allmanjoy
05-19-2007, 07:36 AM
Banning Bad Behavior
Updated 04:22 PDT Sat, May 19 2007
Officials in the Alberta, Canada, city of Lethbridge don't think very highly of performers who smoke, drink or use drugs during performances, and they've come up with a plan to curb such onstage behavior - by forcing those artists to put up a cash guarantee of good conduct the next time they come through town.
The trouble stems from a Snoop Dogg concert last January at the Enmax Centre, where entertainers reportedly smoked marijuana on stage and encouraged the audience to do the same.
When word got out about what went down at the show, concerned parents complained and officials from the arena and the city came up with a plan.
Enmax Centre GM Ashley Matthews presented a four-item proposal to the city council that was instated into Enmax's booking policy, and serves to safeguard the venue from future incidents.
First, arena management will contact local police prior to any rock, rap or hip-hop concerts to discuss concerns and receive input on the number of officers needed for the event.
Next, management will research any previous concert problems an artist may have had and make necessary contact with the promoter to resolve any issues ahead of time. If the issues can't be resolved, the show won't go on.
Finally, if the performer still chooses to defy the law or promote unlawful acts on stage, they'll be asked to put up a guarantee to ensure good behavior before they can return to the venue. Repeat offenders will lose their guarantees and not get a return engagement. Matthews told Pollstar the booking policy is not meant to target any specific genre or performer. And, of course, consumers have the option to not purchase tickets for acts they find offensive, he added.
"The bottom line is that when acts come into our facility, there's an expectation that they will follow the law," Matthews said. "If there's something there in our research before they come in then of course that's something we want to discuss and review."
He explained that while booking an upcoming heavy metal show, management used the first two parts of the new policy, found no concerns with the artists, and no further action was needed.
"Since I've been in this facility, which is 16 years, we've only had one incident, so we're not blowing this out of proportion," Matthews said, "We don't think we'll ever have to implement clause four."
Attempts to reach management for Snoop Dogg were unsuccessful at press time.
Updated 04:22 PDT Sat, May 19 2007
Officials in the Alberta, Canada, city of Lethbridge don't think very highly of performers who smoke, drink or use drugs during performances, and they've come up with a plan to curb such onstage behavior - by forcing those artists to put up a cash guarantee of good conduct the next time they come through town.
The trouble stems from a Snoop Dogg concert last January at the Enmax Centre, where entertainers reportedly smoked marijuana on stage and encouraged the audience to do the same.
When word got out about what went down at the show, concerned parents complained and officials from the arena and the city came up with a plan.
Enmax Centre GM Ashley Matthews presented a four-item proposal to the city council that was instated into Enmax's booking policy, and serves to safeguard the venue from future incidents.
First, arena management will contact local police prior to any rock, rap or hip-hop concerts to discuss concerns and receive input on the number of officers needed for the event.
Next, management will research any previous concert problems an artist may have had and make necessary contact with the promoter to resolve any issues ahead of time. If the issues can't be resolved, the show won't go on.
Finally, if the performer still chooses to defy the law or promote unlawful acts on stage, they'll be asked to put up a guarantee to ensure good behavior before they can return to the venue. Repeat offenders will lose their guarantees and not get a return engagement. Matthews told Pollstar the booking policy is not meant to target any specific genre or performer. And, of course, consumers have the option to not purchase tickets for acts they find offensive, he added.
"The bottom line is that when acts come into our facility, there's an expectation that they will follow the law," Matthews said. "If there's something there in our research before they come in then of course that's something we want to discuss and review."
He explained that while booking an upcoming heavy metal show, management used the first two parts of the new policy, found no concerns with the artists, and no further action was needed.
"Since I've been in this facility, which is 16 years, we've only had one incident, so we're not blowing this out of proportion," Matthews said, "We don't think we'll ever have to implement clause four."
Attempts to reach management for Snoop Dogg were unsuccessful at press time.