Were sister act's fans dancing or staggering?

They were in the mood for dancing – and a bit of drinking – at the Nolans Sisters concert last weekend. But did it all get too much?

IT WASN'T so much that the audience was in the mood for dancing as for drinking at the Nolan Sisters concert last weekend, at least according to irate callers to Liveline. "Ladies fell on the floor and fell over each other," complained one caller to Joe Duffy. "They had loads of drink on them."

Another caller described women falling into their seat wells or on top of elderly women in attendance, to which were added reports of vomiting, stumbling and a level of inebriation that caused one caller to miss the entire performance.

“Not one of their hits did we hear because we left in disgust, because of the drinking.” Many callers blamed the venue for serving audience members too much drink or for too long, but a statement from O2 said the bars on the night were closed shortly after the main act went on stage. “It is the policy of The O2 that where a patron is clearly intoxicated they be removed from the venue and that transport is organised in order to ensure that they reach home safely,” the venue added.

Yet given that audiences of different age groups clearly expect different experiences, does the venue adjust its security and bar policies for the various demographics of their concert goers?

“As part of our planning for every concert at the venue we examine the profile of the audience and adjust our levels of stewarding and security staff as appropriate. On the night in question we had 120 security and stewarding staff in attendance – which translates to one for every 50 people attending. Paramedics and Order of Malta staff were present also.”

It wasn’t just the drinking that was an issue, however: audience members complained about the distracting attire of other attendees – specifically pink hats with lights on them worn by one hen party at the event – and the fact that their views were blocked by other audience members who took to their feet.

Dubliner Siobhán Harrison admits to standing up and dancing during the concert despite her initial reluctance to attend at all. “The music was the kind that you had to get up and dance to; you couldn’t sit still,” she explains. “We would be guilty, then, we got up and danced. And the people behind us were standing as well. It was just that kind of music.”

Yet other than excessive dancing, Harrison did not see the kind of intoxicated behaviour reported by the Livelinecallers. "It was a great show: we sang and danced the whole night through in a very orderly fashion, and everyone around us was orderly. Our group would span from mid-30s to mid-40s, and we would have been among the youngest there, but everyone in our vicinity was extremely well behaved and enjoyed a very good night."

Though she described it as "one giant hen party from hell", Irish Timesreviewer Siobhán Long had a similar take on the event. "People seemed to be in extremely good form, and the form improved as the night went on," she says, but adds that she witnessed no major excesses in either of the two locations from which she watched the performance. "It was no different to the kind of drinking you'd see at any concert."

But many of those complaining clearly had very different expectations of a concert than the reality they were met with, or those that a younger generation of concert-goers might have. “It’s a social event, so you’d often be drinking while you’re at the concert,” says 26-year-old Ciara Nolan (no relation), who missed the Nolan Sisters but regularly attends gigs at The O2 and other venues here and abroad.

She says she would be more irked at being forced to keep her seat than at any audience members who took to their feet. “I went to a Westlife concert with my mother in Croke Park and we were told we had to be seated the whole time, and that detracted from the whole thing.”

So has she ever experienced anything like the reports from the Nolan Sisters gig? “I’ve very rarely been to a concert where I felt that people were drinking excessively, or that it was detracting from my experience, and I’ve been to a lot of concerts,” she says, adding that given that her age group is the one usually stereotyped for binge drinking, she does “feel sort of vindicated” now that the shoe is on the other foot.

With mixed reports about what really happened on the night the Nolan Sisters came to town, we may never know the truth about the evening yet, when asked whether the venue security or O2 staff present on the night witnessed anything that differed greatly from their usual experiences, the statement was clear. “The behaviour of the audience on the night was not exceptional. The majority of complaints received regarded the shutting of the bars.”