I am a regular customer of all local music venus as live music is an important part of my life. I work hard to afford to attend multiple shows per year including the KCRW World Music series at the Hollywood Bowl and The Decemberists show that I attended at The Greek just a couple of weeks ago. The other night was my second visit to The Greek Theater this summer alone (not including my multiple visits over the past several years, dating back to Jimmy Page and The Black Crows) and it will be my last due to how a horrible situation was handled by your security & on-site Police. This would have been my third time seeing Thievery Corporation as I am a big fan.
I arrived at our seats with my girlfriend and enjoyed the opening act, excited for the headliner. A group of six (two women and four men) crowded into only four seats, were behaving belligerently to the point that myself, my girlfriend and others around were unable to enjoy the show. I politely asked the man closest to me to ""please save the conversation for after the show"" His response was aggressive to the point that one of his friends pulled him aside and stood between us. This is when the taunting, antagonizing, and shoulder nudges began followed by one of the men spitting in my face as he said ""I am going to fuc**ng kill you you stupid mother fu**ing piece of sh*t! You hit my brother!"" I responded immediately as others behind affirmed, that I dod not lay a hand on anyone, and that he needed to take a step away. Meanwhile, my girlfriend, scared to death that I was being ganged up on by four intoxicated grown men, returned with security, who did nothing but relocate the two of us to seats in the next section. Not only was the guard aware that there were six people in four seats, but he totally disregarded the threatening, belligerent behavior of the four men who assaulted me. I explained to the guard that my girlfriend was scared and our night had been ruined, and expressed to him that I wished to press charges, and receive a refund for our tickets. He said ""you realize that this is going to be a big deal and require the police and a bunch of paperwork, right?"" At this point we were so upset that the night was ruined, and that nothing was done about the aggressive men that caused the scene, that I insisted that the police were involved.
The police were equally as disappointing as security, by letting me know that if the 4 aggressive men that assaulted me claimed that I touched one of them, that I would be the one to go to jail, while mentioning how much paperwork would be involved, yet again. The officers totally dismissed the behavior of the belligerent men. One of the officers thought the situation was funny and started making cartoon references while laughing with other men in uniform. It just seemed like every effort was made to dismiss my concerns and avoid having to handle the situation. I decided to let it go for the night and wait for management to come to give me my refund.
I never received a refund, and my concerns were never addressed. I will certainly book live shows at other venues from now on.
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