Yeah, I agree luvwicked. If it's raining you have to assume there will be umbrellas.... and if you even remotely think that's going to irk you, dont go. It sounds bitchy but cmon now.
I dont know how close you were to the front, luvwicked, but Im standing there opening and closing the barricade to let press and other staff into the press pen and VIP area, and this guy is flipping out because of my umbrella. Yeah, okay, maybe I was a bitch to him, but he just wasnt getting it.... not to mention I didnt see him putting HIS umbrella down for the sake of the people behind HIM.
Believe it or not, there is actually a game plan/organization for crowd control and everything else you mentioned.... however, it doesnt always work out as planned. It's a horrible set up to have the stage at one end of the alley, rather than up against the Shubert.... Obviously, they can fit more people in the alley, but it surely makes policing the crowd a lot more difficult. I remember a few years back when the stage was on the 45th street side of the alley.... there were so many people crammed in and it was hot and humid..... and one or two people collapsed/passed out as a result. Insanity.
Yesterday a few people in the general crowd area got pissed off, essentially jumped the barricade and went and sat in the VIP area.
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
