Going down hill!

Last night I saw a heavy metal concert at the Croatian Cultural Centre and I found that it was extremely poorly planned on the part of the venue's management. I have seen concerts here many times and enjoyed myself at this venue up until now. I have also heard that the changes in the way metal concerts are handled here are new and happen all the time now, which is why a lot of metal fans are now refusing to attend events at this venue.

Firstly, the beer garden wasn't open at all. I do not drink alcoholic beverages on a regular basis as I am very health conscious, but I still enjoy having a few beers at metal concerts. Many people were very unhappy about this, including the bands.

Secondly, even to people who do not drink beer the beer garden is a welcome area to socialize and rest after standing for long periods of time as there is no appropriate seating anywhere else in the venue. Even without selling alcohol they should have let people sit in this area to rest between performances.

Third, the ventilation was very bad! I've never had issues with the ventilation at this venue, but last night was horrible! It was like a hot, humid cigarette smoke vacuum, with the concert hall acting as a vacuum bag. It was so bad that the singer of the headlining act was wheezing and complaining halfway through their set. However, the band played their entire set and put up with the poor air quality, which I appreciate. Throughout the show there was a steady stream of patrons going outside and back just to get fresh air! This shouldn't happen! I do not smoke at all and after I came home my lungs were burning!

Lastly, if a venue is going to hold a show that is several hours long and with a 'no in/outs' policy then they should provide better sustenance than potato chips and chocolate bars. If the management at the Croatian Cultural Centre doesn't clean up their act and put at least some human concern ahead of their greed and spiteful views of metal fans then there may be a boycott on attending their venue very soon.