I have seen Watsky several times and he always puts on an amazing show, as he did this time. Unfortunately the venue (Liberty Hall) was not equipped for the concert. The ventilation was nonexistent and the AC didn’t seem to be working at all, causing massive overheating by both the artists and the entire crowd.
With a tightly packed crowd which is common for a show like this, the heat was becoming unbearable which all performers commented on and it got worse as the night progressed. By the beginning of Watsky’s first song, someone in the audience passed out and he stopped the show immediately. Watsky, his band, and his team handled the situation as professionally as possible and asked the crowd if people collectively thought it was safe to continue / if that’s what everyone wanted. They didn’t want to not deliver a show after coming that far, but were sure to check in with the crowd every couple songs to make sure that everyone was safe, had water, and still felt comfortable continuing. The band continued to work with security to get water bottles passed out to the entire crowd, but it’s clear with how glaring the venue’s issues were that a concert should never have been okayed to begin with in a venue in these conditions.
I have been to hundreds of concerts and this is by far one of the worst experiences I’ve had at a venue. Thankfully only a few passed out temporarily and there didn’t seem to be any major injuries, but Liberty Hall should not be allowed to host concerts without major renovations to their HVAC systems and installing multiple larger fans throughout all portions of the venue. Their bathrooms were also unsanitary and had stalls with no locks, but that seems minor in comparison to the fact that people had trouble breathing inside the showroom. Several audience members near me had to step outside multiple times to get out of the heat and have some fresh air to breathe.
Huge kudos to George Watsky and his team for making the best out of a bad situation and doing the right thing by prioritizing everyone’s safety. Performance: 10/10 ; Venue: 0/10.