Friday, June 26, 2009

Alive @ Five: How Was It?!?

If you went, please let me know what you thought of Alive @ Five! I'm dying to hear reports of how it went. Initial info:
1. Advocate article says "hundreds" of people showed up... I expected thousands. Was it crowded, or did the cover charge decrease the crowds?
2. One of my twitter friends said the event was sketchier as the night got later, with lots of guys of the butt-grabbing variety. (So typical.)
3. Stamford Notes has a few photos up.
4. On a bad note, an Advocate article reports that cops somehow managed to mangle the face of the (female) owner of the Palms in a botched arrest (for driving her car without a license and then resisting arrest). That's a shame, first obviously for the woman, and second because it suggests Stamford Police are having trouble handling crowds at the event. We'll have to see what further articles report.

It's a weird story- evidently the cop asked her to move her car from the lot behind the Palms, because they wanted to close it because people were cutting through, the the same cop asked her for her license (who takes their purse with them just to move their car? NO ONE!) and then he tried to arrest her for driving without a license. She got angry, then witnesses say the cop punched her. The accompanying photo shows an enormous swollen spot on her face.

I hope the rest of the concert was not chaotic like that!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went and definitely thought it was going to be a lot more crowded. There was a lot of confusion because some bars (i.e. Tiernans) were charging people a $5 cover charge, but then you also had to pay $5 in order to get a red wristband which let you drink outside (plus paying $$ for the beer).

Re: the Cop, I heard that he was scratched up all over his face from the woman - so maybe the punch was accidental when he was trying to stop her from attacking him?

Poems in Search of Pictures said...

I have to admit that I fell for the Tiernans bit. Thought I was a GENIUS for avoiding the line and entering through the back - they gave me a hand stamp, but no wrist band. Didn't matter to me - I stuck with fruity over frosty, but still - not exactly full disclosure on their part.

Strictly Stamford said...

First, it was not a bad crowd, maybe a bit subdued because of the charge and I heard a few kids (teens?) complain about the charge. they just went across the street a listened.
The cop thing? Well he was out of control and it was not something for Stamford's finest to be proud of.

Stamford Talk said...

Yeah, that's what it sounds like.

From the most recent Advocate article, sounds like both the cop and woman were at fault. She resisted arrest, and he got too rough. It sounds like she was trying to park somewhere she wasn't technically supposed to, and when he challenged her to produce her license, she didn't have it, he tried to arrest her (which he's allowed to do, but did he really have to?), she tried to leave, he grabbed her, she flailed at him, he bit back. Obviously, it escalated beyond what needed to happen. I'm not sure all the above info is correct, because the cop and woman give conflicting accounts, but from what the article says, that's what it seems likely happened.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_12700459

And for some reason, the officer's account of the incident is being withheld from the official file. And, the woman and her husband haven't filed an official complaint. Seems like both people should make their case clear if they think they are the one in the right!

Unknown said...

All I heard of the incident who is the brother of a friend (what is that 4th hand????) The woman was a club owner (of the palms, I know that one)and was there working before alive at 5 started. The rest is in the article and it sounds like some fellow officers difused the incident (thank goodness).
I of course missed Alive at 5, not ready for that kind of crowd.

Anonymous said...

its pretty decent. i think security is on top of things getting out of hand which is great to see. just a great place to have a great time. and i think a cover charge is more then fair. my only complaint is 84. their bouncers let you threw in the front but then there's another bouncer at the door who states if you're allowed inside or not due to style and if not you're only allowed out on their patio. i agree with a dress code but not the fact he let about 7 other people by me that were wearing graphic tees and jeans through but denied me entry when i was a bit more clean cut and dresser. i believe they are gonna have some issues with that seems more like a judgment call then fashion sense.