Come on guys don't tell me it was a good show. I have been stuck in bed most of the day sick and had an invite to go due to somebody else being sick. I would have loved to go :(

Sounded like a good show. I saw them in the early 90's ago when I was in Japan in the Tokyo dome. Wouldn't have enjoyed it so much in this weather, and having to wait outside in queues for hours didn't sound like much fun, I would have been a bit pissed about that.

The concert and show was great, however I did feel the sound wasn't that great with Axl's midrange and vocals being a little poor. The wind at the stadium certainly didn't help the sound though.

The biggest problem seemed to be people getting home with once again Metlink proved they are incapable of running a public transport system. I had my car at the stadium and when I left just after 12 there were still thousands of people leaving the stadium but all trains had already left. They were still clipping tickets to get people onto the platforms that they couldn't fit on the trains and then told the thousands still remaining that there were no more trains.

sbiddle:

 

The biggest problem seemed to be people getting home with once again Metlink proved they are incapable of running a public transport system. I had my car at the stadium and when I left just after 12 there were still thousands of people leaving the stadium but all trains had already left. They were still clipping tickets to get people onto the platforms that they couldn't fit on the trains and then told the thousands still remaining that there were no more trains.

 

Glad to know I picked that right. With the concert starting an hour late I rang Metlink to check what was happening, they said they'd update the website later, which they did to say that due to the concert running late they were making the 11:14 bus only, and putting on a mere _2_ trains per line afterwards. I made the call that there was no way that was enough trains, so we didn't wait for the encore, bailed the second they finished the main set, and even then we only just managed to get seats on the first train. 

Was a good concert, but Metlink's handling of the event was a total train wreck (pardon the pun). 

sbiddle:

 

The concert and show was great, however I did feel the sound wasn't that great with Axl's midrange and vocals being a little poor. The wind at the stadium certainly didn't help the sound though.

 

The biggest problem seemed to be people getting home with once again Metlink proved they are incapable of running a public transport system. I had my car at the stadium and when I left just after 12 there were still thousands of people leaving the stadium but all trains had already left. They were still clipping tickets to get people onto the platforms that they couldn't fit on the trains and then told the thousands still remaining that there were no more trains.

 

 

 

 

 

Trains? We headed out between show end and encore as we needed to get back and still had to collect the car from Upper Hutt and then drive to Martinborough.

All the trains were parked up and the TM staff told us that they had all been replaced by buses, making us waste another hour or so crawling along in a bus that should have been scrapped in 1976 it was so old and clunky, stopping at places no one has ever heard of..!

The concert was excellent but as usual the sound was poor. It is not a good venue from a sound perspective - at all - and they really ought to have roofed the stadium given the typical weather too.

I saw Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy & Friends at the Hollywood Bowl last year - now THAT is a venue with superb sound.

My wife actually decided last night that she won't attend any more concerts at Westpac due to poor sound.

mattwnz: I never bother with the train when going to events at the stadium, far easier and cheaper and a lot safer to drive. The train system integration with the stadium has never been great, and the customer service last time I used the trains wasn't good. We don't seem to do trains very well in NZ, although Wellingtons network is supposed to be better than Aucklands.

I am looking forward to seeing the redevelopment to the stadium, with the new cladding. It is certainly showing its age. Hopefully it includes some work on the train integration.

My wife worked for Kiwi Rail once. She said that the biggest issue is the unions and the power they hold over management. Whenever management want to do something that might improve things for customers but inconvenience union members, the unions just get stroppy until the idea goes away!

The fact that we still have cardboard tickets and actual people punching holes in them shows just how far behind we are.

Kiwi Rail (and now TransDev) really only provide staff under contract to actually run the train services. They neither own the trains nor fund the services - that's all Metlink. The fact cardboard tickets still exist is because of Metlink, it's nothing to do with the train operator. Up until ~2 years ago GWRC didn't even believe there was a need for integrated ticketing in Wellington.

It really just defies logic that they couldn't have another few train crews and rolling stock ready if needed for overflow. The fact that this issue has repeatedly happened after concerts just shows a level of incompetence and penny pinching from them because they would have had to pay for more staff that may or may not have been needed.

sbiddle:

Kiwi Rail (and now TransDev) really only provide staff under contract to actually run the train services. They neither own the trains nor fund the services - that's all Metlink. The fact cardboard tickets still exist is because of Metlink, it's nothing to do with the train operator. Up until ~2 years ago GWRC didn't even believe there was a need for integrated ticketing in Wellington.

It really just defies logic that they couldn't have another few train crews and rolling stock ready if needed for overflow. The fact that this issue has repeatedly happened after concerts just shows a level of incompetence and penny pinching from them because they would have had to pay for more staff that may or may not have been needed.

 

 

 

Geektastic:

True.

Although I'd like to know why we were lied to and told that all trains had been replaced by buses when that wasn't the case.

Originally the concert was due to finish at 22:45, with some special train services to follow, and the last scheduled service due to leave at 23:14.

Because everything was late, they limited the number of special services to 2 per line running on a "leave when full like sardines" basis, and changed the 23:14 scheduled service to bus replacements. You left early enough to get the 23:14 service.