My Email to Rod Laver Arena Officials:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing in regards to the events that took place at the Muse concert on December 14 and 15, 2010.
After having been in contact with numerous people after the Muse shows in both Brisbane and Sydney, I was shocked at the organisation, or lack thereof, of the Melbourne shows. To begin with, on Tuesday 14th, those of us who were lining up were made to move out of the shade and into the immense heat, only to be told that we should try to "stay in the shade when possible", despite the fact that we had just been told we weren't allowed in the shaded area. Not only that, but the organisation of the lining up procedures was chaotic and out of control. It would have made more sense to have a number system or a more controlled relocation from the shade into the sun. I found that it was unfair for those people who had been lining up all day to end up at the back of the line. I understand that you will take no responsibility for this and consider it to be the fault of those who decided to line up. However, I still feel that for future reference you may want to do what you can to ensure that everyone gets what they deserve and are treated fairly. Also, circumstances were more controlled on the second night than the first, however if you want people to follow instructions when entering Rod Laver Arena, you may want to step up your security procedures or perhaps conduct such procedures with more control and organisation. There was no structure to what was going on; hence it was difficult for security to do their job.
As for the water situation once inside the venue, I feel that it was irresponsible on the Rod Laver officials' behalf to not supply GA with water throughout the show. The only time when we were provided with water was during the interval between the support act, Biffy Clyro, and Muse. Biffy Clyro were on stage for approximately 45 minutes, with Muse being on stage for approximately 2 hours. The contrast between the two acts and the level of intensity was very distinctive. It made no sense to not provide people with some form of rehydration during the main event for the evening. We were told that it was our responsibility to keep hydrated, yet we were also told that we couldn't have bottles of water with us. Granted, we were allowed to have cups of water; however, one cup of water is not enough to sustain you for the duration of a 3 hour rock concert. The least you could have done would have been to provide GA with water throughout the show. I honestly don't see how something such as water would have been such an issue.
Which brings me to my next issue, that being the “trouble” that Muse members, Dominic Howard and Christopher Wolstenholme, seem to be in. As far as I'm aware, Muse's bassist is in trouble for smoking on stage. I have read the article and I would just like to point out a few things that I feel you have unfairly accused him of and, as a result, made him appear to be much more rebellious than he really is. Apparently, according to your officials, Chris initially tried to hide the fact that he was lighting up on stage, only to then freely inhale between songs. As I am sure you are clearly unaware of, judging by your comments made, Chris' actions were not some deliberate attempt to blatantly disregard your authority. Chris' actions in lighting up and smoking on stage is something that is very common for him to do. I can guarantee he wasn't thinking "I'm going to light up this cigarette just to break the rules". Most probably it was something he did out of routine and habit, as it is something that he frequently does whilst performing. I understand that smoking isn't allowed in non-smoking areas, that much is obvious. However, attacking Chris the way in which you did was unfair. To publically come out and condemn him for such an insignificant act is simply unfair to Chris. The fact that Muse is a rock band is no excuse; however, artists these days conduct themselves in much more serious and dangerous acts than that of Chris routinely smoking on stage. Society is told on a daily basis of the dangers of smoking, yet that does nothing to stop those who don't want to quit. If the issue with Chris smoking is to do with the "promotion" of smoking, audience members are more than educated enough to make their own decisions regarding the issue of smoking. I myself am not a smoker, and witnessing Chris smoke on stage has not encouraged me to start, nor have Chris' actions offended me in any way. However, if the issue is about "deliberately breaking the rules", then I suggest you first get an understanding of the sort of people you are talking about before you make such accusations about Chris "flaunting" the non-smoking policy.
As for Muse being "rapped for encouraging fans to "mosh out" -- in direct violation of security rules", I feel you are creating an issue where there isn't one. As an attendee on both nights, I'm well aware that it was drummer, Dominic Howard, who told the crowd to mosh during the song 'Time Is Running Out'. It wasn't as if Dom made an announcement at the beginning of the show to ignore all precautionary signs and security warnings for the entire evening. All he did was encourage the crowd to get involved and have some fun. After all, a Muse show is essentially a rock concert, and "moshing" is a typical aspect of all rock concerts. Dom didn't tell the audience to crowd surf, which is much more dangerous than moshing. Moshing is jumping up and down and knocking into one another. It doesn't involve violence of any sort. Dom's words were merely a ploy to get the audience fired up and having a good time.
Due to complaints from officials at Rod Laver Arena, Muse have now been dubbed an “anti-establishment style of performance group”. Unless your officials have any idea what they are talking about or are familiar with the message and ethos that comes along with Muse, then they have no right to go out and publically label Muse like that. Quite simply it’s unfair. Not to mention these same “antics” occurred at both the Brisbane and Sydney shows and it hasn’t been until the Melbourne shows that any concern has been raised. In regards to Chris’ smoking, there were a few grumbles from floor security, but nothing more. As for moshing, the Sydney shows were much more unruly and absolutely nothing was said about that. So please inform me as to why you seem to be the only ones with a real issue here, so much so that you’re willing to go out and condemn one of the most esteemed rock bands of our time.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Their Reply:
Thank you for your email regarding the Muse concert.
We take the health and safety of all patrons very seriously at every event, which is why we distribute water at the stage barrier. We are somewhat restricted with this, however, for a few reasons which I can explain. Firstly, the security staff that are positioned behind the stage barrier are primarily there to protect the stage and the band, which obviously means that they are limited in their ability to distribute water while the main act is on stage. I’m sure you would also agree that the majority of patrons would be too distracted by watching the main act and dancing to accept water at that point. We also need to ensure that excess water doesn’t end up on the floor, as this could cause further OH&S issues.
Prior to the event even starting we are attempting to ensure that patrons are safe, and we have drinks and umbrellas out on the Forecourt on hot days for the patrons that are queuing. Drinks are obviously available for purchase throughout the event, and are able to be brought on to the floor. Also, there is always water available from St John Ambulance staff at the edge of the floor.
We will always attempt to ensure that our patrons are safe and healthy, however, patrons also have a responsibility to look after their own welfare and ensure they drink adequate water through the day etc, and this doesn’t always occur.
In relation to us “banning” Muse this is a ridiculous beat up, we have never suggested such a thing, our comments to the media were that we were disappointed that they smoked in a non smoking venue, we did not believe that moshing was ever encouraged from the artists, there were no incidents to report at this concert whatsoever. This was one of the most incident free concerts that we have had at our arena and we welcome them back. This statement will be released to the media through the promoter.
Kind Regards,
Jo Juler.
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