SKETCHEE

I had a great time, I really did. Tons of people had a horrible experience. It was rainy (flooding), traffic was bad and poorly managed. I drove in my little Toyota Yaris. It took hours leaving from Potomac Mills to the venue. Roads were closed due to the flooding and many people were turned away from the thing. A handy poncho helped make it bearable and I didn’t really mind the rain. The band sounded and looked great from the field, moved a little closer, got a t-shirt. Good times.

Leaving … the traffic was horrible, there was no control over the parking lots. No lane markers or anything, just dozens or lanes of cars trying to go straight for the exits and dodge the parked cars. The cars next to us were inches away at points. If I didn’t have a GPS, we would have been confused in the detour mess like most of the travelers at the nearest 7-eleven who scrambled for directions collectively. Leaving the concert around 11, we made it back to DC at 2. It should have been about an hour away.

This was in no way a “green” experience, even though the band wanted an eco-friendly tour. I wonder how horrified they were by the miles of cars in every direction covering every lane of traffic. The venue isn’t reasonable by any form of public transportation except rented bus!

Other people aren’t not as positive as me on this one. And it’s not unreasonable since hundreds of people had worse experiences, you could see them every where. It was great people watching. Read what they’re saying about the concert:

Radiohead at Nissan Pavilion: Fail(”Even in full rain gear we were miserable and cold as were most of the people around us.)
Radiohead at Nissan: Apocalypse Now (”The magnitude of misery (despite an otherwise great show) can not be fully described in this post, but i will try my best.”)
Radiohead Awash in Virginia (”One fan has called it “the concert from hell”: on Sunday night”)
radiohead (”But, as someone as succinctly put it on last.fm, this was probably the best and worst concert experience in my life.”)

It was Mother’s Day, do the brits have that?

Update (May 13, 08)

Radiohead has posted this statement on their blog:

“Due to Sunday night’s torrential rain storm and consequential multiple road closures, many fans were unable to reach the Nissan Pavilion. While acknowledging a lack of control over the ensuing flooding and detours, the members of Radiohead are nevertheless disappointed regarding this turn of events. For further inquiries, ticketholders who didn’t get in are urged to contact: customerservice@nissanpavilion.com”

Update (August 16, 08)

See the follow up post: Radiohead in Technicolor at the Susquehanna Bank Center

About the author: Brian E. Young is a graphic designer and illustrator in the Baltimore/Washington area. See the About Me for more information. Read more from this author

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