Went to Tom Petty this weekend (Are all Concerts like this)

[Rondo2287]

So i went to see Petty this weekend, I am 23, huge fan of his but never been to one of his shows.  The only Memory of the Pats Giants Superbowl i haven't erased from my brain is Petty at halftime.  Let me start off by saying, Petty was amazing and hasnt lost a beat.  Every song sounded crisp and energetic.  Loved his performance (What i saw of it)

Went with my girlfriend and my two brothers and their wives.  We were out in the parking lot tailgating beforehand.  Cooked up some dogs, burgers, played cornhole and drank some beers.  Went inside as the opening act was finishing up, pumped for Petty. 

Before Petty went on i realized i was in trouble, apparently their are no rules against smoking at the comcast center because everywhere you turned their were people lighting up and blowing smoke in your face.  It was absolutely brutal..  (I got nothing against smokers, just don't blow it in my face!)  My girlfriend and I got ashed on twice, my Penn State Whiteout shirt got ruined because of it.  You couldn't take a breath in without it containing traces of weed smoked by everybody else in the crowd.  Security was standing right behind us when a girl 4 feet in front of us pulled out a weed pipe and started smoking it right there, they did nothing. 

During the middle of the set, it got to the point where i could hardly breathe and my brother who has a respiratory condition had to leave the concert. The night really reached its high point when on our way out we saw a 50 year old woman hike up her skirt and pee right in the middle of the crowd.  Now I ask you, is this normal for a A)Petty Concert  B) Comcast Center concert (Which apparently has less rules than the wild west) or all concerts now-adays. 

Last year I went to see Ludacris and there wasn't as much trouble as this concert, so i kinda doubt that its C

Well, if it makes you feel any better, it sounds like you were breaking the rules too, since I am 90% sure drinking in the parking lot is not allowed (it was clearly posted last time I went there a couple of years ago).

But yeah, that sounds like my experience at Comcast Center.  Their security sucks, unless you are trying to get into the VIP areas, or costing them money in some ways.  Underage (like, WAY underage) drinking is not enforced in the least, and they don't even try to stop anyone from smoking anything they want. 

I am just glad that I am more of a fan of smaller bands that play club shows, because I just can't stand going to places like the Comcast Center, or Foxboro.  Its never as enjoyable, because the place is so big, and you have to deal with a lot more jerks, who don't understand that they are ruining other peoples times by the way they act.

Their were police riding by on bikes pre-show checking id's in the parking lot but never asked anybody not to drink.  so i dont know, maybe they changed.

[PatsCelts]

Lot of rock concerts have tons of smoking. It would be worse in a small venue.

[Chris]

So i went to see Petty this weekend, I am 23, huge fan of his but never been to one of his shows.  The only Memory of the Pats Giants Superbowl i haven't erased from my brain is Petty at halftime.  Let me start off by saying, Petty was amazing and hasnt lost a beat.  Every song sounded crisp and energetic.  Loved his performance (What i saw of it)

Went with my girlfriend and my two brothers and their wives.  We were out in the parking lot tailgating beforehand.  Cooked up some dogs, burgers, played cornhole and drank some beers.  Went inside as the opening act was finishing up, pumped for Petty. 

Before Petty went on i realized i was in trouble, apparently their are no rules against smoking at the comcast center because everywhere you turned their were people lighting up and blowing smoke in your face.  It was absolutely brutal..  (I got nothing against smokers, just don't blow it in my face!)  My girlfriend and I got ashed on twice, my Penn State Whiteout shirt got ruined because of it.  You couldn't take a breath in without it containing traces of weed smoked by everybody else in the crowd.  Security was standing right behind us when a girl 4 feet in front of us pulled out a weed pipe and started smoking it right there, they did nothing. 

During the middle of the set, it got to the point where i could hardly breathe and my brother who has a respiratory condition had to leave the concert. The night really reached its high point when on our way out we saw a 50 year old woman hike up her skirt and pee right in the middle of the crowd.  Now I ask you, is this normal for a A)Petty Concert  B) Comcast Center concert (Which apparently has less rules than the wild west) or all concerts now-adays. 

Last year I went to see Ludacris and there wasn't as much trouble as this concert, so i kinda doubt that its C

Well, if it makes you feel any better, it sounds like you were breaking the rules too, since I am 90% sure drinking in the parking lot is not allowed (it was clearly posted last time I went there a couple of years ago).

But yeah, that sounds like my experience at Comcast Center.  Their security sucks, unless you are trying to get into the VIP areas, or costing them money in some ways.  Underage (like, WAY underage) drinking is not enforced in the least, and they don't even try to stop anyone from smoking anything they want. 

I am just glad that I am more of a fan of smaller bands that play club shows, because I just can't stand going to places like the Comcast Center, or Foxboro.  Its never as enjoyable, because the place is so big, and you have to deal with a lot more jerks, who don't understand that they are ruining other peoples times by the way they act.

Their were police riding by on bikes pre-show checking id's in the parking lot but never asked anybody not to drink.  so i dont know, maybe they changed.

Interesting.  Perhaps they did change it.  I just remember parking right in front of one of the many signs that said "no alcohol"...and deciding that meant we had to drink inside the car, rather than outside the car.  But now that I think about it, that was more like 4-5 years ago, so it certainly could have changed in that time.

[Chris]

Lot of rock concerts have tons of smoking. It would be worse in a small venue.

Well, clubs in Massachusetts don't allow it.  And they enforce it hard, because they get a big fine from the city if they don't.

In general, I find that security at club shows are much better than at bigger shows.  Perhaps its because they need fewer staff, and can therefore be more picky of who they hire, or because they have less ground to cover, or just that the management at Comcast center don't care as much.  But for whatever reason, it is much harder to people to get away with things like that in smaller venues in mass.

[shookones99]

A week or two ago there was a free Wiz Khalifa concert in Government Center.  Anyone familiar with the music of Wiz knows that he will probably attract a lot of weed-smokers. 

I didn't think it was a great concert - poor acoustics, couldn't really see anything, and I'm not a huge fan of Wiz to begin with - but I still thought it was a cool experience.  Easily the biggest group of people I've ever been a part of where EVERYONE was smoking.

And the coolest thing of all?  Mayor Menino (who hosted the concert) was bouncing around on the stage, with Wiz, the entire time.  There's no way he didn't even get at least somewhat of a contact-high.

[Donoghus]

Outdoor shows definitely seem to push things to another level.  To me, its not really a surprise.  Good weather + being outdoors just drives things up a notch.

I've been to a decent amount of concerts (outdoors and in) so its a bit tough, for me, to bat an eye if its pot smoking and underage drinking thats the concern.  There could potentially be much worse stuff going on. 

[PatsCelts]

Lot of rock concerts have tons of smoking. It would be worse in a small venue.

Well, clubs in Massachusetts don't allow it.  And they enforce it hard, because they get a big fine from the city if they don't.

In general, I find that security at club shows are much better than at bigger shows.  Perhaps its because they need fewer staff, and can therefore be more picky of who they hire, or because they have less ground to cover, or just that the management at Comcast center don't care as much.  But for whatever reason, it is much harder to people to get away with things like that in smaller venues in mass.

maybe you are right. I don't know for sure.