derekx

Hard Summer was scheduled to be one of the biggest dance parties this year. Underworld, Chromeo, Crystal Castles, Crookers, The Bloody Beetroots, and several others rounded out the line up. Little did anyone know, we were in for one disaster of a night.

The night started out in a cluster fuck. Thousands of confused fans circled The Forum in Inglewood, CA looking for entrances and will call pick up. With will-call being the only free option provided by Groovetickets and Ticketmaster, it showed to be a problem in itself, with hundreds of people lined up just to pick up their tickets. These problems were a mere glimpse of what was to come. 

The sets got off to a good start with Busy P spinning on the main stage as the crowd flowed in. Having Hard Summer at The Forum was a huge mistake. The set up inside the venue was a complete failure. There were 2 aisles dedicated for floor entry and another 2 for floor exit. As Crystal Castles started their lackluster set with overuse of feedback and Alice Glass’ obnoxious shriek the floor had reached capacity, leaving angered fans stuck in the aisles. This didn’t stop fans from finding a way down to the floor. With about a 15 foot drop between the seats and the floor, people started jumping over the railing. Security scrambled to clear the aisles and to stop the fans from jumping down. 

After Crystal Castles set, an unknown man on stage urged the crowd to settle down and find there way to a seat so that the music could continue. An hour had passed and the people in the sound booth began to pack up their equipment. This was a sure sign that this was being shut down. Riot police strapped with tear gas and batons filled the front of the floor and began to push the crowd back towards the exits. Hard Summer was officially over.

Gary Richards, the promoter of Hard, issued this statement via Twitter earlier today, “Full refund will be made available for those who purchased tickets to HARD SUMMER more info coming ASAP.”