The Stray Kids Arlington Fiasco

You Make Stray Kids Stay

Today I would like to address the situation that is K-pop concert culture, specifically in America, because I feel like I see a trend of venue and event staff not properly managing concerts or merchandise. Sometimes, to the point it is just gross negligence. I see things go smoothly and according to plan for Western artists all the time, so why can't the same care and respect be given to K-pop concerts? The U.S. needs to understand there is a whole different concert culture in K-pop, and these groups' popularity is huge. It cannot be taken lightly.

The Stray Kids Concert Goes ASTRAY!

The whole reason I am writing this blog is because of the horrific events of the recent Stray Kids concerts. VIP Nation and venue staff need to be held accountable for their improper treatment of the situation. Whether it was just them being ignorant or negligent, I am not sure, but the fact that they have let this behavior happen at multiple stops now means this is mainly VIP Nation. If it happens once, it should not under any circumstance happen again.

Starting with a concert unrelated but also very related: Stray Kids' performance in Mexico. This was a prime example of what we do not want to happen at a concert. There was mobbing, running, trampling, extreme pushing at the barricade, and that’s only half of it. If an artist has to stop mid-performance due to safety concerns, then that is not a good thing, and that is exactly what happened. From that concert, VIP Nation and venue staff at each of the different stops should have been prepared. These two entities should have been conversing and had a strategy and game plan for how to control the situation. There should have been preventative measures in place.

However, as soon as SKZ got to their first stop in America, it was obvious that was not the case.

Seattle was a trial run for sure, and if you ask me, we should not be having “trial runs.” If you are a company whose whole job is to put on concerts, this should not be some experiment to see what works. You should have your shit together from the start. Especially because you know from Mexico that if things are not under control, it can get dangerous fast.

In Seattle, it did get dangerous. There was no order, no structure for GA pit, it was a free for all. People, yet again, were running, pushing, people got trampled, it was, in all, a very unsafe experience. That is only ever on the event coordinators. It is quite literally their job to ensure a safe, structured experience, not fans’ job. So, the fact that their way to combat this situation was to punish fans is unacceptable in my opinion. This was your fault, not the fans' fault, and punishing the fans is actually ridiculous.

Their idea of punishment was to give random numbering to GA Pit. Usually, it would be numerical order based on the line, but again they wanted to punish fans for their behavior, so they made it random. Which is actually so stupid, and I will be blunt about this.

One: you should not be punishing fans for your negligence.

Two: you cannot expect fans to not get swept up into the mass panic when there is no structure or security to prevent it.

Three: this is not a preventative from this behavior happening at other stops. In reality, this causes more discourse between fans and leads to even more chaos throughout the day. People will harbor animosity towards event staff and will be less likely to listen throughout the day.

Why do I know this? Because that was my experience in Arlington.

Concert Culture & Concert Etiquette

Feel free to use this section as a reference on what to expect with GA concerts and kind of a timeline, but obviously, that is not the intended purpose.

To fully understand my disgust with how things were handled, it requires me to be fully transparent with my readers. I have been to a lottttt of K-pop concerts, but this was my first GA pit experience for a concert. In the past, K-pop concerts have been known to do seated pit, which I think is really the only way to do it. This is the case because in many Asian countries, concert etiquette is different. Fans do not stand; they usually remain seated during the concert. That is why when many of the first K-pop concerts happened in the States, they implemented this as well.

As we all know, that’s not really how things work here in America because our concert culture is different. It is considered rude to sit during the concert, and seated pit is not a thing. No, for American artists, it has always been GA Pit. I believe this and the fact that with GA you can sell more tickets (so it was a money grab) is the reason they started doing GA pit for K-pop concerts in America. On top of this, I would like to add that another part of American concert culture is camping.

We are known for our camping culture. Look at any well-known Western artist and you will see that people camp days in advance for GA. Those lines are always honored because it is down to a science at this point. So, in my opinion, it is kind of stupid to think that this wouldn’t also happen for K-pop concerts. It is unplausible to think people wouldn’t camp.

Camping or No Camping—That is the Question

First, let me start by saying I have been on both sides of the camping argument. I think it can be unsafe, and it is a lot. I wish concerts didn’t allow any camping at all. But I am also not naive. Whether you like it or not, camping is necessary, maybe not multiple-day camping, but even if you get there an hour before the official line is created, you are camping.

The reason I say it is necessary is because it creates structure and, like I said, without structure chaos will ensue. Also, when camping lines go correctly, event staff loves them because it is making their job easier, they do not have to worry about organizing the line themselves, it is already done for them. That is why oftentimes they do honor those lines.

Let me explain for those of you who don’t see the benefits. Imagine with me for a second if no line was made. Then you would have a mob of people in no order crowded around and waiting for that clock to tick down and for that “go ahead” to happen. Then as soon as that signal was given, it would be a free-for-all. Picture a crowd of 300+ in no line, just a clump running for a good spot in line. Because let’s face it, even if you say you don’t care about getting barricade, a majority of people do, and they will run to get that spot. Then, when enough people start running, you will inevitably have to as well, or you risk getting trampled.

The fan-made line in Arlington had 300+ people in it by 7am. If we had not been in a line, I could only imagine how unsafe that would be. I am not being dramatic about this, that is just the reality of the situation.

Now picture the opposite: everyone gets in an orderly line and walks to the official line. Because the unofficial line was created, there is no fight for that front spot, you already have your spot. That is a much safer situation, so whether you like it or not, fan-made lines are necessary.

Once again, the fans are doing the job the event staff is supposed to do. It should not be our job to ensure our safety because there are so many ways to avoid both mobbing and camping. There are so many ideas that could be implemented by staff to avoid these things.

One: Seated pit. This is a no-brainer, you literally already have a seat, so there is no reason to camp or rush to get a good spot. I don’t understand why we took this away, and hopefully it will come back.

Two: Numbered tickets. As soon as people buy their ticket, give them a number. This is how they do it in Japan and it is the luck of the draw. It is all random and I feel like that’s a smart way to go about it.

Three: Staff enforces the no camping policy but also ensures sufficient security and a proper way to organize fans when the time comes to put them in an official line. this one is harder which is why the other two options are better.

My Step-by-Step of the Day

Now let me explain my experience. I did camp out the day before the concert. I arrived at 2 p.m. the day prior and spent the night. This is not for the weak, and I will never do it again. We would have still gotten good numbers if we had arrived at 1 or 2 a.m. the day of the concert. You live and you learn, I guess. My friend and I were numbers 7 and 8 in the camping line, which at the time was not split into pits. The only reason we decided to camp was because in L.A. the week prior, the camping lines were honored. Otherwise, we would not have.

Now I know a lot of people who called VIP Nation, or the venue staff were told camping wasn’t allowed and it would not be honored. Let me let you in on a little secret: they have to say that so they’re not liable if injury or property destruction happens. However, they also do not enforce the no-camping rule, because, like I said, it makes their job easier, so why would they? Still, it’s a gamble, because sometimes it works and sometimes, like in my experience, it does not.

Around 3 a.m., we got split by the line leaders into our three pits. I’m telling you—they have this shit down. At that point, my friend and I were 4 and 5 in line. From there, numbers 1 through 15 were led onto the property to wait in the official barricade. Security then came over and told us we were not able to be on property yet, and of course we understood and left. We then got confirmation from venue security that at 8 a.m., he would walk us down to the lines and that it would be honored.

Eventually, around 4–5 a.m., other fans started showing up and creating large crowds. They refused to get in the line, which is fair, but I do think these crowds created a lot of tension and anxiety. We heard people within these crowds talking about how they were prepared to run as soon as 8 a.m. hit. This obviously caused panic.

At 7:30 a.m., all hell broke loose. Our line leaders kept reminding us that we needed to walk, even if the people that had crowded around started running. However, around 7:35, people that had been loitering closest to the official line started running, and then the crowd started running.

People all around me started running and shoving breaking apart our line. The people behind and in front of me in line kept yelling to walk and stay orderly, but it got to a point where I started feeling unsafe and panic kicked in. From there, everyone started running. Once we got into the official lines, fans were yelling at each other, there was so much animosity between those who camped and those who didn’t. All in all, it was super hostile. And may I remind you; no security was anywhere in the vicinity.

We were probably in line for 30 minutes before finally, at 8 a.m., venue staff arrived, and many people talked with them about the situation. They seemed very sorry, but that was scary. My heart was pounding, and what makes me upset is it could have been avoided. If they had proper security there in the first place, none of this would have happened. That’s on venue staff. That was their responsibility.

I feel like it’s a common misconception that K-pop is not as popular as it is, and because of that false notion, venues do not take it as seriously. That’s how mistakes like this are made. That was on Globe Life Field for their negligence. Even hours later, security didn’t arrive. I don’t think it ever did, which is insane. Only the merchandise line had one singular security guard.

Around 9 a.m., an hour after the lines were supposed to be checked in, VIP Nation finally arrived. They asked the front of the line what happened and were given a thorough explanation. The main representative for VIP Nation was not really listening to the entire explanation. She did not seem to care. She also did not seem to want to try and figure anything out.

Finally, when asked by people in the line what would happen from here, she said, “Because there was running and pushing, we will now be giving out random wristband numbers.” One of the girls in line said, “So this is basically a repeat of Seattle.” In response, she laughed and said, “Yes, it is.”

This behavior by her was wholly unprofessional and problematic. Once again, I would like to state that it is literally their job to prevent this situation. But instead of admitting their mess-up, they decide to punish the crowd and repeat one of the worst stops along the tour. That is not how you deal with things, and this made me disgusted with how VIP Nation ran things.

Also, I watched as they purposefully picked higher-numbered wristbands for the people at the front of the official line. So random, my ass.

I would like it to be said that because of this poor reaction to the events that occurred, even more animosity occurred between fans. A false rumor spread that because there was camping, we got “randomized” wristbands. That was not the case, it was because of the running and pushing. The VIP Nation lady even said, “We usually work with the fan-made lines.”

The next day, they even learned their lesson, got more security, and had that security walk the fan-made lines to the official line. This ensured there was no running and pushing. And on Day 2, the camping lines were honored. So, the rumor was false. That’s why, if you are wondering if you should camp, I would say it’s a gamble, but it could pay off.

You Thought It Was Over?

Anyway, after we got our wristbands (we got 327 & 328), we left to get ready. VIP Nation staff told us to be back by 2:30 p.m. for VIP check-in.

When we arrived back, mind you, it was in the 90s and it was humid, the heat was unbearable. People had been out there longer than we had, and already people were passing out left and right.

Just like in Seattle, people were clumped in their numbers, but they were not in numerical order. Once again, if the fans already dislike the event staff, they are not really going to follow the rules, and they didn’t. Nobody was in the right order, and honestly, the staff had no clue what they were doing.

VIP Nation showed time and time again how truly unorganized and unprepared they were. They didn’t even really try to organize the line; they just kept yelling at us to get into numerical order but had no rhyme or reason to get us in order. We were supposed to be let in at 3:30, but we didn’t go in until 5 p.m., so even more people were passing out in the heat. Once again, it felt like they were trying to punish us in the heat for their negligence of not knowing how to organize a line.

Also, mind you, they had water bottles for fans but never attempted to pass them out and the VIP Nation staff all sat under shaded tents drinking water while all the fans had zero covering.

They should have had designated signs and roped off sections by the hundreds. From there, they could have organized each section properly. They should not have waited until the last second to try and structure the lines. Above all else, having as many people pass out as did is horrific, and that is not a punishment they should have inflicted on the fans.

By this time, though, venue staff had brought in a lot more security, even having a drug dog and someone with a gun patrolling. I guess they learned their lesson, however late it was. They also had medical staff on alert, helping as many people as possible, so at least they had gotten things figured out.

From there, I’m sure you’ve heard about the problems with audio, and how they were very unprepared traffic-wise after the concert. Because, once again, they do not account for K-pop’s popularity.

All in all, this was the most unorganized concert I had ever been to. VIP Nation was terrible, and they really need to be held accountable for their mistreatment and insincerity toward fans. I mainly blame them for the concert going the way it did, but venue staff was also to blame. No matter what, there needs to be better communication between event staff and venue staff. Also, people need to stop underestimating the popularity of K-pop and give fans and members the same respect they would give any other artist.