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2014.08.29-2014.08.31 Electric Zoo 2014 (pg. 2)
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| euphoria |
Drug sniffing dogs will be on the lineup this year lol :disbelief
http://on.wsj.com/1gI2MQe
After two drug-related deaths at Electric Zoo in 2013, organizers of the dance-music festival plan to crack down this year with drug-sniffing dogs, thorough pat-downs and undercover security officers with backgrounds in narcotics investigations.
Those are among the new safety measures that promoters Mike Bindra and Laura DePalma said they will introduce at the three-day event, which they have hosted for the past five years on Randall's Island.
The pair said they expect to hold Electric Zoo again there over Labor Day weekend, although they haven't received a site permit from the Department of Parks and Recreation—something they said typically happens later in the year.
City officials are concerned about the deaths, and that has been a factor in the deliberations about this year's permit, a person familiar with the matter said.
Assuming the show goes on, festivalgoers—for the first time—will be required to watch an antidrug public-service announcement online, delivered by electronic-music stars, to activate the wristbands that get them into the event.
Vendors also will be scrutinized more, and the event will be several hours shorter, starting later in the day, to reduce fans' exposure to the sun.
Hoping to avoid scaring them away because of the stricter policies, Mr. Bindra, 45 years old, said Electric Zoo organizers also are considering offering "amnesty bins" at the gates, where fans could discard illicit substances without penalty before being searched.
"We don't want to be finger-wagging," Mr. Bindra said. " 'Just say no to drugs,' we can all agree, has been ineffective in the past."
Electric Zoo's third day was canceled last year after two festivalgoers in their 20s died after taking ecstasy despite safety precautions that included on-site emergency treatment centers, free bottled water and announcements between DJ sets instructing fans to stay safe and hydrated and to seek medical attention if needed. That safety package cost about $428,081, according to the promoters.
After the deaths, Mr. Bindra and Ms. DePalma convened an advisory board of doctors, DJs and security consultants to devise a new plan aimed at preventing similar incidents.
In October, Mr. Bindra and Ms. DePalma sold their 14-year-old promotion company, Made Events, to entertainment mogul Robert F.X. Sillerman's dance-music conglomerate, SFX Entertainment Inc. SFXE +2.23%
SFX is backing the new safety measures and will help fund them; the cost is expected be several hundreds of thousands of dollars more than last year's package.
And the company is applying the advisory board's recommendations to all of its festivals, though precautions vary by event size and other factors such as the availability of alcohol, said Dr. Andrew Bazos, a physician who now serves on SFX's board after two decades managing crowd safety at the U.S. Open and other New York events.
The recent consolidation of the electronic-dance-music industry—from SFX's roll-up of promoters to Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s myriad acquisitions—is making these gatherings safer than those put on by individual promoters who may lack the resources to provide extensive on-site medical services, he said.
Now, Dr. Bazos said, SFX has no arbitrary spending cutoffs for medical services at festivals.
At TomorrowWorld, for example, only 19 out of 50,000 fans had to be transported to hospitals for services the on-site treatment centers couldn't provide, such as X-rays, he said.
The Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, whose Electric Zoo performance was canceled last year in the wake of the deaths, said he joined the advisory board to lend his support.
"If they prohibit Electric Zoo, you'll have more underground raves," which can be far more dangerous, he said.
Still, Mr. van Buuren said accidents are inevitable once gatherings reach a certain scale, no matter how many precautions are taken or what kind of music is playing.
"My parents taught me about Woodstock," he said. "A lot of stuff went wrong there, too, but now people only remember the good stuff." |
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| CarS |
| quote: | Originally posted by euphoria
Drug sniffing dogs will be on the lineup this year lol :disbelief
http://on.wsj.com/1gI2MQe
"My parents taught me about Woodstock," he [AvB] said. "A lot of stuff went wrong there, too, but now people only remember the good stuff." |
and once more, the man proves to be a major douchebag.
One can only hope that enough people say this, I have no need to be treated like a prisoner being checked in to the slammer.
If it does go on this year, and something else happens, what's next, gloved hands probing all orifices?
Actually, they should do cavity searches this year, cause anyone who still goes to this police-state deserves to be reamed big time.
No ill will to Bindra, its not really his fault, and he cashed out timely anyway.
Corporate douches like Silverman, you can only hope they lose money.... |
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| AY STAR |
i understand them wanting to make the festival more safe which i support. i honestly wouldnt mind watching a few min of the video if i had to
but shortening the hours to "reduce fans' exposure to the sun"
thats pushing it. so you gonna be paying more for less now? |
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| DOOMAHX |
Except all they are doing is providing the illusion of safety. Honestly, do you really think drug dogs and some DEA agents would have prevented those deaths last year? I don't.
If they really cared about safety they would allow pill testing stations like many events in europe do. They would promote harm reduction and invite organizations like Dance Safe etc.
You know what drug dogs do? They make people consume their drugs while waiting on line rather than inside the gates. Guess what, still a bunch of ed up people, just earlier in the day when it's light out. |
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| Serial Killer |
| I will boycott this event |
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| Skeptic |
| hoping for another Cadenza tent. I wanna see lucien :( |
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| hommey |
| quote: | Originally posted by DOOMAHX
Except all they are doing is providing the illusion of safety. Honestly, do you really think drug dogs and some DEA agents would have prevented those deaths last year? I don't.
If they really cared about safety they would allow pill testing stations like many events in europe do. They would promote harm reduction and invite organizations like Dance Safe etc.
You know what drug dogs do? They make people consume their drugs while waiting on line rather than inside the gates. Guess what, still a bunch of ed up people, just earlier in the day when it's light out. |
^^^ TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS
hmm... I wonder what suggestion I would have for the organizers to make this more safe? |
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| gimmebeatz |
| quote: | Originally posted by DOOMAHX
Except all they are doing is providing the illusion of safety. Honestly, do you really think drug dogs and some DEA agents would have prevented those deaths last year? I don't.
If they really cared about safety they would allow pill testing stations like many events in europe do. They would promote harm reduction and invite organizations like Dance Safe etc.
You know what drug dogs do? They make people consume their drugs while waiting on line rather than inside the gates. Guess what, still a bunch of ed up people, just earlier in the day when it's light out. |
100%!!! exactly what i said also. now youre just gonna have people consuming much more drugs quicker before entry and having it all hit them earlier in the day all at once. |
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| DOOMAHX |
I'm curious to see this PSA.
Will they take this opportunity to actually make an impact on people’s lives by teaching them proper harm reduction? How to test their substances that they have already decided they will consume and how to do so safely? Or will this be another missed opportunity by doing the usual “drugs are bad m’kay” messaging that will be ignored by 98% of the viewers.
I bet I can guess which route they will take. |
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| CarS |
| quote: | Originally posted by hommey
I wonder what suggestion I would have for the organizers to make this more safe? |
how about spraying butyric acid all over Randall's Island a day or two beforehand?
and add in a good portion of scatole also, because then it will smell just like the sound of 75+% of this.
Oh, one more nugget of wisdom from the DOUCHEBAG:
"If they prohibit Electric Zoo, you'll have more underground raves," which can be far more dangerous
yup, it's the venues and setups that do this, people's choices and conduct have nothing to do with this.
AvB should join Bloombergs anti-gun campaing, they're on the same wavelength. |
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| Burak14 |
| never heard of a drug dog sniffing MDMA. just saying.. |
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| Burak14 |
| never heard of a drug dog sniffing MDMA. just saying.. |
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