Saturday, May 29 the Bamboozle Roadshow made a stop at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, TX just over one week after the tour successfully kicked off in Columbia, MD at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Fans and bands alike got a little more than they bargained for when some teenage fans were maced by area police officers after the teens got a little over-excited and began rushing onto the stage during All Time Low’s final song. Twitter and other social networking sites quickly started filling up with information from the event.
Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low stated, “I don’t care how rowdy a crowd of kids are, there is absolutely no excuse for the police at SIX FLAGS to spray mace in our fans faces.”
Gaskarth was not the only angered member of the tour, Martin Johnson of Boys Like Girls announced on his personal Twitter account “bands locked on their busses for defending helpless fans getting MACED for having a great time at a rock show. I dare security to come back stage.”
Zack Merrick, also from All Time Low said simply “Kids safety is the number one priority at shows and when they compromise that I draw the line.”
This is not the first account of security not being able to handle a large group of children at a summer concert. With amusement park security and police officers doing the job typically performed by a club bouncer, shows have gotten out of control in the past perhaps due to poor training and planning for the event. Tonight’s event in Texas may have resulted in the worst outcome yet.
What do you think? Do you think police officers needed to use mace to control the excited group of teenagers?
Comments
In my opinion, there's no excuse to use MACE on teenagers. Honestly, it sounds like the security at these parks needs to undergo some type of training if they're going to be working as security at a concert.
This disgusts me. I hate hearing about incidents like this. There are certain things that are just never acceptable.
This was my daughters' first time to see these bands. The concert was phenominal. I shocked, truly shocked that the security at Six Flags would MACE teenagers. One account, also is that a tazer was used. I am completely and utterly disgusted. This is NOT acceptable. I will take my daughters to see these bands. I will NOT take my daughters to another concert in Six Flags Arlington.
This is INSANE. There just teenagers. And now Six Flags is fabricating lies that All Time Low ( one of my Favorite bands with, respectful, decent, guys.) cancelled the San Antonio Six Flag date, when in fact they were BANNED from performing there. This is unbelievable. And I am now scared to even go to my Six Flags Bamboozle Date. Once again, there is no reason for MACE to be used on teenagers at an all ages concert. In Six Flags! Thats disgraceful.
Actually, none of our guards had mace, nor did the police that were present. No one was tazed, and ATL egged on the fans, they weren't interested in their saftey at all or they would have told them not to rush the stage or be even jumping on it like they were. At one point the lead singer told them to "give them (us) hell". It wasnt about being safe, nothing about what happened was safe, and it sure as hell wasnt securitys fault.
I have to say, this is outrageous. I come from a city where mace is often used to ward off protesters and even then, it's never a good excuse to use it on anyone. The fact that the security at a family-oriented themed park deemed it as a appropriate approach is disgusting. I had been planning on attending the New Jersey date of the Roadshow, at the Six Flags Great Adventure, but after this I'm greatly reconsidering it.
They can say the band was egging them on and they can say whatever they want but I, personally, have never heard of something like this happening anywhere else, not even at much bigger festivals. So you know something's wrong when this isn't the first time something like this has happened at the amusement park chain.
Don't even get me started on banning 'All Time Low' from playing their show today. It's absolutely ridiculous.
I got maced.... it didn't feel very good. I'm thirteen that was my first rock concert and my friends and i were just standing near the stage having a good time when we started coughing and had a horrible taste in our throats.That wont be my last rock concert but it WILL be my last concert at Six Flags Over Texas
Everyone at the show was just trying to have a good time. I've been an All Time Low fan for years and it was not my first time seeing them, but I know what it feels like for a young kid (I saw lots of 13, 14, 15 year olds) to be seeing one of their favorite bands for the first time. Six Flags security should have known that there was a potential for things to get out of hand. They had catwalks that went into the crowd set up so the band could walk out. Six Flags had practically NO security guarding these catwalks and they just expected these kids to NOT try to climb up and run onstage? Come on.
Also, to Iwasthere, who said that mace was not used, something sure as hell was. Young kids were running out of there screaming and crying with puffy, red eyes, and those of us around them rushed to help them. I ran to help a girl and stood there and held her hand while she poured water into her eyes. Six Flags security was completely unprepared for the concert and took it out on fans.
I'm not believing that they didn't use mace. Sorry, but if that many people have proof, you're in a hole. and it doesn't matter if they were being rowdy, you could have asked them to leave, vacate, anything. There's no need to jump the gun and do something like that to a bunch of kids.
one of the best concerts of my life until i learned the security brought out mace to control fans just having the time of their life!i was on the stage, but luckily i was not sprayed. in the music hall the stage has runways for the bands to walk on during the performance, and did not seem to mind the fans running up on the stage. on multiple cases martin from BLG pushed the security out of the way to keep walking to the end of the runway. so the bands loved the interaction with the fans. anyways back to the macing of fans, that was way out of control. there is a youtube video of alex from ATL and martin from BLG cursing at the security of the event because they know we were just having fun and what the security did was disgusting. also i would like to say that ALL TIME LOW did now cancel their performance at fiesta texas show, they were banned for sticking up for their fans!!!
Thank you to all the bands on the Bamboozle Roadshow
This is absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason to mace a bunch of teenagers at a concert having a good time. Obviously they weren't bothering ATL if Alex told them to raise hell or whatever. Nobody was in danger until the incompetent staff brought out mace. And then they lie and say that ATL dropped out of the next show. Grow up, Six Flags. You made a mistake, now own up to it.
I was hoping to be there but now im glad i wasnt. And to Iwasthere i highly doubt Alex said "give them hell" they have been tweeting all day about how the safety of their fans is the number one priority and how they are disgusted at how the situation was handled. And the number of people who have said there was mace, including other bands, is in favor of them having it. This situation boils down to poor training and a serious lack of judgemment and a sense of safety for the kids at six flags.
I'm a 46 year old mother and I'm also a huge music fan who has been attending concerts since I was in my early teens. I've never heard of something so despicable as police officers macing young kids. I still go to plenty of shows with my teen-aged daughter and we plan on attending the Bamboozle Roadshow when it stops in our area. Luckily, our venue is not a Six flags Amusement park!! I think that the officers involved deserve a severe reprimand!!!
I was there. It was needed.
The bands all night kept enticing the fans to come closer to the stage (this was an ASSIGNED seatting venue!). All Time Low could have stopped performing and walked off stage and told the fans to get off. (They did jump up early before this mace inccident). The band had the power of these little girls, the girls were not listening to no authority figure.
The girls no only endangered themself, but other concert goers, all the bands but property as well. What if one of these kids had something on them? They could have easily harmed someone. What would happen if one of those kids fell off the stage? Would mommy and daddy be sueing Six Flags? It was a huge liability with that many people on stage. The band could have prevented this all night by not allowing this to happened in the first place when the kids jumped on early in the set. They did not tell the fans to stop.
Youtuve video is up - search for "Dallas Bamboozle Chaos May 29, 2010"
People keep wanting to blame the security, but what else were they to do? There were over 50 kids the rushed the stage. The kids would not listen to the security or actual police officers there were there.. Were they supposed to sit there are let them get hurt, hurt a band, hurt someone else? What if one of them were crazy enough to harm someone?
Again I was there and it was needed.
Now the only fault Six Flags was at, was that they have permitly placed in those two cat walks. That was to much ground that needeed to be covered and to much access to the stage. BUT also Bamboozle should know better to do this type of show in a seated venue. As well ATL should have stopped the fans before it got to bad when the girls kept running up half way during the set to get hugs from the guys.
If you can't handle a bunch of 14 year olds at a concert, your venue doesn't deserve to hold shows.... There was NO EXCUSE for what happened... If you have ever been to a high energy show there is always stuff happening like that.... If you cant physically remove them without harming them, theres a huge problem.... The show was over, the bands were loving the attention and loving the interaction, and they MACED some kids? Thats not right...
FOR ALL OF YOU WHO SAY IT WAS JUSTIFIED, YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY NEVER BEEN TO A CONCERT THAT WASN'T A CHRISTIAN BAND, THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR MACING YOUNG KIDS AT A SHOW UNLESS THEY ARE HARMING SOMEONE OR SOMETHING
Why did Bamboozle think it was a good idea to do a rock show at a SEATED venue?
I have been to over 100 plus rocks shows, been going to this venue for 10 years, and was one of those "crazy" fans back in the day. I promise, it can be justified. I sat there in second row all night, I seen security tried to moved fans away from the stage all night. The kids (mostly girls) rolled their eyes, ignored them or flipped them off. These girls WERE harming themself, others, eqipment and potentially other bands. Kids got trambled, somone could have feel off of the stage. There was soooo much liability. The kids would not even listen to the CITY POLICE OFFICERS
Since talking to them and asking them to stop did not work, what did you want them to do?
Okay so I went to Bamboozled also at a seated venue... not a Six Flags but both ATL & BLG were telling the crowd to come forward... this is a common occurrence with these bands.... for anyone who says that this was justified is crazy.... There are other ways to handle a situation like that....
this makes me so mad that that they maced the teens and than alex tries to stand up for his fans and he gets banned from six flags. i kno the teenagers were a too crazy but thats no exuce to spray them with mace.
This whole thing is ridiculous. Mace is uncalled for. You're trying to tell me an adult blouncer can't handle a teenager without spraying chemicals in their face? Six Flags needs to take responsibility for training their staff properly.
@"Iwasthere": Obviously you either weren't there or you are full of B.S. There are plenty of kids saying they were pepper sprayed and plenty of witnesses around them. As the story has come out more, it wasn't because kids were on stage, it was because a band member threw out a hat or shirt and 5-6 TEEN girls were playing tug of war over it. THEY were maced. Another kid had a drumstick, security told him to drop it, he asked why and was maced. Get your facts straight before you come on here saying nothing was used. Of the 100's of shows I've been to, I've never seen security overreact or use such force on TEEN GIRLS! Six Flags should be ashamed that they hired people for their size, not for knowing how to control a situation. Pathetic. Nice "family oriented" staff they have there.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!