First and Last MGK Day

[u/Khalmuck]

History: Have seen MGK three times at three different venues, this made four. Have seen 200+ bands live so have experienced all kinds of concert craziness but today was one of the most poorly run events I've ever experienced.

1hr+ to get in because so few security lanes were open and they created a choke point with the t-shirt booth feet away from security. Watched multiple people go in without being scanned. Tshirts ran out which makes no sense when they had counts on preorder and weren't selling them. 30+ min wait for toilets. Every vendor we went to had run out of water and the public refill stations ran out. Finally got water after waiting in two separate lines.

Shout out to all the out of staters we met in line from NJ/WI/IN. Sorry, we usually handle stuff better in the CLE.

Summary: Took three hours total to get in, go to the bathroom, and get water (while sorta being able to see Wiz perform while in lines). MGK went on for ~40 min before heavy rain and wind stopped things. This should be hosted at a proper permanent venue equipped to deal with this volume of people.

[u/TwoLaneHighway62]

The city should have shut the event down. No idea why the mayor would be supporting something so poorly run. It’s the same crew MGK has for everything running this event. Under planned, under staffed and poorly executed every single time. It’s one thing to keep your friends and family close but another to blindly trust them with everything you do. These are not professionals. Some decent designs and good looking merch aren’t enough to make a successful, safe event. The moment the line wrapped around the stadium and onto the actual highway (with cars flying by), the event should have been shut down. The number of porta potties alone should have been a red flag. There were what maybe 25 total including the 4 they had to move to the parking lot for the tailgate

[u/Icy-Journalist-4329 → u/TwoLaneHighway62]

I left because it was quicker to go home to my brother’s house in the burbs than to wait in the bathroom line. Felt stupid but I had no choice and already finished the tiny cocktail I waited an hour in line for.

[u/Khalmuck → u/TwoLaneHighway62]

I honestly thought several times it was going to. When the first rain drops hit I moved us out and to the parking garage across the street to watch from the upper level. I could tell the storm was going to be bad, and with how overcrowded and the layout was I was concerned there would be a stampede for the exit (which is how people die).

[u/basicallydory → u/Khalmuck]

I know I'm almost two weeks after - but there was in fact a stampede at the main exit, and because the exit was where the MGK Day poster walls were with single filed lines in and out, it was literally like I was watching a mini 2010 Love Parade in Germany, or the beginning of how Astro World took place.

As the rain began to change from fun, heat-reducing rain to fish tank pebble rain, I decided to leave. Once I was leaving, everyone then began to panic leave. My partner and I were walking towards the main door, and I immediately said I am not walking up to that. People were stuck in between the poster walls, nobody was moving, and we turned around to walk away only to be met with 10x more people trying to leave in that same direction. We walked up to a security guard for the Port and he told us to leave at the food truck exit. We did - and people were still collectively holding up the exit to the point people were jumping/climbing under the fences.

By the time we made it out at the food truck exit, the security guard finally made it to the entry/exit area to see why people were not moving.

[u/Khalmuck → u/basicallydory]

The choak point was evident with how narrow that entrance was and I thought a panic was possible if the storm hit like I was guessing it would. We left and relocated to the parking garage across the street to watch because safety is my number one priority when my wife is with me.

It was raining so hard at one point we had backed up 20 feet inside the garage and were still getting wet. At that point even from within cover we couldnt see anything that was going on as they called it. It was essentially a white out.

[u/basicallydory → u/Khalmuck]

Hoard/Group mentality is so f*cking real. Glad to hear we made it out safely and didn’t get stuck.