Comments on: Photos: M.I.A. – Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee

By: dwellephant

dwellephant — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:35:09 +0000

My friend was supposed to shoot the show for MKE, but got a call last minute that M.I.A.’s label didn’t want them to. Apparently, a lot of photographers got that call. That may be why they were confiscating cameras that night, ’cause I’ve been to a ton of shows there, and they weren’t doing shit about people taking pictures.

By: sammie

sammie — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:41:05 +0000

I think i saw John Swan on stage! rockin with MIA, she was slam jamin!

By: joe

joe — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:40:17 +0000

I liked the security because I walked in without paying via the artist entrance and the security guard at the door didn’t even bother to stand up. Their incompetence suits me just fine.

By: em

em — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:06:59 +0000

who is this ed oliver guy and where’d he come from? his shots are amazing.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:22:05 +0000

I agree with alap. M.I.A. put on an outstanding show, but the security was really poor. I was also disappointed that Holy Fuck never came on. That’s probably why there was such a long delay between the first lame openers and M.I.A. All in all, not entirely worth the $27.50.

By: uwmryan

uwmryan — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:09:49 +0000

alap – That’s the second complaint I’ve read about security at Turner Hall (The Hold Steady show being the first). I just saw DeVotchKa there last week and didn’t experience any problems with security – though the types of shows we’re talking about are night and day different.

Glad to hear the show was good regardless.

By: alap

alap — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:46:11 +0000

her performance was just spectacular, possibly the coolest, most chaotic concert i’ve been to, with crazy hip-hop dancers, audience members getting pulled up on stage en masse, blow horns being thrown into the crowd…it was, like, an excuse to experience a soulja boy concert without having to say you’re going to a soulja boy concert.

the security at turner hall last night, on the other hand, was pathetic. apparently they have a policy where if you try to take pictures, they confiscate your camera, but if some drunk guy way up to the front of the stage (he looked like dj skaggs with a hitler mustache) starts threatening and punching people and elbowing people in the throat, it’s a A-OK cuz he “got there first,” not considering that: A) there’s a giant mosh pit on the dance floor, where everyone’s getting constantly pushed around, so if you get shoved involuntarily up to the front of the stage where some lunatic’s staked his claim, it’s probably not by choice, and B) the crazy guy’s yelling physical threats in your ear at the same time that the security guard’s nodding “nope; the lunatic is right.”

sorry. i just had to vent, and it turned out sounding pretty whiny. the concert was a lot of fun…just physically painful at points.