cannabisnews.com: Organizers Aim To Make Concerts Drug-Free Zones
Organizers Aim To Make Concerts Drug-Free Zones
Posted by CN Staff on June 19, 2002 at 13:40:20 PT
By Michael J. Rochon
Source: Indianapolis Star
His eyes bloodshot-red and beer suds spilling down his right forearm, Chris Schneider stumbled through the crowd of heavy-metal fanatics, seemingly oblivious to -- or perhaps spiritually in tune with -- his surroundings."Damn right I'm a pot smoker," the 31-year-old bricklayer said proudly. He had to shout to be heard over the guitar riffs screeching from the speakers at a rock show last week at Verizon Wireless Music Center.
Asked if he'd already fired up some marijuana during the concert, Schneider replied: "Nope." Then the tall, blond woman clinging to his one dry arm finished the sentence for him. "But we're about to!"The two are just the type of fans whom concert promoters and security officials in Indiana -- and nationwide -- say they're cracking down on. No longer, they say, are those caught at rock shows with illegal drugs let off with a wink and a nod. The problem was underscored this month when two men died from what police called an apparent overdose after a show. But officials say they continue to add security guards and work closely with police to ensure that drug activity at both large and small shows is greatly diminished -- if not eliminated. Authorities said the Ohio men died from fatal doses of heroin, which witnesses suggested may have been bought during a Trey Anastasio concert at the center June 8. Anastasio was once the lead guitarist for Phish, a band widely known for its dedicated fans and acceptance of drug use.Along with maintaining order during concerts, show officials said, combating drugs has become a top priority."That's the challenge we face with every show, controlling that type of illegal activity," said Jayme Rodgers, the Verizon center's director of event security. The venue can accommodate nearly 30,000 fans.By increasing security guards to as many as 300 per show and forming partnerships with area law enforcement agencies, concert promoters say they are trying to remove the old "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" reputation of the typical musical performance."The reason you see this security increase is that we're always trying to make sure the people who come to the shows remain safe," said Andy Wilson, publicity director for Clear Channel Entertainment, one of the nation's largest concert promotion conglomerates. "And it's one of our main missions to always try to make sure any illegal activity is accounted for, and dealt with."For instance, 25 to 50 off-duty police officers from across Hamilton County, authorities said, remain outside the Verizon center to take concert-goers caught with contraband to the Hamilton County Jail. And parking lot tailgating -- another source of both drug purchases and usage -- is strictly prohibited.Although no such arrests have been made this year, six people were taken to the jail last year on drug charges ranging from possession to selling.But the added patrols have not halted drug use at concerts entirely, Rodgers admitted."Sometimes, they'll still get it past us," the security chief said. At Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis' largest concert venue, security is enforced by a combination of Indianapolis Police Department officers, Marion County sheriff's deputies, Indiana University police and event security guards. Although fieldhouse spokesmen, citing precautionary measures, refused to reveal exactly how many cops might be on hand at any given show, they don't consider drug usage to be an overriding problem at their 25 annual concerts."It's not that prevalent, to be honest with you," said Harry James Jr., vice president of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, which oversees all events at the arena. Four people in the past two years have been arrested at fieldhouse rock concerts, said IPD Sgt. Eric Hench. But because of a federal court order limiting the number of people allowed in the Marion County Lockup, those caught with pot are issued citations to appear in court. Getting caught with other illegal "hard drugs" can mean a trip to jail.The crackdown on drug activity at rock gigs is not limited to Indiana, though. Across the country, concert promoters say they've been increasing police presence as a means of deterring all forms of illegal activity.At least 200 fans were arrested on drug charges in April while attending a Savannah, Ga., concert performed by Widespread Panic, a group fashioned in the mold of the Grateful Dead and Phish. Police using drug-sniffing dogs reported seizing large amounts of marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and Oxycontin from the crowd of about 7,000.One organization trains concert-goers on ways to avoid such crackdowns. Flex Your Right, a newly-formed Washington, D.C., nonprofit, disagrees with the practice of toughening security to weed out drug users at shows. Steven Silverman, the nonprofit's founder, said concert promoters are in essence hiring more cops to arrest the very fans who've paid money to come to their concerts."It's pretty ironic, don't you think?" said Silverman. "It would make a lot more sense if concert promoters did not send in police to arrest the people who they are selling the tickets to."However, even more well-known groups that advocate relaxed drug laws agree that the increase in security has accounted for a serious decrease in drug use at concerts.Stephen Dillon, attorney for the Indiana chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he's aware of the decline in joint-toking at local concerts. He said workplace drug testing and more stringent federal regulations have also contributed to the drop. "People are a little more chilled about it," said Dillon, whose 32-year-old lobbying group supports the legalization of marijuana and opposes the arrest of its users."This is not as free of a country as it was . . . so there is a change there, I can tell you that."But if there's truly been a drop in drug use at rock concerts, Mike Brooks would probably know best. The longtime Verizon center stage handler works nightly at crowd level -- where he frequently gets the chance to interact with rabid fans.And he's seen a palpable difference in recent years."It used to be 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll,' but not anymore, man," he said while heading into last Tuesday's '80s-era rock metal show featuring the Scorpions, Ronnie James Dio and Deep Purple."Now, with the younger crowds, it's no 'drugs,' it's just 'sex.' Period." Note: Increased efforts are having impact, many say.Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)Author: Michael J. RochonPublished: June 19, 2002Copyright: 2002 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.Contact: stareditor starnews.comWebsite: http://www.starnews.com/NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/CannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #82 posted by i420 on June 21, 2002 at 17:10:19 PT
NEVER AGAIN...
I went to a concert without getting high once. Pardon my language but it SUCKED.Now here is something ACLU should take note of ...
The Smashing Pumkins come to town people get harrassed and searched entering the concert.Everyone is patted down passing between police officers. A month later KISS comes to town and concert goers just "waltz" right in .There was practically no police presence at the doors. Was this fair??? Those patdowns clearly were "searches" This happened at the Allen County War Memorial a place tributing our veterens who fought and died for our constitution. Seems to me their deaths were in vain. Amerika is F***d.
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Comment #81 posted by pppp on June 21, 2002 at 09:10:58 PT
30 years of Old Golds,and Newport 100s
..I knew that I was a SHITHEAD,for continuing to light up smokes...I'd kinda almost think about it each time I popped a Coffin Nail out of the pack,,and lustfully laid flame to that fuckin thing!.....I guess I was lucky,in a way..Turns out the exact same thing happened to me,as happened to that 4d guy........I got some grotesque lung infection thing,,and ended up ringin' Deaths' doorbell..I was gasping for air,!..Any availiable oxygen was something that I craved more than I ever craved tobacco,,,,I came to the point,where I had almost resigned myself to dying...It was to be a gruesome death,,one that involved my life being snuffed out,because I could no longer obtain oxygen thru my lungs...I was thinking about how it will be sort of like being smothered!...so, ,,,I was lucky!...I got to quit in a way that was so much of a near death experience,,,I will never be able to idoticly enjoy smoking tobacco again!
...There is nothing worse than a pompous reformed smoker...They are bitches,,and I dont mean to bve one,,but I look at it kinda like this;;;;It takes alot of character and integrity,,to be able to actually,successfully fuck with yourself,,and quit smoking!...It's like a slow heroin withdrawal,,and it's so slow,,that physical restraints are out of the question...I mean,,could you imagine trying to force some one to quit smoking cigarettes,by making it so they were no longer availiable?,,or making them quit through some"Tobacco Court",that uses "tough love",to make the tobacco addict quit under threat of jailtime!.....I want to know why we dont have "Tobacco Offenders! !!!"...I think that the public would agree,,that court supervised tobacco withdrawal would be a more justified use of government resouces that the sleezy drug war!
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Comment #80 posted by krutch on June 21, 2002 at 08:35:24 PT:
I am with you 4p's
I am a cigarette smoker myself. I am a junkie, and I am also an idiot. I try to kick it and I can not. It is the one drug I have never been able to kick for any extended period of time (Funny how the nastiest stuff is legal). If I die young from smoking it will be natural selection at work. I have no animosity towards the men who died from heroin. You have enlightened me 4p's. I CAN sympathize with them.
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Comment #79 posted by pppp on June 21, 2002 at 08:00:31 PT
.....krutch....
...."..... I hate to be
insensitive but this is just natural selection at work. Junkies die all the time."
...I like the fact that you made this reluctantly;"insensitive",statement.....I have entertained 'cruel' thoughts about the "natural selection" thing,,and "junkies",,,,,,,,,and ........I decided,,that cigarette smokers,are actually "junkies".Smoking cigarettes is like a slow suicide,,,a downplayed awareness within,of the truth that pleasure does not come cheap.......
Here's more Captain Beefheart ....I hope it will provide a brief vacation for peoples minds...
The Smith That Clear Our Stars (1983)
The smith that clear our stars
The wolf head came off in night
His paw plucked a mushroom and pawed a nest of bees
A blade of grass trembled
A water drop threatened - burst
A felt ear curled back into pink
His slick stocking face chrome lips puckered pursed
Red balls fell out of a tiny screen
Opened dot that shined and was licked away
A yellow paraffin eyelid melted back into night velvet without sound
Rested and reshaped... closed and hid the stair
A tiny wooden door opened shut
A polished knob grown dust in the dim hallway
Meaty blond people danced at the end of the hall yellow and white.
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Comment #78 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on June 21, 2002 at 07:40:36 PT
Loony
Making a concert a drug-free (read "marijuana-free") zone is like banning pimples on teenagers.I understand the propaganda value of two unfortunate people overdosing on a notoriously drug, but this has NOTHING to do with smoking weed at a concert. Its ridiculous.I suppose we should eliminate alcohol at all sporting events and speeding at auto races, while we are at it.Dammit, we will save lives.
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Comment #77 posted by krutch on June 21, 2002 at 07:26:58 PT:
Sorry DankHank
Hate to be insensitve, but they did it to themselves. Now everybody has to pay for their mistakes. The behaviour of people like this fuels the drug war fire. I have a hard time finding any sympathy for people who kill themselves.
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Comment #76 posted by Dan B on June 21, 2002 at 03:49:42 PT:
Thanks, krutch
I hope it was obvious that it was all a joke.(Of course it was): )Dan B
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Comment #75 posted by Dankhank on June 20, 2002 at 21:03:17 PT:
Someone's loved ones ...
Two idiot junkies OD and die.
Hemp N Stuff ...
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Comment #74 posted by freedom fighter on June 20, 2002 at 19:26:14 PT
Problems with boycotting
the concerts.. Do'nt get me wrong, I do think it is a great idea but however, based on my experience, I went to a Fleetwood Mac concert two years ago in Denver. Naturally, I had to toke few joints before and at the start of the concert. And of course, I got hassled by the security man who proclaimed that this is a smoke-free concert. "Sir, sorry, but it was not me who is the smoker!" "But, I smeellled something funny here!", so said the security man. As the concert goes along, the band took a break. Guess what happened then, one could smell the sweet smoke drifting around. Literally, thousands of fans start to burn the doobies at the same time. Drug-Free zones are just a joke. If you got 30,000 bodies sitting and toking about, not a damn thing the LAW can do anything about it. See, concerts are where people get together knowing full well, that maybe 10-100 folks get busted but everyone gonna break the law anyway. Concerts are another form of resistance to the stupid laws.Of course, I do'nt see any harm in letting the artists know that YOU know. Dang, I am still in love with Stevie Nicks!ff
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Comment #73 posted by SWAMPIE on June 20, 2002 at 18:53:45 PT
Concerts,Zappa,Beefheart,Chillldrun!
These Idiot Bastards' Sons have robbed all of us music connoisseurs from our right to free speech and the religious rituals in which we prepare to enter another realm of consciousness which if you have a properly sober and designated driver,and nobody gets out of hand,you should never have to deal with the law in the first place.Much of the younger population could benefit with some real advice from long-time users of all drugs,without the BS from the gov't thrown in.IF PEOPLE WANT TO USE DRUGS,THEY WILL USE DRUGS!!!!!!!!I don't know how else to say it other than maybe we have too many "Dental floss tycoons"on our hands and maybe we should capture them and send them out on "Pygmy-Ponies"to go out to the "Dennil-Floss-Bushes"with a pair of heavy-duty zircon-encrusted tweezers in their hands and see if they could pluck some floss and wax it down without killing themselves first!!LOL!Perhaps we could encourage"Sam with the showing-scalped-flat-top,particular about the point it made" to ride shotgun with dddd/pppp/qqqq,lehder,E-J,N-mex,p4me,HELL,lets all go!!!I saw many concerts in the early 70's,and Zappa[5-times],and The Turtles with Zappa,and on their own,John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra,and too many others to list.Turtles was at Akron Civic Theater in 1973?Before the band started,these roadies ran up and down all the aisles with these huge clay pts filled with incense,and whatever else.All I know is that it was the best high of my life.I went straight.It was like you were in a fog.Enough rambling for now.
SWAMPIE
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Comment #72 posted by krutch on June 20, 2002 at 14:02:24 PT:
Confusing Pot and Heroin
Two idiot junkies OD and die. Who cares if they scored the drugs at an Anastasio concert or on the street or anywhere else. Why do we have to crack down on everybody who is smoking pot? Nobody ever ODs on pot. I hate to be insensitive but this is just natural selection at work. Junkies die all the time.If concerts are going to become pigfests I will boycott. I reject that Anastasio or Phish promote drug use. I no their music and I can think of 2 songs right of the top of my head that deal with the dangers of abusing hard drugs.Nice work on that survey DanB.Off topic: It is great to see all of the FZ and Beefhart fans posting here.
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Comment #71 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 12:19:42 PT
That's a good question, here's how
To get back to the main theme of this thread... boycott. Boycott who? Boycott what? By who? By what means?1. Agree that there is a way in which we WANT to be treated. Establish that as our gold standard.2. Figure out which concert venues in the country depart the most egregiously from those standards, and which venues comes the closest towards satisfying it.3. Set up a web site to alert people as to this data. On this web site provide people with tools such a pre-written letters and lists of addresses and phone numbers for taking various actions against those who get on our shit list and for giving positive feedback to those on the good list.So if we boycott concerts in Indiana, we are basically boycotting our own (musicians). They will lose (a lot), which in turn will cause their promoters to lose (a little) who will just go on to another more lucrative business venture.We will be hurting those artists who sit in their VIP lounge smoking their fine weed in safety and security while their fans, whose money is being used to buy this this fine weed, are being arrested for their meager schwag and started on their way towards being completely marginalized members of society.Artists who want to support their fans can come out of the VIP lounge and try to light up with the rest of us.
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Comment #70 posted by MDG on June 20, 2002 at 12:18:47 PT
If you rat out a "closet smoker"...
you might as well join the leadership of D.A.R.E or enroll in the DEA training programs. Isn't ratting-out parents or whomever else part of their plan? For one person to assume that he knows why another person doesn't "come out of the closet" and even more disgustingly believes he has the right to essentially destroy all the things that a person happens to be hiding (like their own businesses, assets, relationships with family, freedom), he should just...look, as a Christian I am biting my figurative tongue but feel compelled to say this: If someone I knew decided to "rat me out" for whatever self-righteous reason, I would kick the shit out of him.
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Comment #69 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 12:06:19 PT
My playlist for today
Billy the Mountain...Billy was a mountainand Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulderA classic song about Vietnam era draft resistance in the San Fernando Valley!
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Comment #68 posted by Nuevo Mexican on June 20, 2002 at 08:50:07 PT
A product of Indy!
Forgot to mention the same mentality that is exhibited by these folks at the Indianapolis Star is what I grew up with daily, as you can see it seems to have had the opposite It is a 'cycle' thing! Get ready for the fall of the Amerikkkan 'Imp'ire. The stars deem it so! From Inner space....
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Comment #67 posted by Nuevo Mexican on June 20, 2002 at 08:41:12 PT
dddd....Live at leeds.....
one great album! E.J.: we're on the same page on this topic!
Ind/Strength: we've all said dumb things here at times, myself in particular, sometimes our fingers talk faster than our minds can think! Lehder: I'm outing closet smokers starting today! I guess I'm out of the closet because people assume I smoke pot by looking at me, as I do my best to look like a walking joint, so people want to get high as soon as they see me! Now back to 'I had to much to dream last night', maybe some Savoy Brown, Muddy Waters, a little Peanut Butter Conspiracy, followed by the Elephants Memory, Canned Heats' Refried Boogie, John lee Hooker, Don't bogart that joint, by the Fraternity of Man, Twentieth Century Schitzoid Man, (Nominated for best song describing the future that is now). After Bathing at Baxters, Hendrix'Are you experienced, Wheels of Fire, Susie Creamcheese, Moving to Montana soon, Slys' Dance to the music, bogs the mind how many genius musicians rocked our world in the 60's and 70's Of course, the 80's and 90's had their share of great musicians 'influenced' by all the greats above. No doubt about it, the Gods came down and manifested their great spirit into the music of our day, and that is our spiritual and evolutionary gift to the ages! Cannabis was there in every case of inspired, high-minded, idealistic song-writing and performing. Compare Early Aerosmith, to the modern version, and you might wish they had never stopped using! They are 'un'listenable at this point, as they have nothing to say, and no inspiration other than paying their mortgages! But then, that must make Keith Richards a man of true integrity! Thanks for 'sticking' it out Keith, and showing those kids from Boston what your made of! I bet Keith attends Steven Tylers funeral, as he never made 'anti-drug' ads, and thus has no guilt to drive him to his grave!
Concerts without herb, are just beer fests, smelly, uriny kind of affairs, with all the things that go along with drunkeness, rude behavior, bad drivers, and bad bladders.
If alcolhol was good for us, it would be illegal too!
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Comment #66 posted by Morgan on June 20, 2002 at 08:11:30 PT
Questions
To get back to the main theme of this thread... boycott. Boycott who? Boycott what? By who? By what means?Boycott the state of Indiana? Don't travel there? Don't spend your money there? Does anybody actually spend their vacations going there? (What's there to see?) I'm familiar enough with the music business to know that although most musicians are on our side (at least in their hearts), all the touring and promotions are handled by the promoters who could give a rat's ass about social causes and abstract ideas like 'freedom'.
It's all about the money, baby. That's their 'freedom'.So if we boycott concerts in Indiana, we are basically boycotting our own (musicians). They will lose (a lot), which in turn will cause their promoters to lose (a little) who will just go on to another more lucrative business venture.The NAACP recently boycotted South Carolina in a dispute over the confederate flag being flown over the capitol. Did it work? I know it got a lot of press, but am fuzzy over whether or not they achieved their goals.I'm basically just thinking out loud here, and posing questions, hoping somebody has some answers. I'm obviously not experienced at this kind of thing as some of you seem to be.
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Comment #65 posted by qqqq on June 20, 2002 at 07:39:35 PT
ah gee TroutMask........
.....I was gonna point out the same thing about the writers of Bobby McGee,,but I decided it might seem kinda mean. ...and then I put on Cheap Thrills.....
Here's a Captain Beefheart Poem for everyone to enjoy!.
bleeding golden ladder clacked night black lobsters
with one white sun charged shell someone sparkled
with tiny salt clusters popping with the deep pressures of space
many reached the emery ocean and glowed on its bottom
gripped with sand worn pincers for their life's place
spent loose against tide ripples
returned up the ladder to top light's return next night
don van vliet 1970
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Comment #64 posted by dddd on June 20, 2002 at 07:26:42 PT
...Lehder...
..That was outstanding!.....especially:
"I'm not fighting this war for the closet smoker, I'm fighting it for my life and my freedom and for a civilization where
people still look up from time to time wonder, are free to seek some answers and are freed from the ugly grip of those
who have all the answers. So I have a very hard time respecting closet smokers. I have an urge to expose them to their
families and bosses, make them take sides. I don't even want their weed."
..Well said,,,hittin' the nails on the head...........I like the Idea of exposing closet smoking wussys!..They are a major part of the problem.If all people who believed that people should be free to use Marijuana spoke out,,there would be no room for debate......but,,,I also have a certain sympathy for closet smokers...They may be disgustingly spineless in one way,,,,but in another way,they are just facing the reality of their lives,and the tragic truth is,that if they were to suddenly pop out of the closet,in front of their employers,and familys,,they could end up a victim of the empire,,,as some kid tells a teacher,or DARE officer,that lil' Qs dad,,4Q,,smokes Marijuana,,,,but ,,and then the DARE officer would drop the word "Marijuana",,and suddenly 4Q is a "Drug User!",,,,,,,and then,,the local neighborhood watch,,homeland security,,McGruff the crime dog volunteer would get involved.....,,and soon the social workers would descend upon 4Qs home and life,,and then 4Q gets laid off from his job at Taco Bell,,and his wife leaves him,,and after a brutal divorce 4Q is left with absolutely nothing,,all because dddd made him feel ashamed for hiding in that closet...............well,,,after all that,,,4Q got himself a new and improved type of closet management system,,,He did the smart thing and got the Closet Dynamics Series after donating $80.00 to his local PBS channel!
.....live,,,,from outer space........................dddd
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Comment #63 posted by TroutMask on June 20, 2002 at 06:41:30 PT
picky musician
sorry, but as a musician i feel the need to point out that while Me and Bobby McGee was performed by Joplin (and others including the Grateful Dead), it was originally written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster. and now back to your regularly scheduled program...-TM
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Comment #62 posted by Lehder on June 20, 2002 at 06:31:31 PT
more on Rosa Parks
I don't go to concerts any more. The last really good one I saw was The Doors in about 69 or 70. Jim showed up two hours late before he suspended himself from the microphone and picked up a few of the joints that were thrown his way. He was an early explorer. He talked about the cops who were there before he sang. A year earlier, Janis Ian talked about the "pigs" and pointed before she sang. I saw Arlo in a dirty little dive where strangers were friends. In those days peole knew how to draw a line because their lives were on that line moreso than now. Then the war ended and it all became about money.When the Jews lost their jobs they said okay we still have our homes and when they were herded into the ghettos they said we still have each other and whenthey were being loaded onto trains they said well they're not going to kill us....If you think I'm being silly or dramatic then you don't get it. If you smoke marijuana then the criminals in charge of everything, including your concert ticket, want you dead. They can't say that, but give them the chance and eventually they'll kill you. They're not interested in your health or your kid's welfare, only in the value of your corpse, and it's no different today from 193x.If you're not wearing your button then you're not drawing a line. If you're not in the street waving a sign and pissing on the DEA steps then you're a Good German. If you piss in a cup by day and smoke in a garage by night then you're sleeping with the enemy. Don't overrate the movements in Canada, the United Kingdom, Nevada and Alaska. The government will have its answers to all these developments. They'd like you to relax and count on someone else while they bring out the National Guard, orchestrate another attack, subvert more elections, neuter the Internet, or just keep imprisoning people and stealing their lives or who knows what.I'm not fighting this war for the closet smoker, I'm fighting it for my life and my freedom and for a civilization where people still look up from time to time wonder, are free to seek some answers and are freed from the ugly grip of those who have all the answers. So I have a very hard time respecting closet smokers. I have an urge to expose them to their families and bosses, make them take sides. I don't even want their weed.
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Comment #61 posted by The GCW on June 20, 2002 at 06:15:51 PT
Truth, the flame wave.
Through the Holy Spirit of Truth, I testify, it would be better to not mock those who accept what Our Father has given Us.
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Comment #60 posted by goneposthole on June 20, 2002 at 05:41:35 PT
Do you hate him now, Grandfather?
Do you hate the white man now?-Little Big ManI usually look for rockpiles with snakes in them.Relax, drink a beer. Have a Harvey Wallbanger.See Merle Haggard live in Muskogee, Oklahoma.To be able to be a ticket holder for a rock concert, it is not a prerequisite to smoke a 500 lb bale of skunk before and during a rock concert. If you inject drugs into your body... It's your life, you are able to make your own choices. Make the best of it. It isn't necessary to use injectable drugs, that's for sure.Besides, these days, fun is against the law, too. Just ask George Bush's two daughters.Police States are so much fun. Look at what it is doing.
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Comment #59 posted by el_toonces on June 20, 2002 at 05:13:52 PT:
Stay tuned?
,,The real lowdown on El Toonces,,,,.....I can't wait to discover it:)
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Comment #58 posted by pppp on June 20, 2002 at 04:39:08 PT
Right On Jack
...Janis Joplin......after seeing your comment,,I decided it was a good time to put on my headphones,and inject my mind with the immortal classic ,"Cheap Thrills",,by Big Brother and The Holding Company!....Janis at her best! ..If any of you youngsters wanna get a taste of classic west coast Hippie rock,,then "Cheap Thrills",should be listened to,,,followed by Electric Ladyland....Disreali Gears ....The Who Live at Leeds........................
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Comment #57 posted by jack on June 20, 2002 at 03:56:26 PT
Freedom...
is just another word for nothing else to loose!
the late, great, janis Joplin
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Comment #56 posted by dddd on June 20, 2002 at 03:37:30 PT
yea...that wasn't really a "typo".though...
..it was a "typo" on my end,,and throughout my life,I have spent many nites"reading" the dictionary..and the anomoly of the whole thing,,is that I have always had a certain liking of the word "anomoly"....and when I realized how I had been so adamant in my defense of this newly discovered word,"amomoious"......it was more than a mere typo,,,but I did appreciate you not rubbing it in I.S.
"It seems when I piss people off it gives the thread a nitro boost."
..If I'm an antacid,,,,.I guess we could then say that pissing people off,,,would be the digestive equivelent of a deep fat fried hot dog with bacon and saurkraut,,,washed down with a tall glass of grapefruit juice..
....Ya gotta be careful about either extreme....heck,,if I went too far as an antacid,,,I would enter the realm of laxitive,or expectorant.............d.............d..d.....................................d
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Comment #55 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 03:03:03 PT
controversial
It seems when I piss people off it gives the thread a nitro boost.
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Comment #54 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 02:47:41 PT
Think of the other possibilities
Being called a "bucket of antacid" is quite nice considering the alternatives.I hope you're the palatable, pleasant tasting antacid instead of the nasty old sodium bicarbonate.
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Comment #53 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 02:40:52 PT
typo's
are hardly embarrassing. I like to think im a "good sport", I try and learn from my mistakes. Im generally not very good at being neutral. Im all for being indifferent, but thats different than straddling the fence. I always fall off. Whats wrong with being an antacid? Soothing, calming...chalky.
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Comment #52 posted by dddd on June 20, 2002 at 02:23:01 PT
..it makes me somehow proud...
..to be referred to as a bucket of antacid from heaven..
"You always learn far more when you are on
the "losing" side."
...that's debatable,,it depends on what sort of "loser" one is....I thing that taking a neutral stance may be the way to go....After all,,if you can successfully appear to be neutral,,then you can avoid the humiliation of defeat,,,and you will not really have to undergo the tendencies toward arrogance that the winner must deal with.....I guess,,one should maintain a certain graceful manner,,in both "losing",or "winning",,,defeat or victory...
...I will not soon forget my recent anomoious embarassment....I needed it..It is good to lose,,,,I guess you are right I.S....
......dddd
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Comment #51 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 02:11:43 PT
knowledge is like compound intrest...
It just keeps building on itself. At this point in my life, I really am like that Jack Russel that strains at his masters leash and barks at the Doberman. I've found I learn best the hard way.
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Comment #50 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 02:00:52 PT
It was a different vibe
but it's cool you've got something like that to go to.I was a teenager during the 1970's, so I never experienced the "anything goes" 1960's. I've been to Amsterdam twice, and I fired up in front of the police. That was totally cool! I've never seen that kind of freedom in the US.I went to a prestigious Conservatory of Music when I was 17. I studied under some of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century, and I realized that as smart as I was, I could learn a lot by listening and asking questions. I learn from the old and the young. I've taught my students much more than I've learned from them, but the ones that listened and did as I said are out there giving me some pretty strong competition.
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Comment #49 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 01:50:37 PT
ah, dddd
Like a bucket of antacid, you fall from the heavens...
I liked this thread also...You always learn far more when you are on the "losing" side.Masturbation is just one of the many fringe benifits of having opposable thumbs...every primate has figured it out.
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Comment #48 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 01:45:31 PT
good
It's good that there is no animosity between us...I know I can be overbearing and dogmatic, I should try and refrain from being so. But if you would like to experience just a small taste of that freedom experienced at that Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, come to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, July 11-14. No cops, the volunteer security guards are only concerned with people who have snuck in, fighting ect, they are actually instructed to ignore drug use. And it is flagrant. Dealers literally bark their wares. Really laid back, nice people, at night in the campground everyone converges on the aptly named "bongo hill", where everyone with a bongo drums and they keep on until the sun rises. It's amazing. And I dont remember the American 80's, so I guess im lucky.
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Comment #47 posted by qqqq on June 20, 2002 at 01:40:37 PT
...I Just Tossed in The Masturbation Thing..
...because I thought it might water down a potentially caustic showdown....I like the brisk exchange that has occured............
..I remember when I was a teen,,and I always thought that only wimps,who couldnt score chicks were the only ones who found it necessary to masturbate.,,,,it was kind of the unspoken thing of:...
"..yea,,I dont know anything about masturbation....I've never needed to try it,because when I get horny,,I just ball chicks............man.....".......K
...yup....Industrial Strength,,,I'm kinda bummed out that you missed growing up in the 60s/70s...I dont dare ask how old EJ is,,,but I imagine she's a bit younger than my almost 50 year old ass.
..I love EJ...She has excellent insights,and is spicy and to the point,,plus she's remarkably hep about the Soviet days.......and I am trying to avoid taking sides,,,but I cant help but mention that Industrial Strength has this certain raw,passionate eloquence that I find most remarkable and intrigueing!..
...Be sure to tune in next week,,when I will analyze the recent exchange between BGreen and goneposthole,,and offer extensively critical remarks concerning everything DanB has ever written!...Included with all this,,will be ,,The real lowdown on El Toonces,,,,,and "Why CongressmanSuet thinks dddd is kindof an Idiot"!
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Comment #46 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 01:33:01 PT
We're posting over each other
I want you to know that there's no animosity between us, Industrial Strength, just strong beliefs. Nobody has argued against your opinions, just your method of presenting them.The 1937 reference has to go because it's invalid. When we were passing joints around at a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert without having to worry about being arrested, we didn't have to think about 1937. When we could trust our friends without worrying about LEA's threatening to throw them in jail if they didn't turn us in, that was freedom, and we weren't thinking about 1937.All hell broke loose in the 1980's. Remember the 1980's? Shitty music, crack cocaine, and Reagan/Bush?
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Comment #45 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 01:16:50 PT
sigh
Ok, yes, I shouldn't have said that.
Please define FREEDOM and how I have not seen it but you have? There are three options that come to mind... A)You were old enough to be on the scene in 1937. B)There are many Amsterdamian excursions that I am understandably unaware of. C)You mean "FREEDOM" as in Haight-Ashbury in the middle sixties, Woodstock and other such venues?
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Comment #44 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 01:09:09 PT
Uhm, your very first sentence?
The answer to this is quite simple...If you cannot attend concerts without needing to get high, don't.Good grief, freedom is ineffable to your generation. You'll never understand it with words. That's what we've been trying to get you to understand since you started posting here, but, once again, you've insisted you know more than everybody else here, so maybe you can explain freedom to me.
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Comment #43 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 01:02:54 PT
but
but that wasnt in the first post I said that, that was the alcohol analogy. I do sound rather puerile at this point.
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Comment #42 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 01:01:00 PT
actually...
yes, I was wrong in implying that you were a bunch of dopeheads who couldnt get through a concert without toking up. Be I misguided, I am also passionate and took a dumb shot at you.
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Comment #41 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:59:26 PT
I am at somewhat of a loss...
I really don't see how I have belittled your feelings or even implied you were "a bunch of dopeheads who can't even get through a concert without toking up". Basically all I said was if it bothers you, boycott.So what do you mean by FREEDOM?
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Comment #40 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 00:54:37 PT
Tact!
You read our posts filled with such passion, and then you basically told us we're nothing but a bunch of dopeheads who can't even get through a concert without toking up.LISTEN TO US!It's about FREEDOM! That's what you don't get, because YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT!It's a lot deeper than you think, and you just don't get it. Get it?Maybe next time you might ask the passionate to explain themselves before completely belittling their feelings.
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Comment #39 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:49:45 PT
live
Well, people could listen to music at home and smoke all the dope they like, but there is something about seeing live music preformances. I think the same about sports.
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Comment #38 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:47:58 PT
qualifications
I shall be sure to be meek from now on. As for education, if I were to argue with a career McDonald's frycook with a highschool diploma I would be arguing with someone who was more educated. Would that make me the smaller dog in the fight? Would it make what I had to say any less valid?
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Comment #37 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:47:30 PT
The beer and the game are wedded together
Anyone who plunks down the price of admission to see any pro sport has to be a fan of the game, not a fan of $5 beers. The fan can choose to see the game at home, in a bar, or live on site. If the live game has no beer, the competition from the big screen TV at home or the big screen TV at the bar is going to win.Because the fan usually wants the beer and the game together, as one package.Try to separate that package and you're, economically speaking, screwed.
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Comment #36 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:45:00 PT
please
please, please, read my first post. In my humble, unseasoned, opinion, I do not believe this to be a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I am not infallible, I could be wrong, but forgive me for having an opinion. I am dogmatic in expressing myself sometimes, but I dont feel as if I ever tried to tell anyone what to do. Just what I felt.
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Comment #35 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:41:08 PT
I disagree
Anyone who plunks down the price of admission to see any pro sport has to be a fan of the game, not a fan of $5 beers. Never mind ticket sales, the NFL would laugh in your face because Budwiser is their biggest sponsor. Sensi seeds doesn't sponsor rock concerts. I know there is alot I dont get. Same with everyone else.
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Comment #34 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:39:48 PT
Quick turnaround
Apparantly, having a differing opinion from the status quo begets shunning.Well first you act like you are the boss of marijuana liberation and can tell seasoned activists what to do. Then when you get spanked as you rightly should have for telling seasoned activists what to do, you act like you're a victim and allege that you are being shunned for having different opinions from the status quo.You are not being shunned for having different opinions from the status quo.You are being spanked for telling seasoned activists what to do and acting like you are the General of the Marijuana Liberation Command, when you're really just another new recruit.
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Comment #33 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 00:38:47 PT
Your qualifications?
You don't have a clue who you're putting down. Yes, I've been dealing with smart asses for longer than you've been alive. You are no different. You won't listen because you know too damn much. You are outmatched. You're arguing with people who have more education than you, plus more years of experience in our fields than you've seen on this earth, but, of course, you're right. Yeah, right.You will learn, hopefully not the hard way. You need to learn some respect.
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Comment #32 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:37:51 PT
cultural vs political
In my opinion, it is a political struggle because drug use seems to transcend all cultural boundries. I mean, obviously pot use is more prevalent in the "counter" culture, but every one knows some otherwise straightlaced people who are closet pot heads. Hopefully, E, we can disagree without being hostile towards each other. I am sorry if that is what I conveyed in my original post, it is certainly not what I intended.
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Comment #31 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:33:48 PT
You're the one who doesn't get it
Apprantly you missed the alcoholic analogy.No you missed it.The reason why the NFL would laugh in your face if you proposed not serving beer at games is because they know darn well that it would impact their ticket sales.And that's not from alcoholics, that's just ordinary Sunday football beer drinkers.The NFL would never agree to ban alcohol from their games because they know it would end in economic disaster.There's a lot that you don't get.
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Comment #30 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:28:59 PT
oh, I am an arrogant smart ass
Whether that arises from my lack of years on this planet or my brain chemistry, I dont know. Apparantly, having a differing opinion from the status quo begets shunning. Sound familiar? Also, by "intellectual persona your trying to portray" you are implying what? That im not actually well spoken? I am 18, yes, I do "think" I know more than I actually do, I am too assured of my own convictions, but those seem to be pretty universal flaws.
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Comment #29 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:28:39 PT
It's deeper than that
Once the music industry is on our side, nothing can stop us!Once the people who have been selling us out are on notice, we are that much closer to having our value to society recognized.This is a war against a community, not against a drug.This community has produced and continues to produce much of value to the greater society.And all the while we are being subjected to greater and greater indignity, humiliation, intrusion, and eventually to physical and mental danger.People who are profiting from us should not be allowed to sit on the sidelines while we are chased out of ordinary life and pushed into a life of constant fear and hiding.This is a cultural struggle as much as it is a political one, and on the cultural front, the time is really coming for some reckoning with those who profit from marijuana culture and everything that has come along with it over the years.I think about Louis Armstrong and how he would feel about drug sniffing dogs at his concerts...And how much money does his catalog still make for those who own it now?
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Comment #28 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:22:27 PT
what?
Apprantly you missed the alcoholic analogy.
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Comment #27 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:19:05 PT
Try it and see
Well, in my opinion, I was never even remotely hostile until you adressed me in your haugty tone.You have been talking down to me like some patronizing whatever from wherever and you've gotten back exactly what you deserve.If the NFL stopped serving liqour at the games, only alcoholics would stop going.I'll make a deal with you right now: if you can convince the NFL to try this idea, I will admit that I was wrong right here in front of everyone.So go for it.
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Comment #26 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2002 at 00:17:42 PT
I tried
I tried to get you to see where we're coming from, but it's obvious that you're going to have to learn from experience.Get back with us in 20 years and we'll talk. Until then, just get used to the fact you don't know as much as you think you do. None of us did at 18. The only thing most of us did was come across as arrogant smart asses, not the intellectual personas we were trying to portray.
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Comment #25 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:17:30 PT
I dont get it?
Oh, im young, I have not been around as long, I obviously don't get it because I believe that this issue is beyond trivial, a mere side effect of prohibition, a domino at the end of the line. Once the music industry is on our side, nothing can stop us!
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Comment #24 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2002 at 00:09:57 PT
As if
If this is activism, it's misguided activism at best.The mind fucking boggles.Well I thought you'd gotten it but you must have let go.
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Comment #23 posted by Industrial Strength on June 20, 2002 at 00:07:32 PT
ouch!
"you really don't know what we're fighting for except in your imagination." I understand what your saying enough not to put together some scathing retort, but in my imagination I dont believe that I'm fighting for some glorious, drug sodden utopia, merely common sense. And for the record, I have seen life without MTV (still do in fact, the CRTC wont allow it). Is MTV symbolic of something? :)
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Comment #22 posted by Industrial Strength on June 19, 2002 at 23:56:32 PT
attitude
Well, in my opinion, I was never even remotely hostile until you adressed me in your haugty tone. I believe in my first post, I more or less said the same thing about not giving them any money. If this is activism, it's misguided activism at best. If the NFL stopped serving liqour at the games, only alcoholics would stop going.
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Comment #21 posted by BGreen on June 19, 2002 at 23:55:55 PT
You've never seen anything else
Industrial Strength, you speak with all the wisdom of your 18 years. You've never seen the world without the WOD or MTV. It's not a slam to say that, but you've entered into a discussion in MY field.I've been an active, recording and touring professional musician for 22 years. I've seen more than you can imagine.The only reason I point this out is that I feel sorry for you and your generation. You didn't get to see the 1960's or 1970's, and you really don't know what we're fighting for except in your imagination. It's a lot harder for the older folks here to accept things as easily as your generation, because we lived the past, not just read about it.One of the things I realized as I got older was how much I missed out on by speaking too much, and not listening enough.BTW, I'm glad you've decided to stick around as a "regular."
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Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 23:45:15 PT
I'm so glad you finally get it
"Well you take your troops over there and just do that. Tell me when you're finished so I'll know when I've been freed." Ok, so, rather than devote "our" efforts to repeal actual prohibition, we should piss around making sure that security guards dont hassle pot smokers at concerts. Good idea!It's activism not pissing around. If it isn't good enough for you, then show your results your way and get off my fucking back. You can't prove anything at all sitting here throwing your attitude at me."Meanwhile I am not going to sit around and be treated like crap while they take my money so gladly." Simple solution to that one too...Dont give them any money.
Well I am so glad that you are finally catching on.Don't give them any money.That's been my whole point. I'm glad we're on the same page now.
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Comment #19 posted by Industrial Strength on June 19, 2002 at 22:57:39 PT
hmm
"Well you take your troops over there and just do that. Tell me when you're finished so I'll know when I've been freed." Ok, so, rather than devote "our" efforts to repeal actual prohibition, we should piss around making sure that security guards dont hassle pot smokers at concerts. Good idea! "Meanwhile I am not going to sit around and be treated like crap while they take my money so gladly." Simple solution to that one too...Dont give them any money.qqqq, so are you indifferent towards masturbation or do you take an antagonist view towards the whole procedings? haha.
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Comment #18 posted by SpaceCat on June 19, 2002 at 22:48:02 PT
Fantasy
That M&M stuff is a media invention. That stuff used to go on in the heyday of arena rock, maybe, but it's the exact same thing as trotting out Johnny loser as representative of all pot smokers. Most artists just want good food (road life sux) and maybe a special treat or something. "Take out all the blue M & M's" is sensationalism- positing the extreme as the norm. Most artists live rather squalid lives for the sake of their art. Probably 1/10th of 1% ever make a decent, consistent living at it, even among the most talented.Moreover E, you have the power relationship backwards. For all but the elite, saying anything at all to the promoter is more likely to get the response "Well, you'll never play in any venue I book again". Oops, there goes your career.And I say again- By and large, we do speak out! Read the lyrics! Listen to the stage banter! Come back to the Green Room! :)
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Comment #17 posted by qqqq on June 19, 2002 at 22:40:02 PT
....ha-ha....
.......cheese with no milk=velveta,or squeeze cheese,,,Cheez Whiz....... Beer with no alcohol = O'Douls,,or Sharps......a drug-free concert=..Lawrence Welk.,,or Anne Murray......A proper rock concert ,where drugs are forbidden is absurd!,,and even if they did succeed in proclaiming that a concert was "drug free",,then alot of peopple would arrive with drugs somewhere in their bodies......just watch,,,,they will soon have concerts where they will reward people for snitching on drug use. ...The future looks bleak!....
...I was thinkin' about saying ".A drug free concert,is like having sex,without someone else,,,but I decided that masturbation can be quite fun for alot of people,,and that a concert without drugs would be an akward thing to explain to those who were in the pro masturbation crowd.....
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Comment #16 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 22:32:40 PT
You want my money, make the promoters obey
Look at all the energy people go through to get the right kind of booze or the right color M&Ms back stage, written into their contracts.Why can't musicians start saying, No hassling pot smokers, instead of, Only brown M&Ms or only European beer?
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Comment #15 posted by SpaceCat on June 19, 2002 at 22:23:00 PT
A slightly offended musician
There's a bit of "blame the victim" going on in this thread. As with the pot/heroin conflation, it is not logical to condemn all rock musicians (and why should we alone take the blame?) as craven because of a few who might have (none are actually mentioned in this article)caved to authoritarian pressure. They are talking about promoters, a totally different stripe, and it's all prohib bull-cookies anyway- "Yes sir, Mr. Officer sir. We sho' 'nuff don't do that no more, Mr. sir(Suuuuuuuuck!)" Aside from the fact that very few musicians have any real power outside of the Madonna's and the Britney's (and that power comes from megabucks, nothing else) any reasoned analysis would show that the rockers themselves are collectively one of the few bastions of anti-authoritarianism left in the world.
If you want to threaten those who have real power with economic loss, write to the labels. If you write to the artists, You'll just freak them out and make them feel bad, and they are by and large on our side.
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Comment #14 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 22:22:04 PT
Nothing is trivial or unimportant at this stage
That's what I say. It's all important, it's all meant to freeze us out of our own lives.We need to topple the first, the main dominoe and all these will fall.Well you take your troops over there and just do that. Tell me when you're finished so I'll know when I've been freed.Meanwhile I am not going to sit around and be treated like crap while they take my money so gladly.And I'm going to say so loud and clear and hope other people will follow.
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Comment #13 posted by Industrial Strength on June 19, 2002 at 21:42:08 PT
has the line not already been drawn?
The line SHOULD have been drawn (and in a sense, was) in 1937. And it irks me slightly that medical and recreational seem to be selectively interchanged in alot of instances. Did you not get my whole "domnino" thing? This is such a trivial, unimportant domino in the game of the war on drugs. We need to topple the first, the main dominoe and all these will fall. Someone putting a damper on your ability to get blazed at a concert is also NO way analogous to someone putting a damper on your whole future by pulling the scholastic rug out from under you.
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Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 21:30:00 PT
No it is the mountain, sticking out again
If you cannot attend concerts without needing to get high, don't.Well first off, medical users need to "get high".And second off, well, what was so bad about drinking from the colored fountain and sitting in the back of the bus?Why couldn't Rosa Parks be content to sit where she was told and do what she was told and live as she was told?If you start agreeing to too much, it never ends. This concert BS is the same as the college loan BS is the same as the urine test BS. It's all the same BS and it all has to go.But this is particularly egregious BS because it is marijuana users who create almost all of the music in question, and where the fuck are they when their audience and their market and their source of revenue is being harassed?Those people who expect people to buy tickets and then have one more level of drug war intrusion shoved into their chosen lifestyles need to be told that THESE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE TERMS OF DOING BUSINESS for us.If we don't try to draw some kind of line, this will never end.
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Comment #11 posted by Industrial Strength on June 19, 2002 at 20:59:06 PT
mountain out of a molehill
The answer to this is quite simple...If you cannot attend concerts without needing to get high, don't. This is somewhat akin to cigarette bans in public places more than the war on drugs itself. Musicians may in fact have loyalty to their fans, but their loyalty to money outweighs that, and is the reason for "loyalty" in the first place. You could just eat a brownie 45 minutes before the concert. I cannot see this really influencing concert revenue. Why spend any energy trying to topple the dominoes from the middle? This is just another one tacked on at the end.
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on June 19, 2002 at 19:44:25 PT
norml can have its own concerts like it had CDs
A few years back Spite Fire was touring the states this time every state should have a peice of the action. Send our best get Ralph and Johnson to go for some of the fun and get the Good Dr. from Harvard here in MI. well send Greg Schmid founder of Pra WWW.prayes.com I will leave the band to someone else. You dont have to leave your mind at the door. Hey I like that maybe someone will make a song out of that title. mike
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Comment #9 posted by i420 on June 19, 2002 at 17:11:02 PT
Last TOOL concert....
The last time i was at verizon i smelled a lot of pot but didn't see any sex. Except for the naked video track behind the band TOOL(tool clearly expressed their feelings about drugs on the last track of their ENIMA cd). Indiana Norml ought to hand out NORML fliers to patrons coming and going into the verizon center from the public right of way.
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Comment #8 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 16:54:59 PT
Use righteous indignation and economic power
It's time to boycott anyone who lets this fearful state descend upon their fans without speaking against it in public where other people can hear.Everyone go to your favorite musician's web site and bitch and threaten like crazy.We're being subjected to fear while we make all of these people money. We are the cash cow they are milking. We are what they all need to survive.It's not right at all and we are all a bunch of pathetic masochists each and every last one of us if we keep accomodating ourselves to it.
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Comment #7 posted by mayan on June 19, 2002 at 16:43:42 PT
Use Caution...
when going into a concert, either put your stash down your pants or in your shoe. I was patted down & forced to empty my pockets at the last show I was at. I had a cigar tin for a decoy. It worked! If you see dogs you may want to go back to the car for a bit. Most folks I know roll joints & put them in their socks(no bombers - you don't want a big bulge). Once in the venue,wait until it is dark to light up. Hide the cherry, for most, if not all of these places prohibit smoking. Lawn seats are the most relaxed & as long as you're not creating a ruckus you should be alright. If you see security coming for you don't panic - simply eat the roach!How to Flex Your Rights during Police Encounters:
http://www.flexyourrights.org/
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Comment #6 posted by Dan B on June 19, 2002 at 16:16:41 PT:
Indiana Says Musicians Can't Attend Own Concerts
Indiana Says Musicians Can't Attend Own Concerts
by I. B. WeedyINDIANAPOLIS - In an effort to stamp out drug use at concerts, Indianapolis police have declared that all drug using concert attendees will be prosecuted to the harshest extent of the law, calling into question the legality of many musicians' attendance of their own concerts. "I don't care for those hippie-freak-stoners who caterwaul and wail away on their guitars like chimpanzees, anyway," said Sgt. Jack Boot of the Indianapolis Police Department, "so I plan to do most of my work backstage. We don't need no stinking concert money in this city!"This attitude is catching on in the department, where a recent anonymous poll of 2% of the officers on duty at the police department at 4:00 p.m. when I wrote this story comfirmed that nearly 67% of all Indianapolis officers agree the hardline is the best policy. An anonymous witness confirms these figures:"Yep, I saw [Mr. Weedy] conduct the poll myself, and sure enough, two out of the three people he asked believe the hardline is the best policy," said the anonymous witness.The poll is scientific and has a margin of error of +/-3%. We arrived at this margin of error by scientifically investigating the margins of error typically cited when the major networks' conduct their own polls.No musical performers could be reached for comment. It seems they all have these go-between people called "publicists" . . .Dan B
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Comment #5 posted by BGreen on June 19, 2002 at 15:27:00 PT
This is MY profession!
Most of the outdoor concerts I have covered as a photojournalist have been sponsored by MILLER BEER. There are ALWAYS more places to buy it than to get rid of it, so the stench of urine is sometimes overwhelming. The fights are numerous, both between strangers AND male/female, and driving home afterwards is SCARY!
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Comment #4 posted by Morgan on June 19, 2002 at 15:24:30 PT
Only sporting
So, I'm sure, in keeping with the spirit of protecting us from ourselves, they'll crack down on drug (alcohol) use at sporting events also, right? Right? ......hello?
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Comment #3 posted by BGreen on June 19, 2002 at 15:17:22 PT
DRUG DOGS AT CONCERTS?
NO musician should remain quiet on this. If they don't speak out, DON'T GO TO CONCERTS!Most people don't understand the music industry ... heck, even those involved get a little confused, but I can tell you this: VERY FEW artists make money from CD sales. Their money comes from TOURING! The RECORD COMPANIES make money from the CD sales. This excludes all but maybe a couple hundred artists.WRITE your favorite artist. Write MTV. Write the promoters.This is an easy one, because MOST artists DO care for their fans. I did an interview with a major rock star a few years back, and he was LIVID at the treatment of his fans by the security people. Tell them you won't risk prison to come see them, and I guarantee this BS will stop.
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Comment #2 posted by Dankhank on June 19, 2002 at 15:13:31 PT:
Pot Smoker????
"His eyes bloodshot-red and beer suds spilling down his right forearm, Chris Schneider stumbled through the crowd of heavy-metal fanatics, seemingly oblivious to -- or perhaps spiritually in tune with -- his surroundings."Asked if he'd already fired up some marijuana during the concert, Schneider replied: "Nope." Then the tall, blond woman clinging to his one dry arm finished the sentence for him. "But we're about to!"===========================================================He's shitfaced on beer and NOW is gonna smoke some dope?Pretty indicitive of the typical pot smoker ... what???"The two are just the type of fans whom concert promoters and security officials in Indiana -- and nationwide -- say they're cracking down on. No longer, they say, are those caught at rock shows with illegal drugs let off with a wink and a nod."what type???shitfaced drunk threatening to smoke a doob?give me a break
Hemp N Stuff ...
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on June 19, 2002 at 14:06:24 PT
Such courage in a recession
They start off with a defiant marijuana user and then segue to heroin ODs and from then on they completely conflate the two extremes under the single simple provocative category of DRUGS.Steven Silverman, the nonprofit's founder, said concert promoters are in essence hiring more cops to arrest the very fans who've paid money to come to their concerts.The music business has been losing money in unheard of proportions in the last year or two. This is a great way to keep the red ink flowing. Soon the whole industry will be bankrupt except for one or two major acts like Celine Dion and J.Lo.It's time to start boycotting this nonsense. The music industry is very vulnerable right now to consumer pressure tactics.
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