I wrapped up the details of my Knoxville trip the other day, but I want to do a compare between Birmingham and Knoxville Widespread Panic Shows.
If you check out this post from April about my Birmingham WP experience, you will notice I mentioned I cried during most of the first set.
What???????????????? How can anyone cry at a WP concert?
The day of the show, I was running my own errands, and then meeting up with people who were going to buy extra tickets and then didn't show up or return calls and texts. While all of this was going on, I was keeping an eye on the weather and tornado sirens, and getting texts and phone calls from people wanting to know where and what time to meet, what to wear, etc. I had been going over this with these people for weeks and they could not get it together.
The concert venue had changed the night before due to weather and I let everyone who was going know we were to meet at Nana Funks at 5:00 and we were to leave promptly at 5:45. Because the venue changed, the seating opened up for general admission. No one was ready to leave at 5:45, and I was about to flip out! That person I was supposed to meet earlier never showed up, no one wanted to pay face value for their ticket (I was getting offers for half and less!), I didn't even have time to get as ready as I wanted to, but everyone else could do whatever they wanted. Talk about entitled!
Some of my tickets were VIP first tier seats, and if you had those tickets, you got a special armband and special seating. Well, you were supposed to. The ushers at the door gave Space (who was with me) the right armband, and I got the "wrong" one. It took nearly an hour to figure that out. I kept showing my ticket and asking why I wasn't allowed in the VIP or reserved section, and FINALLY some usher got me the right armband. Well, Charlie Daniels had started by then.
My friends that were supposed to sit with me had no problems at all and I was finally able to meet up with them and sit with them, but someone in the group had to ask me where someone else was THE WHOLE TIME. I finally was able to see a couple of Charlie Daniels songs. During "Devil Went Down to Georgia," between ignoring the annoying person and constantly having to show off my armband to the ushers, these other people come up and start shoving me, and yelling at me that I couldn't save seats.
Yes, Charlie Daniels was ruined for me.
Between bands, I was still having to show my armband to ushers, and I noticed a ga-zillion groups smoking pot around me (this is supposed to be a non-smoking venue) and letting their smoke go wherever it may, and those shovers from "Devil Went Down to Georgia" a few rows down without the appropriate armbands. They aren't getting bothered. The smokers aren't being stopped. But me, who is not smoking or drinking, has the apropriate armband, and is just minding my own business, trying to have a good time, I'm the one the ushers want to harass, and I'm the one being harassed by everyone else breaking the rules. WTF?!? THAT, my friends, is the whole problem with Birmingham. There is this sense of false entitlement that you can do whatever you want, take whatever you want, infringe on other people's rights and soveriegnty, and no one is going to stop you or bother you. Actually, I would venture to say that wherever there are inherent problems, that is the root of them.
I found my "point person," who had lost her cell phone, and tried to introduce myself. But she was too preoccupied with her lost cell phone.
When the band started back, Space and I found a couple of seats again, and we tried to sit back and enjoy the show. But those ushers just wouldn't let us sit anywhere we tried. We had to show armbands, we got kicked out of one seat, we had to find another, repeat, repeat, repeat. All the while, all these people are dancing in the aisles, without proper armbands, smoking their joints.
Here's the deal: That section was supposed to be marked off. It wasn't. It was up to the ushers to enforce it. They clearly weren't. Pot is illegal. The security, cops, and ushers clearly didn't seem to think so. Smoking is not allowed. Again, the people hired to maintain the rules and laws and help the patrons clearly did not have their job responsibilities in order. I had missed most of the concert to this point and had been walking all over the BJCC, trying to find where I should be.
Sick of it, I marched back into that VIP area, got my point person, and told her what was going on. She took me and Space to the handicapped row and told us to be there and if anyone had a problem with it, to say she put us there. So then the ushers tried to move us. When we straightened that out, I was told I couldn't dance, that I had to sit (I was dancing in place). At that point, I lost it. I started bawling. Y'all, there were people all over the aisles (i.e. the path to the exits), blocking the aisles, dancing away. Everyone but me and my friends were having a good time. Most of my group left because it was such a fudgecluster.
Someone gave me a glow stick, and then someone else was trying to grab it out of my hand. Again, really?!? We are supposed to be mature people. Just because the band is called Widespread Panic does not mean you need to create it.
During the intermission, I went to the restroom, and left Space to hold down the fort. While I was standing in the beer line, where people got to slide on up next to me and get served, then finally I was told they quit serving beer (again, say it with me, people, REALLY?!?), Space found me and said he got kicked out.
As the music started back, I marched Space and Alan right back up to that place we were sitting, explained to the ushers, again, that we were allowed there, and did my best to have a good time. Alan and I did our little jam dancing a bit, got a little bit harassed by ushers, and we made it to the end of the show.
Was that necessary? No. Do I feel entitled to something? At this point, yes, and rightfully so. I paid good money for those tickets, and I missed most of the concert and was constantly disctracted. I wasn't causing any trouble, and everything I did was done in safe parameters (i.e. I wasn't blocking any paths).
Saturday, I was able to chill a bit. We met up in the lot before heading in, and I got some cool lot tees and some feathers in my hair.
Saturday was much better and my only complaint was I had to defend my box a bit from some "entitled" Birmingham people.
Going into Knoxville, I was slightly apprehensive, but I didn't know I had as good of seats as I did. I thought I had seats on the balcony, a few rows back. As the ushers at the Tennessee Theatre (beautiful, by the way!) walked me closer and closer to my seats that first night, I started to get nervous. I was really close and I was not in the mood to defend my territory. (And I was on steroids and pseudo-ephedrine, so it was going to be a brawl if anyone crossed me! Haha!)
No need to worry in Knoxvegas, baby! Those people were so cool and laid back. Like I said, a few people actually came up to me and ASKED if I minded if they stood near me. Of course I didn't mind. They asked, nicely, first of all. They didn't push or shove me. They didn't yell at me. They weren't smoking pot that was blowing directly in my face. They didn't invade my personal space (except to hug me <3!). I "had a good time" in Knoxville and it's all because of the "good people" there. Thank you, Knoxville, you are awesome!
