Prefacing this with an acknowledgement – a LOT was not set up for success at this show venue-wise. This is not intended to shame people who got sick. However… it didn’t have to be as bad as it was.
I was in the 100s and had an absolutely great time. Never felt sick, dizzy, or tired, never needed medical help, could’ve gone for the full show and still had a lot of fun. This isn’t because I’m somehow more tolerant of heat and humidity (I am absolutely not) but because I took care of myself. I really hope a lot of people take this show as a wake-up call – not along the lines of ‘never go to a stadium show’ but more ‘your health is THE priority’.
Some things that I know made it possible for me –
- Starting to hydrate early. I drank electrolyte water and coconut water for a couple days before the show day. You can’t just drink water when you’re thirsty, unfortunately.
- Stayed out of the sun and in air conditioning to not stress my body out the days before and on the show day. A lot of museums are free in DC! So is just vibing in a hotel room!
- Got to the venue late. Like, 6ish. Found a line in the shade. Used a little fan to increase airflow in the crowd. Stayed at the edge of the line to, again, not be trapped in a lot of body heat.
- Drank water on the way there and in line. Had a sealed bottle of water for during the show, and put electrolyte tablets in it. Refilled it during one of the breaks.
- Dressed for the weather. It was so hot. I had a long sports bra and a sports skort on with a loose shirt, and it was cute because I wasn’t dying. I was still very sweaty. Sweaty is good!
Again, I don’t want this to come across as shaming. It is NOT. The venue set up a lot of things that were out of people’s control (exit bottlenecks, poor signage, running out of water) and the weather was unbelievable. But it can’t all be blamed on the venue. The show would likely have ended early regardless – skz themselves looked rough (why did they keep the pyro, and go back to the newer costumes??) and enough people were having issues that I also felt it was unsafe. However, a whole lot of it could have been avoided by…
- Doing a tiny bit of research. If it’s going to be hot, and you don’t know a lot about how to exist when it’s hot, Google is your friend. It won’t tell you anything big that common sense won’t (stay inside, drink water, air conditioning). It might give you something new (electrolyte tablets, signs of heat exhaustion, how to dress). This heatwave didn’t take anyone by surprise. I got weather alerts every couple hours for days leading up to it. You had time to plan and adjust if you needed to.
- Not waiting in line for merch outside the show. Your health and safety is not worth an evil skzoo shirt. It’s just not! You know that!
- Not staying in the sun (or the hot shade) for hours for freebie swaps, often from noon to showtime. I love freebies! They’re delightful! I traded while in line, later, in the shade.
- Not wearing a concert fit that is unsafe. There were people in hoodies and jeans at the show. Pleather, legwarmers, head to toe black – I get that you’ve planned your fit for weeks or months, but you have to adjust if it doesn’t match reality, or you’ll be so, so miserable.
- Bringing water. So many people didn’t bring enough water or didn’t drink it because they were worried about losing their spot in line (for merch, for barricade, for entry). You have to care about your health. You HAVE to. The venue staff certainly won’t do it for you. I understand a lot of the gates apparently made people throw water away. I’m really, really sorry. You need to get another one (or two) inside. Yes, it’ll delay your getting to the barricade. Yes, it’ll mean you might have to pee. That’s taking care of yourself. I’m sorry it was $8 for a bottle of water. That sucks, too. Hospitalization or medical bills will cost more than $8. And I know this sounds privileged (I’m sorry again) but if you can’t afford to buy water in an emergency situation, you absolutely cannot afford to be at a concert.
- Leaving when you start to feel ill. I’ve been in GA pits. I’ve been doing this for a while. By the time you feel sick, yeah, it’s probably too late – but my god, get out of the pit! There was plenty of time between soundcheck and the show starting to leave for a break – to sit in the shade, get more water, get medical help. And yeah, you won’t get your spot back. But you’ll be alive and well, your brain won’t be cooked, and you’ll get to enjoy the rest of the show.
I GET it. I understand it feels impossible in the moment – you don’t want to go to a refill station because there’s a hundred people in line, and you’ll miss two or three songs. You don’t want to try to get out of the pit, because you’ll never be that close again, and this is your first and maybe only chance. But I am absolutely shocked that nobody died from this. Like, people could be dead. People could have passed out and been crushed against the barricade or on the floor before limited medical staff could reach them. People could have stood up too fast, dropped, hit their head wrong on a chair or railing or step, and that’s that. People were passing out down the stairs outside after the show ended and reportedly having seizures. Your body is horrifyingly fragile in too many ways, and even if you think this MIGHT be your only chance to see stray kids/be barricade/get an interaction, it will absolutely be your only chance if you become seriously injured or die.
With that in mind, please start to put yourself first. Please. Nobody else can do it for you.
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