Sour note on Killers' show
2009-12-07 10:50
Cape Town - Not everyone is happy with The Killers' first concert in South Africa. Some have complained about the organisation at both the Johannesburg and Cape Town events.
News24 users said that the sound at the Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg wasn't acceptable, that the band seemed "listless", and that there weren't enough golden circle arm bands for those who bought these tickets.
In Cape Town some fans said that they experienced major traffic problems to and from the venue, waiting for more than two hours to get into the venue in some cases.
The Band said on Twitter that they were looking forward to playing in SA.
"It is an honor to be here. You are very kind," they said, adding that the crowd in Johannesburg was "fun".
Challenges
The band seemed to acknowledge that there were problems at the Val De Vie Estate near Cape Town.
"Thank you Cape Town for braving the traffic and being a fantastic crowd. We know a lot of you are still trying to get home..." they wrote.
Organisers BIG Concerts said that they made every effort to get fans to the venue early.
"We advised people to come early, because we knew there would be some challenges with an outdoor venue," BIG Concerts CEO John Langford told News24.
He said that they had five meetings with the Drakenstein Municipality and was assured that traffic management was under control.
"We can't tell the municipality what to do and we have to take it at face value when they tell us that traffic management is under control," he said.
"The major problem, I think, is that people left it too late to come to the venue. We're not used to waiting for two hours - it's an international norm," he added.
No venues
He also stated that people who parked wherever they could out of frustration caused additional traffic problems.
"We e-mailed and SMSed everybody who bought a ticket and told them to come early, but when we opened the gates at 4pm there was a trickle of cars. At 5pm we had a problem," he said.
Asked about venues closer to Cape Town, Langford said that with the Soccer World Cup draw, there were no venues that could accommodate the crowd.