British India @ Live At The Zoo, April ’09

Ill informed decisions during planning by event management at Live At The Zoo saw the stage barrier being knocked over by fans during British India‘s set.

Not surprising when you saw the kind of stage barrier the festival hired. You know the kind that keeps shopping trolleys in line at the supermarket? A four year old could push it over. Just another example of the poor management that plagued this event.

British India’s set was stopped twice, before it was cut short entirely. The band understandably didn’t think too much of the event as image #10 shows!

You can see “security” trying to hold up the barrier while a few hundred punters are trying to knock it down! British India played on, never missing a beat.

Event management spent the next hour and a half placing blocks of concrete at the base of the barrier to keep them in place for headlining act Cut Copy. The punters stood there waiting for well over an hour and in the end Cut Copy didn’t show on stage. They just didn’t appear. Nothing was said to the crowd, no explanation, nothing.

The next day I heard that due to the time it took for them to put the concrete in place it would have meant Cut Copy would be playing passed midnight and that was in breach of their liquor license. Yet on the set list it clearly stated Cut Copy were scheduled to play until 12:30am. Then on the other stages there was all night doof doof’s playing, serving drinks until the sun came up the next day?? Not 100% sure if anyone knew what was going on – management included.