2009-08-08 Underworld @ HardFest Los Angeles Aug 8th

[Dunwho]

Sorry to hear about all of this guys... its such a let down when you have been waiting for so long. The lads seem really dissapointed they didnt get to play and its clear to see from the blog post that they are really concerned for the safety of the crowd.

Its unforgivable that HARD organised such a high profile event in such a poor manner.

I know that while you should get all of your money back for the tickets, i think the only real repayment is another better organised gig with underworld at a later date.

[BeautifulBurnout]

That sounds - and looks - appalling.

The promoters need their asses kicking good and proper over this. Seriously.

[//\/\/]

dreadful. sorry for the dirts missing out...

[Dirty Canuck]

Raw deal.....
I'm sure this will be the last Hard Fest after all the refunds are paid out and the acts are paid.
My heart goes out to all that were there. I'm sure some of you had been waiting a long time for last night. I'm sure the boys will make it right asap.

[dubnobasswithme]

just saw that link through a blog post on latimes.com. check out the 2:20 mark for people rushing by security and jumping off the balcony onto the main floor.

[darktrain]

Originally Posted by dubnobasswithme

just saw that link through a blog post on latimes.com. check out the 2:20 mark for people rushing by security and jumping off the balcony onto the main floor.

And amidst that rush of idiots was me, grabbing onto my girlfriend and backing up as far as I could in hopes of not getting pushed over the edge or trampled, while trying my best to shield her from flying feet, elbows, and heads. It was A LOT scarier than from the video's POV.

As soon as that first literal wave was over, I spotted Ultradave (shame we didn't meet under better circumstances!) and took a seat. After about 10 minutes of no visible progress I still felt unsafe and figured it best to leave before the place turned into a riot. At least I made the right call and didn't actually miss an uw performance.

So yeah. Still completely dumbfounded and while I'm certain there is no ONE party to blame for this (Hard promotion, Forum "security", etc) the people I'm really pissed at are the subhuman mutants who time after time continue to pay money in order to go to public events as an excuse to act a damn fool. In this case the mutant:human ratio was weighted too much in the wrong direction.

Pissed about the money lost, pissed about being cheated out of the best show on earth, pissed about my wasted night...but the worst part is that feeling of helplessness and dread when the surge of idiots went flowing past and there was nothing to do but hang on.

I'm glad to read the boys don't take this as an indicator of LA fans. Just please please please play your own shows from now on!

[Rabbitwork]

Hello Dirts!

This is my first post; I found this board (again) after getting psyched to see Underworld for the first time after being a fan for 10+ years at HARD Summer. I was hoping to come home with an awesome story of how I finally got to see some of my musical heroes blow the roof off and share in the love of the UW community. As we all know that did not happen.

I'd like to dispel any rumors that the crowd was unruly from the get-go. Sure there were a large number of children (and they were children, for that's exactly how they acted) in attendance. However, children, like anyone else, can be controlled and contained and directed.

Apparently the fest organizers felt it was unnecessary to have no more than a dozen or so guards posted around the arena at the start of the show. I know, I counted them. Any guards/staff I spoke to about where to go, where I can/can't sit, etc were a) clueless b) terribly unhelpful and rude or c) both. There were a myriad of problems throughout the night. And it seems like my GF and my friend got out of there just in time (the house lights came up around 11:45 and we bolted. One guard was nice enough to let us out, all the other hired-stiffs (of which there were now suddenly dozens and dozens) would ignore us or refuse to the opened the CHAIN-LOCKED doors.

[TheBang]

I agree with Rabbitwork. Yes, some of the kids were idiots, but I still feel the majority of the blame rests with the promoter. With proper staffing, a bigger venue (or fewer tickets sold), better communication/instructions/signage, there wouldn't have been issues with people being in the fire lanes and people feeling like the only way to get to the floor is to jump.

[mmm skyscraper]

Underworld is the first thing to come up on a search for Hardfest on Google News:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoasts...est-statement/

[klingklang]

I'm so sorry for those that traveled to this show and had this disaster happen (hopefully no one got seriously injured!).