CCW @ concerts?

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I've only been to one, and I'd say that's probably the last place you'd want to CCW, not because you won't need it, but because retention is tough, among many reasons. A lot of people get pick pocketed just because it's so easy when so many people are bumping into you. IF you are going to carry (and I'd recommend against it), get a level III retention holster and check it often.

Furthermore, there are just so many people at concerts that even if there were a threat, there'd probably be no way for you to get a good shot anyway. Tack on the possible security measures you may face, and it's just a bad idea to carry to a concert, IMO.
 
Its not the people in the concert I worry about...

I usually carry my NAA Mini to Denver rock concerts. The posted signage declaring "no weapons" has no legal weight, and since the security check points are not permanent stations, if you can get it through, you are good to go. If they somehow discover your weapon (why should they?- it should be DEEPLY CONCEALED, not a full size 1911 or Glock in a dumb IWB), you must refuse to leave before you could be picked-up for a trespassing charge. They don't wand people because, like a previous poster stated, the general attire of rock concert goers would make the chore impossible. I just put the Mini in a crotch holster, and trust me, they DON'T pat down there. Also, here in CO, its legal to enjoy A beer and still CCW. I have no concern about the people in the concerts, its the walk to the venue and back to my car that I worry about. In case you don't know, Denver's best venues are located in some of the seediest parts of town (East Colfax, Broadway, near the Rescue Mission, etc). Sometimes, unsavory types are present. If you have questions about the security at a given venue, just call a few days ahead of time and say your teenage daughter is going to a concert and you are concerned about the security they provide to keep her safe.

As a side note, I attend these shows to enjoy the music and to people watch. As a legally armed citizen, I DO NOT engage in activities that could get me into an "incident", such as excessive drinking, drugs, playing in the the mosh pit or enjoying the front row shenanigans.

Hunter
 
I mostly just go to small venue club shows and bypass the arena rock, since VanHalen isn't playing or young anymore.
At the last few club shows I've attended, I didn't carry because I wanted to enjoy myself. So, I cram my wallet into my front pocket, take my watch off and put that in the other pocket and have fun.
But, a lot of the metal shows I go to are attended more and more by skinheads/white power guys, and up til recently (when I wanted to begin working in Law Enforcement) I had long hair and dressed like a hippie. So, there was always a lot of tension. If something happened between me and Mr. Flightjacket, I didn't want to get processed with an illegal (meaning unlawfully concealed not stolen, etc...) weapon.
Now that I've got a buzzcut and am getting muscled up again, it's less of an issue since I'm giving a nod to their social standards.
However, at some of the more tame shows I attend (like southern culture on the skids, madeline peyroux, etc), I did carry because of the return trip home or to the car. The doormen don't ever pat you down in a club and if you mind your business you won't have a problem. And, if you NEED that firearm, you have it. Which is precisely why I carry in the first place.

But, I'd rather not carry at all so I can bounce around and have fun. :D
 
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I'm a working musician playing classic rock on a classic bass while carrying a classic Smith.

Maybe we should just change the band name to "The Classics".:D

Around here if I'm not performing I usually check out the show entrances looking for legal "no guns" signs and personal searches. If I see either one I go back to my car and leave my gun. Otherwise, I'm fully dressed and ready to rock'n'roll.

I also learned the hard way to only carry cheap pocket knives. Had a decent one confiscated by security at the Toyota Center in Houston. I asked them if they would just set it aside so I could reclaim it after the show, but they said they couldn't and were tossing everything in a trash can. It was open seating and I was with a group of friends, so rather than hike back to the car, I just watched them shltcan it. :cuss:
 
Last time I went to a concert was at a big music festival a few towns over. Outdoor concert venue, smallish crowd. To get in, you must pass a security checkpoint, and have your bags searched by some tattooed Hell's Angels... since women mostly carry bags to concerts, they're the only ones who are really searched. No frisking or metal detectors... but maybe next year.

Once inside, there were Pa Liquor Control Board officers at the beer tent, 8 or so local cops watching the seating area, and volunteers and private security by the stage. Once the concert was over, all the same people were there, with the addition of 2 state troopers on horseback.

While nobody likes to be disarmed and helpless, any situation that happened at that particular concert would probably get the attention of some officers pretty quickly.

Also, how useful would a pistol be in such a crowded area? It seems to me that it would be easier to evade an attacker in a crowd than it would be to get a clean shot with a pistol... just sayin'


I went to an airshow (I believe it was at Eglin AFB) a few years back. That was a VERY thorough search by guys with rifles! Even the smallest pocket knife was confiscated and labeled for return to its owner. They even closely studied my PEN! I learned that one attendee had an X-Acto knife in his boot, wrapped in electrical tape... seemed a little strange. Once inside, AF Security Forces were everywhere, armed with rifles. That was another time I felt reasonably safe, even if I was disarmed.


If we're to be disarmed, the folks who set the rules need to provide an adequate level of security... they did just that in the above examples, and I feel that I was safe because of that. Now, about gun-free zones at schools and shopping malls... if they had about 20 police officers, or some guys in camo with M16s, maybe I'd be a bit more comfortable with that.
 
"Also, how useful would a pistol be in such a crowded area?"

Well, we can't actually ask Lee Harvey Oswald, but I'm just sayin';)
 
1OZ prevention>1LB cure

the best way to overcome violent confrontation is to avoid it.

anyone who even OWNS a firearm should be required to read ayoob's "in the gravest extreme". lots of good advice there, from a cop who had to go in and pick up the post-shoot pieces and make sense of it for the LEO reports.

if the place i'm thinking of going to seems dangerous enough to need a firearm, i just don't go anymore. if you ~HAVE~ to go, another scenario all together. but a concert doesn't seem worth it to me if i feel endangered being there.

just my new old timer S.O.P., gleaned from MANY bad experiences in the wrong places. and yeah, i saw all the big names in the "love peace and happiness" sanfran bay hippie daze. by the time the counter-culture had hit bottom, and the drug wino's were all that remained in the Hait-Ashbury district, parking in SF for a night at winterland or the fillmore west was ridiculous.

it got so bad that a bud of mine used to leave his car doors unlocked to avoid the need to replace a window. you guessed it, checking for unlocked doors took too long, so they broke his window anyway. later it became one of the most violent areas one could go to, short of the oakland ghetto.

i wonder now at my youthfull ignorance that would expose me to these situations. if i had the same database to re-decide these choices now, i'd wait 35 years and rent the video instead.

gunnie
 
As for a terrorist situation... In the US they've gone after relatively few targets. In Europe and the middle east, they've gone after schools, crowded subways, ships, housing complexes, and crowded shopping areas. I'm guessing that Israel doesn't have a great number of large gatherings of people...

Frankly, concerts generally don't make me worried, unless it involves a "walk to the car while nobody else is around" situation, and that's just plain out. If I'm going downtown, I'm taking metro to my car, along with a BUNCH of other folks. If I'm at the big local outdoor venue, there's plenty of other folks around. Worse that can happen is that some guy gets drunk and decides to prove that he's stupid... I can handle that without a boomstick.

What worries me is that sooner or later some middle eastern nutjob is going to go after a target rich environment over here... Imagine a high school basketball game... Generally 3-4 terrorists could control something like that. Or just blow everything up... Imagine 3-4 guys, each wearing a vest with five kilos of semtex, and 20 kilos of nails, etc... That could be really ugly...
 
form twitchalot:
I've only been to one, and I'd say that's probably the last place you'd want to CCW, not because you won't need it, but because retention is tough, among many reasons. A lot of people get pick pocketed just because it's so easy when so many people are bumping into you. IF you are going to carry (and I'd recommend against it), get a level III retention holster and check it often.

Furthermore, there are just so many people at concerts that even if there were a threat, there'd probably be no way for you to get a good shot anyway. Tack on the possible security measures you may face, and it's just a bad idea to carry to a concert, IMO.
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exactly.

SEARCHING= count on it. at the very least they are going to check for bottles, cans, and possibly cameras depending on Zep's rights deal.

you would never convince me you are a good enough shot not to hit me in a crowd that tight, please leave your gun at home. (or locked well in your car)
 
On this subject I can only say this,

I worked concert security for a long time. At metal head venues and the like ie wresteling rap concerts ect. we hand searched every one meaning pat down. Every one at the places we worked were told 2 times and passed no less than 4 signs that guns/knives/weapons were not allowed. If you chose to get up to the search area and did not disarm by that point you were put to the ground(by concert security) hand cuffed by local law enforcement and removed. Now what they did was run your record if valid let go and warned if not valid off to jail you went. But that was local authority and venue specific rules.
I sugest checking local laws and rules. In short I am willing to bet if beer is sold there will be a no gun rule.
 
Considering that I mostly go to punk and hardcore shows, I wouldn't carry even if I could. I'd lose my piece within five minutes of moshing.
 
read

Just make sure that you read up on the venue and event rules. Most of the time they don't even allow glass bottles let alone firearms.
 
ive been to hundreds of concerts, not only as a paying member of the crowd, but as a yellow shirted security guy, and as an interviewer for a magazine... i dotn even carry my wallet in to em any more... ive seen too many people have their pockets ripped open, clothing ripped off, beaten up etc... even backstage is no place to carry... there are too many things going on all at once to keep track of a weapon like that... i always make sure that i know where exits are located and how to get to em...

i have found that in most cases, a violent situation will be broken up by the crowd within a few seconds, so the likelihood of needing or being able to effectively use a firearm is almost nil, especially when it comes to all of the bystanders that are floating around... now rock and rap concerts are different from symphonies and country music shows... but still, there are so many people in such a small place that using a weapon would be highly impractical...

keep in mind that i have been on the floor of shows that vary from marlyn manson, korn and rob zombie, to matchbox twenty, rascal flats and the beach boys... some crowds are VERY rowdy, others pretty tame... i have had to fight my way out of crowds on more than one occasion, including cases where i have had to drag injured people to medical care... i have broken up more fights than i care to count... i have also seen people loose every possible pocket carry item imaginable... i have personally found cell phones, oakley sunglasses, rings, money, car keys, and even once a diamond bracelet... so i would really hesitate to bring a pistol...

just imagine if you are in a crowd and get jostled around, your gun falls out and gets stepped on by a couple of hundred people... how possible is it for the gun to go off in that situation?
 
:)romma, you're right, not a concert goer at all. Music's too loud, (I guess that means I am to old), too crowded, too expensive. I'd rather buy the album and listen at home without the added distractions.
That's just me, I have nothing against concerts at all, enjoy in good health!:)
 
Last big show I went to was Rush in late fall, I carried my Commander owb under a big shirt, mind you, I am close to 50 years old, but when the guy went to frisk me, I looked at him and asked "do you have a warrant" and he just sorta stumbled and mumbled and I said "I didn't think so" and I walked right past him.

Younger kids might have a problem, but if your over 30 just say no and walk right past them.
 
Originally posted by RKBABob: If we're to be disarmed, the folks who set the rules need to provide an adequate level of security... they did just that in the above examples, and I feel that I was safe because of that. Now, about gun-free zones at schools and shopping malls... if they had about 20 police officers, or some guys in camo with M16s, maybe I'd be a bit more comfortable with that.
Click to expand...

You are choosing to be disarmed. If you do not like their business practices, do not go there.
 
Originally posted by Pete F: Last big show I went to was Rush in late fall, I carried my Commander owb under a big shirt, mind you, I am close to 50 years old, but when the guy went to frisk me, I looked at him and asked "do you have a warrant" and he just sorta stumbled and mumbled and I said "I didn't think so" and I walked right past him.

Younger kids might have a problem, but if your over 30 just say no and walk right past them.
Click to expand...

Bad advice. This is a good way to get arrested and possibly hurt by security or LEOs. They do not need a warrant. It is a condition of entry to get into most concerts. If you choose not to you and enter you are violating their rights as business owners and property owners.
 
Last big show I went to was Rush in late fall, I carried my Commander owb under a big shirt, mind you, I am close to 50 years old, but when the guy went to frisk me, I looked at him and asked "do you have a warrant" and he just sorta stumbled and mumbled and I said "I didn't think so" and I walked right past him.

Younger kids might have a problem, but if your over 30 just say no and walk right past them.
Click to expand...

Bad advice. This is a good way to get arrested and possibly hurt by security or LEOs. They do not need a warrant. It is a condition of entry to get into most concerts. If you choose not to you and enter you are violating their rights as business owners and property owners.
Click to expand...

Well technicaly they cannot search you without your consent and they do not have any legal authority to do anything without your concent. However they can just tell you to get lost and you cannot enter.
If they choose to do more they are leaving themselves and the venue open to lawsuit by overstepping thier bounds.

I don't go to any recreational event that searches me, regardless of whether I have something to find or not. If there is that little right to privacy and respect to the customers then obviously I am not the target audience.
 
Heck, I had to throw away the 1.5" penknife on my key ring just to get into a Lyle Lovett concert! I'd hate to try to take my carry gun into OzzFest!
BTW- The Ohio CHL permits only allow concealed "handgun" carry, knives are not part of the deal.
Jack
 
Last big show I went to was Rush in late fall, I carried my Commander owb under a big shirt, mind you, I am close to 50 years old, but when the guy went to frisk me, I looked at him and asked "do you have a warrant" and he just sorta stumbled and mumbled and I said "I didn't think so" and I walked right past him.
Click to expand...

If there was every a concert to NOT need to carry that would be it. (I saw them in August, and I am listening to my own personal fan's deep cut dream setlist). Plan on going to see them again in April.

Neil Peart probably would have shook your hand for denying their search.
 
not in MI, any type of sporting event over 2500 people, I would think could involve concerts is prohibited.
 
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