the pelting rain (if Gavin Rossdale can do it for godsake...) taking their sweet time between encores, while the masses sit under the roof as our luxury buses idle in the VIP lot.
SIGN THE RADIOHEAD IPETITION to ASK Radiohead to play the eco-friendly DC's Verizon Center to make up for the Nissan Pavilion fiasco. Thanks!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/DC_Radiohead/
Speaking of early birds stuck on the lawn, if it is any consolation for the masses stuck in traffic, the lawn was not the place to be yesterday. We made our way to the lawn before 6:00 and made a “tent” out of a plastic drop cloth, which turned out to be a blessing because my hands and feet didn’t start going numb until we emerged from our "tent" and Radiohead started playing. Unfortunately the shitty weather and half an hour it took to find a place to stand where we could actually see anything on stage (thanks to the massive umbrellas/meatheads in front of us) detracted from the evening. I got to hear Like Spinning Plates and see Thom Yorke dance but those were much less enjoyable because I couldn’t dance along, had piss poor visibility, and was beginning to shiver uncontrollably thanks to over five hours of exposure. I spent the evening worrying about how cold I was and pining away for their 2003 Merriweather show instead of enjoying myself. If it wasn’t for my cheery companion, warm clothes and snacks for the lengthy car ride home I would have seriously regretted even going. I'm sorry for everyone who couldn't get in and didn't have the opportunity to be cold with me, but my most memorable experience from yesterday was the cold and not the show; I think most of us fans lost yesterday.
I’m surprised I didn’t see any paramedics last night. Aside from hypothermia, all it would have taken was one of the hundreds of people standing behind me to slip in the mud and fall down the hill for a number of people to be seriously injured. The drop between the lawn and the walkway in front of it was as forgiving as ankle deep water and concrete could be.
I believe at least one person suffered from hypothermia and had to get medical attention, based on some post-concert posts. We decided to leave after the first set (after 3+ hours on the lawn) and sat in the parking lot for about 35 minutes while no cars were going out - I think due to the flooding plus the police were trying to get some emergency vehicles into the venue. Despite all the troubles and bad weather, I'm glad I made it in to see the show. We definitely deserve another show in DC to make up for this fiasco.
So wait, instead of getting another reviewer we get to read about her car ride? Sweet.
Truthfully, its her fault for leaving so late. Any DC'er should know to leave themselves more time for a rainy ride on the beltway and beyond.
We left at 5, were in by 6:30. It was a great show, but Nissan Pavillion is an absolute disaster and I can't see why I'd ever go there again.
mehan, you and everyone else who got caught up in the radiohead debacle have my sympathies. however, 14th and T to nissan pavilion in an hour in the pouring rain? if you were serious about that timeline, i can only assume that you just moved to DC last week and radiohead was going to be the first outdoor concert of your life. Here are a couple rules to help you in the future: When driving in the DC area in the rain, double the normal travel time to your destination. Second, when traveling to a concert venue by car, schedule your arrival for whatever time the parking lot gates open, not whatever time the opening act takes the stage. i hope live nation compensates you and everyone else who couldn't actually attend the show. still, the naivete of montgomery county/DC residents who thought they could leave at 6 PM and get to nissan pavilion in an hour in the pouring rain is laughable.
I also waited 4.5 hours in traffic and never got to see the concert.
Let me put it this way: With a well timed flight, I could go to the ATLANTA Radiohead concert FASTER than I could go to the Nissan Pavilion from DC.
Needless to say, I'm livid. I spent $250 on this concert and never even saw the Nissan Pavilion, much less Radiohead. If I needed to leave FIVE HOURS before the band was to go on, it should have said that somewhere on the website or the ticket.
I think this thread is dead by now, but to me it was simple. I am a fan of radiohead, and have seen them several times. But nothing would make me go to Nissan. That place is a hellhole.
And I loose a lot of respect for the "green" cred of the band (as if such a thing actually exists) when they won't do a show in the city, no matter how hard it is. I mean c'mon they are powerful enough to tell their promoter to get them a show in the actual city (or at least within metro access) and the promoter will find something. These guys are arguably the biggest act in the world.
Gainesville is not the city, it is not DC, it is the worst kind of suburban sprawl that could exist. Nissan should be used for nothing but monster trucks and WWF.
Imagine all those people on metro, how great that would have been.
i agree with briffy. i've been to nissan pavilion once, when the weather was fine, and it would have never taken an hour because the venue holds a lot of people and, as a result, there is a lot of traffic. i would assume terrible weather would just just make it worse.
Somebody mentioned earlier that Nissan charges $6 per vehicle for parking. I think you'll find that EACH TICKET has a $6 parking fee...
they could use some better drainage in the parking lot too. It was a huge mud bowl.
Let's be honest, such a venue is built to service northern VA, not the DC metro area and the city itself. It is a disgrace that a similar venue does not exist either within DC limits or close by on public transit. Not to mention that the conflict of interest issues with LiveNation are staggering and sickening. The bottom line is that people vote with their feet, and until there is a decent alternative that is comparable to the outdoor venue, there will be no change.
While the management is certainly not responsible for the inclement weather, I am sure that they were aware that there were flood warnings issued earlier in the day for the county in which the venue is located (along with all surrounding counties). Also, I am sure that management knew that the concert that evening was sold out and that there would be a large volume of vehicles. The responsible action by the venue’s management would have been to cancel or postpone the concert given the dangerous conditions. This should have been done just as poor weather and concerns for fan safety caused the cancellation of both Radiohead shows at nearby Bull Run Park in August of 2001. Tickets for those shows were refunded. Instead, by not acting responsibly, Nissan Pavilion showed a lack of concern for fan safety.
I agree with stmove. The band deserves some of the blame here...declaring their commitment to "green" shows but not using their considerable influence to schedule accessible venues is hypocritical. If they can release an album for free, they can get a concert scheduled in DC. Hell, if Thom called up Verizon Center and said they wanted to play a show, and put an ad on their website, the show would be sold out within a day. No promotion company necessary.
That said, Nissan is easily the poorest-managed concert venue I've ever been to. One would think that being so far outside the city would be a blessing for traffic management, since they don't have to contend with much non-concert traffic, particularly after shows. But it's been horrendous for years and shows no sign of improving.
I encourage people to email their complaints to Nissan Pavilion customer service and cc Radiohead's WASTE address. Please do your part to make Nissan Pavilion react to their poor mismanagement of this event.
customerservice@nissanpavilion.com
correspondence@waste.uk.com
In addition to waste and the cust service email, I would encourage people to write to Nissan and let them know that you will boycott Nissan until the situation is rectified. There name is on the venue, as far as I am concerned they are to blame as well. I am sure if Nissan leans on live nation things will move a little quicker.
Or even better, tell them to tear down Nissan, and rebuild it within walking/shuttle distance of a metro. They have the money to do it. Nissan was a greedy, stupid build to begin with. It serves mid-western Va, but books shows that attract people from the city, resulting in thousands of gallons of gas burned every night without need.
And I reallt think this should go to the band. They have tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of fans here, yet every show recently has been scheduled in the boonies of Va. There are several stadiums, parks, open spaces, indoor arenas, etc. within metro distance that they could request- or demand from their staff. Perhaps they don't know?
Anyone else get this highly unsatisfactory offer? (Note that my seats were in section 103, and that I happen to live in DC, 200 miles from Camden, NJ):
"Thank you for contacting Nissan Pavilion regarding your experience on Sunday night. Due to the 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 did not make it to the venue.
As a consolation, we would like to offer you complementary lawn tickets to Radiohead's performance at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on August 12th. We apologize for any inconvenience you experienced Sunday night and hope that this free ticket offer helps to make up for it."
OK, admittedly, 140 miles. But the point's the same.
my timeline was almost identical as mehan's, except we somehow made it into the lot around 9, catching about an hour of radiohead before deciding to sacrifice most of the encore in favor of getting out relatively quickly (also, being soaked and freezing).
i was pissed, but i see i obviously had a better experience than a lot of folks. i suppose we should've gone earlier/not at all, but it didn't really start raining until it was close to time to leave, anyway, and the tickets did say "rain or shine"...
ps: i'm pretty sure thom said, "this is a nasty song; it's not nice," (not "summer") before playing "paranoid android."
we made it but my heart goes out to those who didn't. we left dc at 5:30 and exited 66 off on 43B. traffic was slow, but nothing like it seems those who took 44 went through. got there just before the liars ended, in time to grab a beer and start freezing. incredible show, but don't get me going on trying to leave, nissan pavillion, live nation, or richard the tour manager. 3rd and final show at nissan. on the best day it's a nightmare. i'll never go back and encourage others to stay away.
They HAD to use that venue. When you sign a tour agreement with a company like Live Nation, you tour the venues that they own. The one that Live Nation owns in D.C. is The Nissan Pavallion.
I don't understand people that got to see the show and are complaining about a reviewer who didn't make it there and for writing a review about it. Does that make sense? Guess what. Not getting in is a story on its own. Specially when several hundred people that paid good money and drove for hours to only be told to turn around. Nissan should have been prepared to accomidate less than favorable circumstances. If its rain or shine, hell or high water, don't shut off roads leading to the entrance. I expect something to be done about this situation. Or at least a credit to another show. I have been going to shows for ten years and nothing like what happened to me at Nissan on Sunday has ever happened to me. My heart is broken because i know I'm going to have to wait several more years for my favorite band to come back again. Even if I get the money back I still missed the show. Nobody who got turned around deserved it. I refuse to believe that it was the fault of me and several other hundred people. get real.
Tom S - I got the same offer for free lawn tickets, even though I originally had reserved seating. On the upside, it probably takes less time to get to Camden (heck, it's by Philly) than it does to get to Nissan Pavilion. I'm still mulling the offer.
This was the worst experience of my life. My friends and I drove 12 hours from Alabama and had to leave the show because we were so wet and cold it was getting dangerous for us to stay. I was literally losing my breath because I was so cold and wet, and my lips and chest were purple.
We had tickets on the lawn, and we dressed as accordingly as possible, but we were literally at a loss as to what to do to get dry or warm. I felt so helpless because the only thing we could do was huddle in the bathroom, but even then there wasn't any way to get dry or warm, and the floor was flooding from the water pouring in from outside. It was unbearable, and I'm not surprised at the reports of people getting hypothermia. They closed the stairs that lead to the back of the lawn because there was so much watering pouring down them it was unsafe to walk up them.
We offered an event staff guy $100 to let us in the pavilion because it was obvious that it wouldn't fill up, but he wouldn't let us in.
Leaving the show during the opening act was one of the most disappointing/disgusting things I've ever had to do, but I literally could not have stayed out in that 50 degree monsoon for the rest of the night.
Bear Grylls would've died out there.
If LiveNation doesn't do the right thing and offer refunds in a timely manner, everyone that made a reasonable effort to get to the show on time but was turned away or delayed would be well within their rights to initiate a chargeback with their credit card company. If enough people were to do that, that would get LiveNation's attention very quickly. They will, of course, try to fight it, but it should be possible to make the argument that the goods and services paid for were not delivered.
Did anyone else receive the Camden, NJ offer like Tom S. above? I didn't. Tom S., did you call the Nissan Pavilion customer service?
I also received the same offer for Camden, NJ tickets. I e-mailed customer service.
I still don't think it makes up for it since I had seats within the pavilion!
It will cost me more to go to the concert than the ticket is worth (time off, travel time, gas).
Next time you'll leave sooner..... We left at 5:15 and caught some of the liars.
Radiohead! Aw man... That was one of the best sets I've ever seen. Only problem was sound, echos and feedback early on.
It took me way longer to leave than it took getting there. 2 hours and 15 minutes just to get out of the damn parking lot. Got back to DC around 2:30. A hot shower and, "Cool beans, I'm warming up!"
Charm City -- I called and emailed, both. Seems as if they may be triaging through the emails first.
I just got the offer for the Jersey show. I responded saying I was interested...if they'd pay for my transportation and accommodations. Otherwise, I'd prefer a refund.
I have two words for everyone: Premium Parking.
I don't know if they let you out first or if it's just closer to the exit, but we got out in under a half an hour. Of couse, we left a little early so it's hard to say what mattered more.
I was at Bull Run as well and I'm starting to think that Radiohead in DC is cursed.
We got there at 5:30 and tailgated until 730 and half-heartedly listened to the Liars and then waited for a friend to show up who got there at about 8. We stayed until 1030 and left. Despite the rain, the wind, the crappy venue and horrible acoustics Radiohead still put on a great show. They simply rocked through and put on a stellar stage show. The lighting and video were spot on and it was a solid performance.
Despite that I will add that we saw far too many people dressed like complete idiots for a rainy outdoor show (even if you're under cover) and dressed as if they're going to the Blackcat. I have no sympathy for folks who 1) couldn't and didn't read the weather reports prior to leaving and 2) left too late thinking they were just going down the street. I saw more people inadequately clothed with no rain coats at best. Trashbags abounded...how's that for green. Despite our best efforts to wear wet-weather gear and bring umbrellas our bottom halves got wet but that was expected for having last minute lawn tickets.
Nissan Pavilion along with Merriweather are THE worst outdoor venues I've ever been to and after having seen three shows at them collectively and I try to avoid them at all costs. I skipped Radiohead last time because they were at Merriweather. I consider that to be an affront to music fans architecturally speaking (yeah Frank Gehry sucked back then too) and acoustically.
The band and the fans would have been better served having the show at RFK or the new baseball stadium but even those would have had weather issues that night.
@JoAnnaLynne: If the HAD to use LiveNation venues, then where do they get off saying that they were choosing venues based on public transit and reducing environmental impact? Or is the subtext ... "among Live Nation Venues"... as if there's more than one that's big enough in any given area?
If in fact that's true, then their enviro-tour mantra is a load of BS. You can't choose a venue if you don't have a choice.
I was offered a refund after I asked for tickets to a Buffett show. Here's the e-mail:
Thank you for your response.
Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate your request for tickets to the Jimmy Buffett as an exchange for your Radiohead tickets from the show at Nissan Pavilion on May 11. Instead we would like to offer you a refund of the face value of your Radiohead tickets. In order to obtain your refund, we will need to have your unused, unscanned tickets back in our possession. Please mail them to the address below. All refunds will be issued as checks and may take up to six weeks to process, so we ask for your patience in advance. Please remember that we must get your old tickets back ? a confirmation of your order will not suffice. Please be sure to also include your return address so we know exactly where to send your refund.
If your tickets were held at will call and you did not pick them up, let us know and we can find them for you and make the exchange on your behalf.
If you could take a second to reply and let us know how many tickets you?ll be sending back, we'd appreciate it.
The address to send your tickets to is:
7800 Cellar Door Drive
Bristow, VA 20136
ATTN: Radiohead Refund
Thank you again for your patronage of Live Nation and we sincerely hope this helps to make up for the experience you had on May 11.