Gigs and Accessibility

In a rare and unusual turn of events, two days ago I attended a gig. This was the first time I'd actually been to the venue and the first gig I'd attended for several years.

I don't like loud noises (thanks CP startle reflex) and the thought of being stuck in a crowd fills me with dread. Thankfully, neither of those things turned out to be a problem...but there was one huge problem.

None of the disabled customers were able to see the stage for the entire night.

Let me rewind.

Two months ago, I spotted a gig that sounded interesting. I booked the tickets, sent in my access needs, and the whole thing was sorted quickly and painlessly, or as painlessly as additional paperwork can be sorted.

Wednesday was the day of the gig - I arrived 15 minutes before opening and waited with other access customers. The shutters to the box office opened, and after a quick list check, we were sent through.

They took all the access customers through a side door at the box office to the service lift so we could get up to the room. When we got there, we were placed in front of the sound desk in a row. I had sat at a small booth with chairs and a table initially, but they said I couldn't sit there because they needed to see me on the camera in case I had a medical emergency. I asked for a chair (since I'd made it clear I needed one beforehand) and they got me an armchair (not an issue, all fine). 

The issue was once the show started, none of us could see anything and for the whole night, we could only hear the music. The bar was only accessible by stairs, and that was also where the merch desk was. I ended up having to trust a stranger with my contactless bank card to get me a drink and take pictures of merch so I could see it, then trust them with my card again to buy it.

I found the entire experience so frustrating, especially when another mobility aid user told me that they had been to a gig at another venue owned by the company and they had placed disabled people in an area where the stage was visible.

It would have been nice to be able to engage with the performance instead of staring at a wall of people.

I've contacted the venue with my frustrations over the experience.