Concerts can be volatile. Any situation where lots of people are packed into a tight space usually is and there’s a reason rules and regulations for events change and expand depending on how many people are attending.
We’ve unfortunately covered some very bad concert situations here at Tone Deaf, including riots, fights, assaults, and even shootings. But we must say, looting a coat check area is definitely one we hadn’t seen before.
As Toronto’s CityNews reports, hundreds of people at a recent Disclosure performance swarmed the coat check area of the EnerCare Centre, snatching up jackets and leaving people without their belongings over the weekend.
“After a long wait for coats after the Disclosure concert at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, rowdy patrons decided to retrieve their coats themselves… much mayhem ensued,” the description for a video of the incident reads.
“As a result of the ransacking, many party goers left without their coats. To add insult to injury, this unfortunate incident occured on the coldest weekend in several months. The security team was not in control of the situation whatsoever.”
“The man who was responsible for security refused to answer any of my questions regarding the chaotic situation. Additionally, he tried to stop me from recording my questions by shoving my arm away.”
According to punter Melanie Langevine, “People just started to break into the barricades they had set up for the coat check. People were breaking in… people were crowd surfing in and nothing was happening.”
“Many people ended up urinating on the ground in a stairwell corner because the lines were too long.”People were reportedly “shaking on the barricades and yanking on them to get to their coats”. Meanwhile, Langevine said, about 15 to 20 security guards and police were standing nearby, refusing to intervene as people made off with clothing bundled in their arms.
According to one attendee, it wasn’t the only instance of poor planning on the part of promoters. “There were girls lining up to pee in a corner on the floor because they were told only one single stall bathroom was available to them,” Kaveh Baradaran told CityNews.
Ashley Trevellin, who also attended the concert, said it was very disorganised and claimed “many people, men and women, ended up urinating on the ground in a stairwell corner because the lines were too long”.
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According to Enercare spokesperson Laura Purdy, the promoter, Embrace Presents, was responsible for both coat check and event security at the concert. “We are asking the promoter to communicate with patrons and are very concerned with the events that transpired,” she said in a statement.
Many irate punters have since taken to the Embrace Facebook page to slam the promoters and appeal for the return of their items. Embrace have responded with a statement, apologising and asking anyone with a missing coat to contact an email provided.
But as punter Natalie Brais states, “My jacket isn’t lost, someone walked out with it.” Readers can check out footage of the mayhem that ensued in the embed below.
