Beer garden blooming
It’s hard to complain when you’re enjoying great music at a great venue but, inevitably it seems, every time I visit SPAC someone I’m with gripes about not being able to enjoy a beer from the comfort of their lawn chair or pavilion seat.
Anyone who went to 311’s show last night — a great, if under-appreciated performance I might add — had little to complain about.
Instead of being confined to the small beer garden area at the back of the venue, concert goers were allowed to carry their beers back into the action — the first time after taking in many SPAC shows over the last few summers that I’d seen that happen.
To be sure, last night’s concert bore little resemblance to the recent Dave Matthews Band show that renewed concerns about alcohol enforcement at the venue. Instead, SPAC was about half-full while the crowd was noticeably older and considerably more serene. The enforcement was pretty pronounced, too. ID’s were being checked thoroughly and, even if you already had received a wrist band indicating that you were of-age earlier in the night, security would check again just to be sure if and when you happened to return for a second pass.
I also noticed that anyone caught passing off their drinks received a nice-sized black mark on their hand that would prevent them from buying any more adult beverages for the rest of the night. Those caught with beer who didn’t have a wrist band, well, let’s just say there are a lot better ways to spend $10.
I called LiveNation today to see if this represented a turn of events for imbibers at SPAC, but John Huff, the concert promoter’s general manager in the area, kept things pretty close to the vest.
He pointed out that, since LiveNation took over concert management in 2000, the beer garden had been opened for a few select shows. Still, he didn’t want to go on the record about any current or future policy changes at the venue concerning alcohol. More could be divulged in the coming weeks, he said.
Of course, this all comes a week after union members with the State Parks Police called for the beer garden to be shuttered altogether.
What do you think the best approach is to take when it comes to alcohol at SPAC?
– Drew Kerr
