Currently on the way to the fourth stop on the Plant-Krauss tour after witnessing their "third adventure" last night, as Plant referred to it welcoming the crowd for the first time last night.
I posted a summary of the show online right afterward. It's at www.LedZeppelinNews.com -- specifically, here. What I didn't mention there, I will here. The security was painful. Before the show, event staff intimidated the hell out of anybody wanting to smuggle in "cameras of any kind." Such items were prohibited, and a list posted outside the venue also said no recording equipment of any kind, etc. Well, all they did when you entered the venue was check your tickets. No patdowns or pocket checks, but if you had a purse they gave it a quick once-over. No worries.
Inside the venue, however, goons wearing black "EVENT STAFF" shirts stopped anybody who was obviously using anything electric. So no cell phone shots. No still or video photography. And even me using my BlackBerry to type up some stuff about the show, "No dice, Kenny." A woman silently broadcasting the show to a friend at home via her cell phone was told to hang up. The word "fascism" came to mind. But arguing with these goons over why I couldn't use my BlackBerry was the last thing on my mind. With apologies to Gene Weingarten, imagine the conversation that would have transpired:
Goon: "Sir, you have to put that away."
Lemon: "Why?"
Goon: "Because I said so."
Lemon: "Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?"
Goon: "I'm the guy who's gonna kick you out of here in 10 seconds if you don't put that away."
Lemon:
Goon: "Thought so."
Don't know if that experience was unique to Knoxville, but just a warning for those of you hoping to do anything electric on this tour.
The security one night later, in Chattanooga, was thankfully less obtrusive.
ReplyDeleteThere, security mostly stood around and
waited for a long time to warn the egregious offenders of the
no-camera rule. But I didn't see anybody get busted (i.e. kicked out
or stuff confiscated) in either city.
And I'm sure there were no Peter
Grant or John Bindon incidents.
One thing I didn't really mention about the Knoxville security was the hypocritical aspect of their authority. They were singularly obsessed with detecting lighted electronic devices of any kind, to the detriment of warning anyone talking loudly and laughing loudly during a song (but NOT using electricity of any kind).
One woman in the row in front of me talked and laughed, both loudly, through
half a song, but event security never gave her a second glance or
thought to tell her to shut up.
Instead, they stretched past the talking woman to lean over and advise another woman, who was sitting quietly two seats further into the row, to turn off the phone she was using to broadcast a song to a friend at
home.
And that woman closer to the aisle yapped for three minutes straight, unimpeded!
Thank goodness the same level of hypocritical authority didn't rule
the day in Chattanooga too.