Brian McFadin, The Showbox; John McClees, Tacoma Dome; and Mike Reichert, Staff Pro, talk through EDM best practices based on their own experiences. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM TACOMA, WASH. — Growing beyond the rave perception they began with, EDM shows are moving more aggressively outside the festival world to arenas and other venues, bringing a number of new challenges to the staff hosting these events. At the IAVM Region 4 Conference at Greater Tacoma (Wash.) Convention Center, April 19-21, one session was dedicated to discussing EDM best practices from the experiences of three pros who have been there and done that.
Brian McFadin, general manager of The Showbox venues in Seattle, said they put on 20 to 30 EDM shows a year. Tacoma (Wash.) Dome has also gotten its feet wet by hosting a number of EDM shows, including Above & Beyond, Emerald City and Life in Color, the last of which, Event Manager John McClees said attracted about 15,000 attendees.
It has only been a few years since the EDM craze began, but already audiences are older and the shows are attracting a broader demographic. This brings a certain level of ease to the shows that wasn’t once there.
“We used to see a lot of 13 to 14 year olds attending these events, and now that crowd has aged up to the 18-24 demographic,” said McFadin. “We’ve actually been able to make all our EDM events 18 and over, which has certainly helped with security concerns and not dealing with 14 year olds running around without parents and not knowing what they’re doing.”
The panelists provided a broad overview, giving tips for before, during and after the show. Though EDM shows necessitate extra participation and planning as compared to traditional concerts, they still require the same approach.
“I really don’t see any more issues at an EDM show, it’s just the types of issues change,” said Mike Reichert, senior director of Operations at Staff Pro.
Before the show, McClees said it all begins with choosing a promoter that knows what it’s doing and has promoted an EDM show before. At Tacoma Dome, they often work with USC Events, while Go Hard on April 25 was the first time they worked with Live Nation for EDM.
“Every event has a level of risk of some sort,” said McClees. “EDM shows have a little bit more of a risk as far as picking a promoter on the facilities side. When you choose a promoter, you want to make sure the safety/security plan is on board with them.”
A lot of EDM events tier their ticket sales, with presales starting at $20 and going up to even $70 as they sell more tickets. Making sure the tiers hit at the right moment is critical.
A prohibited-items list always accompanies EDM shows at Tacoma Dome. The list is fairly extensive covering a range of items such as glow sticks, laser pointers, poi, balloons, gum and selfie sticks. The list is posted on the venue’s website as well as the promoter’s and Staff Pro’s. With the list comes a lot of questions from attendees before the show, said McClees. The switchboard and email will be full of calls from patrons about what they are allowed to bring and what counts as a valid ID, since all IDs are checked before they enter the venue.
“You’ve got to make sure your switchboard is ready for calls or your email and your webpage,” said McClees, “because you will get a lot of calls on what kinds of IDs are valid.”
Good communication is a vital step in keeping everyone safe at these events, said Reichert, and it streamlines the safety check process when attendees know what they’re allowed and not allowed to bring.
“A big part is how the messaging works,” said Reichert. “While we don’t control the messaging, it’s typically the promoter or the venue, it’s really important so that the guest knows what is allowed and what’s not allowed so that it’s not taking up time at the search.”
At Tacoma Dome, the safety check is very thorough, requiring people to remove their shoes and go through a full pat down. They also recently started having male guests shake their pants after they go through the search and are finding drugs fall out.
“The thought is now that drugs are being brought in by female patrons,” said Reichert, “and we haven’t really found a great way to deal with that issue yet, because that type of search would be a lot more intrusive, and its something we don’t want to do.”
The safety and security plan also extends beyond the patrons to the production elements of the show.
“I like to be extra vigilant about production on these shows,” said McFadin. “A lot of these tours carry large set pieces and rigging pieces that you might not see on a regular rock show. We’re always verifying weight limits, making sure they’re fire rated, making sure they’re hanging from the proper rig points and it’s all done by professionals who know what they’re doing. It’s always a situation where we enforce every house rule we have. It’s not the time to be flexible. These set pieces are large and we do want to make sure they work logistically as well as for safety.”
McClees stressed the importance of working closely with the paramedics and police to prevent contraband from entering the venue and identifying guests who need medical attention. EDM shows at Tacoma Dome have 5-7 medic teams on hand, using the locker room as their base while also roaming the floor.
A cool down or safe room is also set up at Tacoma Dome as a place where they can gather themselves if they need to take a break during the show. The exhibition hall is used as a presafe room where Staff Pro staff can take guests who are having trouble before they go inside. Free water stations around the floors are another important piece of the safety plan.
In addition to the safety check staff outside the venue, alcohol enforcement and other roaming teams are constantly on the lookout for individuals who are intoxicated for need medical assistance.
“At traditional concerts, we’re looking for fights or whatever,” said Reichert. “But at EDM shows, all we’re trying to do is identify patrons who are having problems and making sure we get them assistance as soon as possible. Typically, it’s up towards the front of the stage that we find those patrons.”
Tacoma Dome includes a spirits lounge off to one side of the floor that admits only those 21 and older. They require everyone to consume the alcohol in the lounge and don’t let anyone take it outside of that area. They also made a point to not include bathrooms there in order to discourage people from hanging out in the lounge all night.
From a revenue standpoint, McFadin said the older crowds are great for alcohol sales, but it presents another safety risk as well. Part of the preparation for an EDM show is researching the demographic each one attracts and be aware of how alcohol will play into that.
“Life in Color we had 15,000 people last year and the spirits lounge was used, but it never got out of control,” said McClees. “Above and Beyond we did last month. It was definitely an older crowd and the line was 30 minutes just to get into the lounge.”
Once the show is over, both McFadin and McClees said they use a soft push, allowing a 30-minute cool down period where the house lights come on and people can get their bearings, drink water, buy merch and find their friends. After that, they will start pushing the people out of the building.
Interviewed for this story: Brian McFadin, (206) 628-0221; John McClees, (253) 272-3663; Mike Reichert, (714) 230-7200