RANT: Asshole Promoters (Testament/Lamb of God Concert in Manila)

[A7]

This past Saturday, I went to a metal concert event here in Manila titled Pulp Summerslam X: The Apocalypse, which was headlined by Testament and Lamb of God. Weeks prior to the event, I was informed by the promoter that the more-expensive VIP passes (Php 3,500, which is roughly US$78) included "all-access" privileges and free food & drinks. So I got one, hoping to meet the bands backstage.

Unfortunately, the privileges were far from the truth. For starters, the VIP section was directly to the right of the stage, resulting in the worst possible visibility of the show. The section was caged-in like a pig pen; it wasn't crowded at all, but everyone felt completely isolated from everyone else. Worse was that there were no seats or portable toilets in the section at all.

There was free pizza and beer, but from what I heard from other fans, the food came in very late - at least an hour or two after the show started.

But the worst part of it all was that all VIPs were denied access throughout the show. WTF? I was one of the 300 people who paid top-dollar to get the best out of the show and to avoid the general admission crowd of 30,000+, who were throwing piss-filled bottles everywhere at random. Yet I find out that we were all denied the main reason to go VIP in the first place.

Right now, the Facebook pages of the event and Pulp magazine are flooded with complaints by the VIPs. I even texted the promoter himself that I forwarded some of the complaints to my dad, who is the Secretary of Trade and Industry. And just a minute later, the guy texted me back:

"Good for you"

What an asshole! He obviously doesn't give a shit that he intentionally ripped off people in this show. Was it because he sold the general admission tickets at a loss (Php 300 each, which is roughly US$6.75)? Regardless of whatever reason, there is no excuse for such a half-assed treatment.

And to believe I met up with him in hopes of bringing the Maidens over here...

 

[metalhead_85]

That fucking sucks. My condolences.

 

[A7]

The promoter posted this on his Facebook:

"If you look at the back of your ID which you purchased in advance there is no hiding where your spot is. The reason we put up a VIP area is because some people can not handle to be in a massive crowd for hours. In fact we never put this spot up until last year because people kept saying they don't care how much they are charged they just don't want to be in the massive crowd. You were definitely NOT promised a meet and greet."

 

[Metallicat180]

That really does suck. Personally, I would never pay more for these sort of VIP packages. I'm happy enough with the normal floor tickets,. Same how I would never, ever pay for a meet and greet with ANY band no matter who it was, just on point of principle really.

 

[A7]

I forgot to mention that the VIP crowd weren't the only ones pissed-off that night. Chuck Billy was pissed at the poor sound system, as he kicked a monitor off the stage.

 

[Big Momma Nav]

I'm not sure what you mean by "we were denied access throughout the show". Dispute it on your credit card since you "had limited visibility". As for the meet & greet, well they never promised you could meet the band, so there's little you can do there.

30,000 throwing piss-filled bottles??? what's wrong with manila metal fans? damn. I'd never come on stage if I saw that.

n

 

[A7]

I'm not sure what you mean by "we were denied access throughout the show". Dispute it on your credit card since you "had limited visibility". As for the meet & greet, well they never promised you could meet the band, so there's little you can do there.

The problem here is that the promoter told people that VIP was "all-access" when it really wasn't. He outright lied to those who bought the pass.

 

[Timewarrior2001]

The tickets should have stated all access. If they didnt then theres no entitlement for failed promises.

Even for $78 US dollars that VIP access is very cheap...although admittedly I dont know what the living standards of the phillipines is or what the average monthly wage is.
Over here to go and see BonJovi (for example) at the O2 arena in London, the VIP passes were around £1500 to £3000 Pounds sterling (roughly $2300 - $4600) . For most smallish bands VIP passes are around £400 pounds Sterling ($600).




As for piss filled bottles, thats what monsters of rock is all about. Especially when Extreme played just before Sepultura and Pantera, they got piss bottled off stage.....Was soooooo funny.

 

[Metallicat180]

Throwing ANYTHING at a band is downright disrespectful and anyone who does it needs their arse firmly booted out of the venue. If you don't like a band, don't watch. Go to the bar, look at the merch - don't throw shit at them just cos you don't like them. Other people in the venue probably do and you're ruining their night for them. When I saw Metallica at Wembley Stadium in London, HIM were supporting - inbetween Machine Head and Metallica - and I have never felt so ashamed to be in a crowd in my life. The abuse was horrendous. I love HIM, but it spoil my enjoyment of their set to see how down the band looked onstage and hearing the deafening boos after every song. I'm the first to admit that they were completely the wrong choice of support but that was uncalled for.

I've seen some god awful support bands in my time but I always nod along and clap when a song is done, no matter how shit they are. It's hard enough to play for an audience not your own, but to be faced with that is even worse.

 

[Swan]

... 30,000 throwing piss-filled bottles??? what's wrong with manila metal fans? damn. I'd never come on stage if I saw that.

30,000 piss-filled bottles That alone would justify the cost of a VIP ticket.

VIP does NOT inherently get you backstage ... ALL-Access might, but if it isn't printed on the ticket, you're out of luck.

I've seen several gigs where VIP was NOT backstage, it's merely a separate area, usually stage right where beer and munchies are provided. Never seen a meetup there, or heard of anyone meeting the band there.

I would not pay that much for VIP, knowing what it is.

 

[Timewarrior2001]

Throwing ANYTHING at a band is downright disrespectful and anyone who does it needs their arse firmly booted out of the venue. If you don't like a band, don't watch. Go to the bar, look at the merch - don't throw shit at them just cos you don't like them. Other people in the venue probably do and you're ruining their night for them. When I saw Metallica at Wembley Stadium in London, HIM were supporting - inbetween Machine Head and Metallica - and I have never felt so ashamed to be in a crowd in my life. The abuse was horrendous. I love HIM, but it spoil my enjoyment of their set to see how down the band looked onstage and hearing the deafening boos after every song. I'm the first to admit that they were completely the wrong choice of support but that was uncalled for.

I've seen some god awful support bands in my time but I always nod along and clap when a song is done, no matter how shit they are. It's hard enough to play for an audience not your own, but to be faced with that is even worse.

Aye but its also disrespectfull for nuno bettencourt to give the crowd the finger because they all started walking away when they started. Cue Piss bottles.

Works both ways, the piss bottling was a common knowledge thing at Monsters of rock, most bands knew that if they fucked up or angered the crowd they should keep well out of the way of bottles coming on stage.

The crowd pay large sums of money for them to see "professional" bands, when they turn up so drunk they can barely walk, cant remember their own words or insult the crowd, they should expect retaliation.

 

[Metallicat180]

Aye but its also disrespectfull for nuno bettencourt to give the crowd the finger because they all started walking away when they started. Cue Piss bottles.

Works both ways, the piss bottling was a common knowledge thing at Monsters of rock, most bands knew that if they fucked up or angered the crowd they should keep well out of the way of bottles coming on stage.

The crowd pay large sums of money for them to see "professional" bands, when they turn up so drunk they can barely walk, cant remember their own words or insult the crowd, they should expect retaliation.

This is true. Fortunately, I have never seen a band do or act like that.

 

[A7]

The crowd pay large sums of money for them to see "professional" bands, when they turn up so drunk they can barely walk, cant remember their own words or insult the crowd, they should expect retaliation.

Can you imagine every DragonForce concert, in that case?

 

[A7]

Well, after receiving complaints from dozens of other attendees, the Department of Trade and Industry has summoned the promoter to their office this Thursday morning. I have also been called upon as a witness, and there will be others coming in by my side.

 

[Kirsten "Bruce Chickinson"]

Good luck, Jeremy! What a bunch of crap! :Shedevil:

 

[A7]

Here's an update on what's been happening:

On Thursday, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) held a meeting between VIP ticket holders and Pulp Live Productions. The president of Pulp was not in the meeting, as he needed to finalize some paperwork for next month's Kelly Clarkson concert. Two VIPs presented sheets of testimonials by other concert-goers, which described their experiences at the show. Pulp's representatives explained that this was only the second year they set up a VIP section, and the purpose was for people who can't stand the general admission crowd. They also explained the differences between both tickets:

General Admission (Php 300, roughly US$6.75)
Coupon sheet that entitles to the following:
- 1 free slice of pizza from Pizza Hut
- 1 free cup of Red Horse beer
- 1 free bottle of Pepsi Max
- Php50 (US$1.25) discount on the official T-shirt
- Php30 (US$0.68) prepaid reload from Smart Communications

VIP (Php 3,500, roughly US$78.00)
Unlimited pizza from Pizza Hut
Unlimited Red Horse beer
Unlimited bottled water
A tent
Room to relax

Now what is wrong with this picture?

The meeting was adjourned for both parties to gather enough evidence for the next hearing. I've talked to some of the other VIPs online and asked them what they want out of this case. Some want their money back, but in this case, it won't happen. And even if Pulp refunded all of the VIPs, they'll continue to screw other concert goers in the years to come. I told them that the best option is for DTI to impose fines and penalties on Pulp for deceptive marketing. This will set an example to other concert promoters in the country.

In the meantime, I'll wait for the next hearing.

 

[Big Momma Nav]

for deceptive marketing. This will set an example to other concert promoters in the country.

Still confused, what was the deceptive marketing?

Worst case - dispute with your cc.

n

 

[Swan]

Still confused, what was the deceptive marketing?

I don't see where they cheated anyone, either. At least, not in print. If a radio adverstisement or promotion stated there would be more, then go after them, but only if the Evidence is recorded.

Otherwise, it looks like they fulfilled their obligation.

 

[kaye_oz21]

you know the complaints you have are quite unfair. It was never published that VIP is all access. All access passes are never for sale, it beats the purpose of being a band in the festival if all access passes can be easily be bought. And meet and greet was never included in the package but John Campbell was nice enough to show up. If you want an all access, go join a band a pass your demo to Pulp.

Like the producer said, VIP area is a chillout place only if you don't want to share the same space with the rest of the 30,000 crowd for 15 hours. If you want to watch the show and get the best view, you have to go back to the main audience area like the rest of the fans. that is how it is in festivals anywhere in the world. I have friends who thought about buying VIP but didn't go through with it because they knew the deal.

lastly, testament is not on tour, so the crew they got for Manila were all stand ins. Drum tech didn't even know Paul's set up. Even the tour manager/ FOH guy met Testament for the first time 3 days before the show. LOG used the same sound system and didn't have a problem because they have the right people with them.

it sounds like you basically wanted to have an all access pass and hang out backstage with the band. but that privilege will never be for sale even if you pay us thousands of dollars because these are metal giants we are dealing with here. they need their privacy.

empty plastic water bottle fights have been happening for 10 years but nobody threw anything at LOG and Testament, I was there at the soundbooth and didnt see anyone throw anything at the artist.

before you bitch about what happened remember that you get a different deal when you go to festivals, it's going to be hot, uncomfortable and crazy. and remember that we have it better than anywhere else because the ticket to see LOG and Testament and 30 bands costs 6 US Dollars only, you cant even go watch a decent movie in the US with 6 dollars! VIP costs around 70 dollars with free booze and pizza for 15 hours. 70 dollars is the standard price of an ordinary ticket to festivals in the US and Europe. So you should remember how good we have it.

And for the record, we printed out all our published materials and online posts and showed it to DTI to prove that we never said that VIP is all access. As early as December 2009, we all decided that VIP people stays at VIP area and audience area only. even the local bands didnt have all access privileges. As I recall, there are only 20 existing all access passes only for me and our staff.

your people harassed us for 2 weeks and instead of working on our next show, we were all busy dealing with your complaints because you wanted an all access.

 

[Timewarrior2001]

you know the complaints you have are quite unfair. It was never published that VIP is all access. All access passes are never for sale, it beats the purpose of being a band in the festival if all access passes can be easily be bought. And meet and greet was never included in the package but John Campbell was nice enough to show up. If you want an all access, go join a band a pass your demo to Pulp.

Like the producer said, VIP area is a chillout place only if you don't want to share the same space with the rest of the 30,000 crowd for 15 hours. If you want to watch the show and get the best view, you have to go back to the main audience area like the rest of the fans. that is how it is in festivals anywhere in the world. I have friends who thought about buying VIP but didn't go through with it because they knew the deal.

lastly, testament is not on tour, so the crew they got for Manila were all stand ins. Drum tech didn't even know Paul's set up. Even the tour manager/ FOH guy met Testament for the first time 3 days before the show. LOG used the same sound system and didn't have a problem because they have the right people with them.

it sounds like you basically wanted to have an all access pass and hang out backstage with the band. but that privilege will never be for sale because these are metal giants we are dealing with here. they need their privacy.

empty plastic water bottle fights have been happening for 10 years but nobody threw anything at LOG and Testament, I was there at the soundbooth and didnt see anyone throw anything at the artist.

before you bitch about what happened remember that you get a different deal when you go to festivals, it's going to be hot, uncomfortable and crazy. and remember that we have it better than anywhere else because the ticket to see LOG and Testament and 30 bands costs 6 US Dollars only, you cant even go watch a decent movie in the US with 6 dollars! VIP costs around 70 dollars with free booze and pizza for 15 hours. 70 dollars is the standard price of an ordinary ticket to festivals in the US and Europe. So you should remember how good we have it.

I'm with you on this. I dont think anything was done underhand, for $78 they got free beer, free pizza a tent etc and tickets to a show.

In the Uk for $78 I would be pushed hard to get a decent seat at a concert never mind free beer and food.