The Met (old Opera House) in Philadelphia - Pros and Cons (Ardmore: to buy, theater)

[The_Resourcer]

Pros:

• The restoration of the Met is beautiful (though it was my first time inside the venue).
  
• The recent Gary Clark, Jr. concert was PHENOMENAL. The fantastic Peterson Brothers opened the show at 8:30pm. Gary took the stage around 9:30pm and played until 11:45pm!
  
• My seat

in LOGE 3, ROW D, seat 11 had an excellent, central view of the stage. (Thanks, https://www.aviewfrommyseat.com)


Cons:

• Upon entrance, one must empty one's bag/purse/knapsack, etc. of metal contents and allow the attendant to search the emptied bag/purse/knapsack, etc for weapons. You then have to walk through a metal detector, and get "wanded" if you set off the alarm. What, is this Philly Int'l???
  
• You have to walk up three sets of stairs to the LOGE sections (if there were elevators, I didn't see them). Phooey on you if you are wheel-chair bound or on crutches!
  
• The seats (built for skinny opera patrons back in the Proterozoic age) are very tight and don't allow for proper leg extension. Boney yogis in Lotus position would be fine in these seats.
  
• There was a discernible waft of weed permeating the venue during the Gary Clark, Jr. show.
  
• So, you can bring your weed, just no guns or machetes, to the Met!

I never experienced such security measures at the Annenberg, Kimmel Center, Wilma Theater, Academy of Music, Keswick, Merriam Theater, et al. Just the Met.

Is it the Broad and Poplar area which warrants such security? With the ticket prices being "celestial," I doubt miscreants would ever venture inside this venue! They'd be OUTSIDE waiting for victims!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by The_Resourcer

Pros:

• The restoration of the Met is beautiful (though it was my first time inside the venue).
  
• The recent Gary Clark, Jr. concert was PHENOMENAL. The fantastic Peterson Brothers opened the show at 8:30pm. Gary took the stage around 9:30pm and played until 11:45pm!
  
• My seat

in LOGE 3, ROW D, seat 11 had an excellent, central view of the stage. (Thanks, https://www.aviewfrommyseat.com)


Cons:

• Upon entrance, one must empty one's bag/purse/knapsack, etc. of metal contents and allow the attendant to search the emptied bag/purse/knapsack, etc for weapons. You then have to walk through a metal detector, and get "wanded" if you set off the alarm. What, is this Philly Int'l???
  
• You have to walk up three sets of stairs to the LOGE sections (if there were elevators, I didn't see them). Phooey on you if you are wheel-chair bound or on crutches!
  
• The seats (built for skinny opera patrons back in the Proterozoic age) are very tight and don't allow for proper leg extension. Boney yogis in Lotus position would be fine in these seats.
  
• There was a discernible waft of weed permeating the venue during the Gary Clark, Jr. show.
  
• So, you can bring your weed, just no guns or machetes, to the Met!

I never experienced such security measures at the Annenberg, Kimmel Center, Wilma Theater, Academy of Music, Keswick, Merriam Theater, et al. Just the Met.

Is it the Broad and Poplar area which warrants such security? With the ticket prices being "celestial," I doubt miscreants would ever venture inside this venue! They'd be OUTSIDE waiting for victims!

Not sure if this is true now but there was a gauntlet of security to get through at the Jewish Museum at 5th and Market when they first opened.

None of the line up at the Met interests me so far so I have not been in there yet. So does anyone know if the security described is a permanent feature?

[Patmcpsu]

FWIW security at Phillies games is basically the same now (metal detectors, with security manually inspecting bag/pocket contents). They wouldn't let me enter the stadium with my swiss army knife keychain. I had to go back into the car, drop it off, and go back in line.

It's the world we live in. I don't think it's a fear of terrorism; it's a fear of liability lawsuits.

[briantroutman]

In my experience, the level of security and the enforcement of other restrictions (no cameras, etc.) seems to be largely set by the artist or promoter, not the venue. I’ve attended multiple concerts at the same venues in the past, and the security experiences have been completely different. At one concert, you might be faced with metal detectors, bag checks, a strict no cameras/no recording policy, and ticket checks at seemingly every passageway and staircase...whereas at another performance (at the same venue), they might simply check your ticket at the main entrance and have no other security or ticket checkpoints.

[timeEd32]

Going on Friday with third row center tickets. Can't wait to check it out.

Pretty much every show I see, whether at Ardmore Music Hall or MSG smells like weed, so nothing new there.

Security sounds pretty standard these days -- have experienced similar at the Beacon, the Garden, BB&T , and the Fillmore in the last 6 or so months.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

FWIW security at Phillies games is basically the same now (metal detectors, with security manually inspecting bag/pocket contents). They wouldn't let me enter the stadium with my swiss army knife keychain. I had to go back into the car, drop it off, and go back in line.

It's the world we live in. I don't think it's a fear of terrorism; it's a fear of liability lawsuits.

And we can complain all we want, but until humans learn how to act appropriately, security measures will stay in place. I don't really see that as a con either, sure its annoying to stand in line and dump out my bag, but its protocol.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

And we can complain all we want, but until humans learn how to act appropriately, security measures will stay in place. I don't really see that as a con either, sure its annoying to stand in line and dump out my bag, but its protocol.

Not going on in all the other entertainment venues the OP listed though. The PMA barely checks bags.

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by cpomp

And we can complain all we want, but until humans learn how to act appropriately, security measures will stay in place. I don't really see that as a con either, sure its annoying to stand in line and dump out my bag, but its protocol.

I remember concerts being perfectly safe before these new measures went in place. The worst I ever saw were fist-fights, which metal detectors do nothing to deter (and may even unintentionally promote).

How many stabbings have you heard about at baseball games? Especially ones involving 2" blades?

There is a solution to this privatized police state: tort reform.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

I remember concerts being perfectly safe before these new measures went in place. The worst I ever saw were fist-fights, which metal detectors do nothing to deter (and may even unintentionally promote).

How many stabbings have you heard about at baseball games? Especially ones involving 3" blades?

There is a solution to this privatized police state: tort reform.

Besides your general liability and lawsuits, etc.
Tragic instances like what happened at the Ariana Grande concert I'm sure have something to do with it.

For me, I don't care if my bags get checked, I just don't like being forced to buy water in the venue, I'd rather bring my own and save the $10. Broadway shows let you bring water in (surprisingly).

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Besides your general liability and lawsuits, etc.
Tragic instances like what happened at the Ariana Grande concert I'm sure have something to do with it.

For me, I don't care if my bags get checked, I just don't like being forced to buy water in the venue, I'd rather bring my own and save the $10. Broadway shows let you bring water in (surprisingly).

If the venue/promoter isn't financially responsible for everyone's well-being, I think you'll see them loosen their normal state of security. If there's a particular cause for concern (recent terror attack, threats made, unusual activity, etc), they'll heighten security regardless of financial motives. It will just bring everything back to a reasonable level of common sense.

We can't have over-the-top security as long as bad people exist somewhere in the world. I remind you that the current odds of dying in a terrorist attack in the USA are remote: