Furthur Show at Shelburne Museum Abruptly Canceled

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**UPDATED SATURDAY, 9:15 PM**

The hippies are coming! The hippies are com … wait a sec. They're not?

According to their website, Grateful Dead redux Furthur have been forced to cancel their upcoming Concerts on the Green performance scheduled for 7/5 at stately — and now 99% hippie free — Shelburne Museum. Here's the announcement:

July 5th Shelburne Vermont Show CANCELLED
To All Of Our Fans Who’ve Purchased Tickets To Our July 5 Show in Shelburne, VT:

After days of meetings to address and alleviate last minute concerns being expressed by State and Local Authorities, Furthur is very disappointed to learn that today (6.24), the local authorities, citing an inability to deal with an expected influx of ticketless fans, traffic concerns, and other issues, have revoked the approved permits for the show and have decided to cancel Furthur's concert at Vermont's Shelburne Museum on July 5. As the decision was made by the local authorities so close to the event date, regrettably we are unable to find a suitable alternate venue in Vermont. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience!

Full & complete refunds will be available soon via point of purchase.
If you bought tickets online you'll automatically be refunded.

Anyone else sensing something fishy going on here?

[Ed. note: This item was cross-posted at Solid State.]

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[UPDATE: Friday, 3:30 p.m.]

My goodness, what a long, strange trip this has  … ahem.

According to the statement from Furthur, the culprits of our collective mellow harshing are the "local authorities." But here's the thing, the local authorities found out about it the same way we did.

"I came in early this morning, before seven, and our town planner had a copy of the notice that Furthur posted on their website," said Shelburne town manager Paul Bohne in a phone conversation with 7D earlier today. "That was the first I had heard of it."

But surely permitting the concerts must go through the town of Shelburne, right?

"We don't permit them," says Bohne, "We don't have a process for permitting concerts at the museum."

That responsibility actually falls on the state, specifically the Department of Public Safety. And according to an article posted earlier today by Burlington Free Press staff writer Sally Pollack, they didn't cancel the show either.

From the BFP story:

The Department of Public Safety issued a permit for the Furthur concert at Shelburne Museum, but it did not cancel or revoke the permit it issued, according to Major Walt Goodell of the department.

"We did not cancel it," Goodell said. "We would take an interest in any planning if we were invited to the table to discuss additional needs. But we've had no role in canceling the permit."

OK, so if Shelburne didn't do it, and the state didn't do it … who the in the name of Jerry pulled the plug?

Shelburne Museum public relations and marketing director Leslie Wright — who earlier today responded to a 7D inquiry with a firm, "No comment" — informs us that an official statement from the museum is forthcoming shortly.

And the plot thickens …

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[UPDATE: Friday, 4:05 p.m.]

And here it is, the official statement from the Shelburne Museum:

SHELBURNE MUSEUM STATEMENT ON JULY 5 CONCERT CANCELLATION

June 25, 2010
We regret that the July 5 Furthur concert at Shelburne Museum had to be canceled. We could not host this show without an adequate security plan from the concert’s organizers in place. We did not have that and so made the difficult decision to withdraw as the concert’s venue.

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[UPDATE: Saturday, 11:45 a.m.]

And the Higher Ground response:

FURTHUR JULY 5

at Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green in Shelburne, VT

CANCELLED

 

After several weeks of working with officials at Shelburne Museum, along with local & state police and town officials, to prepare security and parking plans, Higher Ground Presents/CEP was notified by Shelburne Museum via phone on Thursday, June 24 at approx 11am that the venue was withdrawing as the host of the July 5th Furthur concert, and planned to seek cancellation of the State Public Assembly Permit. Concerns involving increased strain on local infrastructure and resources, as well as fears about property damage to the Shelburne Museum and its neighbors, were cited as the main conditions of the revocation of the venue contract, and the Museum’s desire to seek cancellation of the permit. Higher Ground Presents/CEP was confident in its ability to host the popular concert in a peaceful and safe environment at Shelburne Museum – just as it’s done at the Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green series for 7 years.

“We’re deeply disappointed at this turn of events,” said Alex Crothers of Higher Ground Presents/CEP. “We were ready, willing and more than able to host Furthur at Concerts on the Green at Shelburne Museum. For these concerns to materialize in the 11th hour and our solutions to be deemed ‘inadequate’ is short-sighted. In these tough economic times, this single concert would have been a boon to the local economy -- including over $17K in taxes, the 75 jobs it was creating, along with the influx of revenue to the local area hotels, gas stations, and restaurants.”

“When we lost our venue the show was effectively canceled as a result. Every attempt was made to find a suitable alternative venue, unfortunately none could be found at such late a date, “ Crothers said.

Higher Ground Presents/CEP regrets this course of action, as our goal is has always been to present quality musical events in a safe and respectful environment. We wish to apologize to our patrons for any inconvenience. Customers will be issued full refunds at point of purchase. Credit card purchases will be automatically credited back and cash refunds will be provided at the Higher Ground Box Office upon receipt of ticket.

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[UPDATE: Saturday, 9:15 p.m.]

Well, this is interesting. Check out this transcript from Friday's noon WCAX newscast, which featured a clip from an interview with Shelburne Museum director Stephan Jost shortly after Furthur tickets went on sale in March. (Thanks to 7D political columnist Shay Totten.)

11} FURTHER_VO

A Vermont concert featuring former Grateful Dead members has been cancelled. The Further Tour features former dead band-mates Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. They were scheduled to play a show at Shelburne Museum on July 5th -- but according to the band's web site that show has been cancelled due to concerns by local and state authorities. Authorities were apparently worried about a repeat of the 1995 Grateful Dead show in Highgate when thousands of fans showed up without tickets -- and many forced their way into the show. The Phish farewell show in Coventry six years ago also caused problems when hundreds of fan abandoned cars along the interstate. Shelburne Museum officials told us earlier this month they did not expect any major problems with the Furthur tour.

12} JOST_SOT

((30:23-:37 Question: Any concerns about this Furthur show? Stephan Jost: Not really. The reality is Furthur is extraordinarily popular. I've never heard of them but we sold out in six minutes, or I should say Higher Ground did. And that said, security will be extraordinarily tight.")) Furthur tour officials say they will provide full refunds for people who bought tickets -- and are looking for a replacement show -- outside of Vermont.

"And that said, security will be extraordinarily tight." So tight, apparently, that no one is getting in.

It would seem that museum officials didn't do their homework before greenlighting the Furthur show. ("I've never heard of them but we sold out in six minutes!") Or maybe SM just got cold feet after reading reports like this one from Soundspike.com, which details some rather unsavory shenanigans outside a Furthur festival show in northern California earlier this month.

Comments

[Huh?]

re: 7 Daysies : please subtract my vote for Shelburne Concert Series " Best Outdoor Venue". Thanks in advance,

[MFC Designs]

Weak sauce for sure! Definitely smells fishy.. Shouldn't there have been a meeting or some sort of round-table with local citizens and officials before calling it off? This show would have had a positive impact on the area's economy.

Sounds like some shady insider stuff going on..

[Devon]

I think it's well within the museum's rights to cancel the show if the performers were unwilling/unable to hold up their end of a contract, which it sounds like included a plan to address security concerns. It definitely sucks that they're not coming, but let's not discount the idea that they might be to blame.

[ramblingal]

i agree devon, except i heard they had been trying to move it to the fairgrounds for months and SM wouldn't let them out of their contract. now it's too late, but it's OK for them to say, sorry, we can't do it? lame.

amen, huh?

[cheter springs]

This ruined a nice family vacation for all of us. The ineptitude of the promoer, the instability and crude nature of the venue and the aloof state/local govt ruined what could have been great. The promoter and band failed to find anything resembling a suitable substitute and have failed their fans entirely.

[skratchy]

Another reason why only self-hype makes out cowpoopland to be a decent place to live.

No guts, no glory.

[Brian]

Meh, I'd rather see Dark Star Orchestra on the Waterfront in August anyway. At least they admit they're a Grateful Dead cover band. Bobby should have hung it up for good in '95 when he still had some dignity.

[cheter springs]

This ruined a nice family vacation for all of us. The ineptitude of the promoter, the instability and crude nature of the venue and the aloof state/local govt ruined what could have been great. The promoter and band failed to find anything resembling a suitable substitute and have failed their fans entirely. There's plenty of blame to go around. Why can Maine figure out how to do this and New York too, but Vermont is unwilling or unable?

[Jimmy]

Shelburne Museum "crude"?

With all due respect, Skratchy, the fact that a concert featuring 70 year old men noodling for hours at a time was cancelled doesn't make Vermont a bad place to live. That honor goes to property taxes (I kid) (well not really)

Dan, we understand that you are personally upset, but you have no idea what transpired here. It is entirely possible (and seems probable) that Shelburne Museum requested a security plan when the show was booked, and pulled the plug when the band was unable to provide one after four months. I think it's safe to say that this incident is not going to negatively impact the Museum in any way. Anyone blindly blaming them for this probably never went there anyway, and no one else cares.

[BiggerThanAuthority]

As someone who has enjoyed visiting Shelburne Museum several times and who also looked forward to attending the Furthur concert, I can authoritatively dismiss many of the above statements as invalid.
The band's management is far too experienced and organized to have failed to provide a security plan. The state and local authorities may have failed to comply with said plan, or tittering ninnies at Shelburne Museum may have dismissed appropriate plans due to an 11th hour panic attack based on paranoid delusions about tie-dyed hordes invading their precious little world.
The facts: Furthur is not the Grateful Dead, and this is not 1995 (Highgate debacle). This was to be a one-day family picnic off the beaten tour path, not some 4-day drug festival which happened to include live music (Calaveras County last month).
The "kids" among those disappointed by the cancellation have been 30-somethings with professional careers and/or families. These are people who are too busy and responsible to go see their favorite bands far from their own backyard. Chances are that many of these people, like me, have enjoyed Shelburne Museum in the past but now would dissuade others from doing the same.
Rest assured that there will be negative consequences to befall Shelburne Museum for this indisputably unacceptable decision.

[Junior Whitefish]

First of all, Shelburne Museum is awesome. BUT, it sounds like they dropped the ball on this one AND threw Higher Ground under the bus in their official statement. Pathetic.

[JSVT]

This was absolutely poor on the part of Shelburne Museum. Everyone involved with putting this on (with the exception of the museum) were professionals insofar as putting on a show. The museum has left the registered vendors who were counting on income from this show out in the cold as well as created a negative ripple to the VT economy on all that would benefit from revenue generated by the show. To cancel this in the 11th hour was extremely poor, and I hope the museum feels a hit from the mismanagement of this. Higher Ground, please pull the concerts on the green and find a more suitable spot as I enjoy the shows, but I as well as many I know will no longer be a supporter of Shelburne Museum.

[Jimmy]

The reality is that despite the press releases, none of you know what really happened here. Maybe the police were the ones who deemed the plan inadequate. Maybe the museum asked Crothers to do more and he refused. You just don't know.

The idea that the Museum is going to lose business over this is just laughable.

Lowell is just a 3 hour drive, and tickets are still available to that show. Suck it up.

[JSVT]

Hey Jimmy,

Actually I do know what really happened here. As a scheduled Vendor at the show and someone who works closely with Higher Ground, you bet I called several police departments and local officials to see what/who was to blame for us as well as others losing thousands of dollars in revenue.

This is a busy weekend for VT vendors who only have the capacity to be at one or two events that weekend. With such a short notice, yes we do have to suck it up and take the loss and tell our employees there is no work for them that day.

Its not just about going to another show...you need to see beyond the superficial here.

The point being, Shelburne Museum dropped the ball. If initial permits/contracts were issued in FEBURARY, there is no excuse for this to happen so close to the show.

And The Museum WILL lose business if the Concerts on the Green venue is dropped.

[Brian]

"Furthur is not the Grateful Dead, and this is not 1995."

True that brother.

"These are people who are too busy and responsible to go see their favorite bands far from their own backyard."

So, Further is one of your favorite bands? What is their latest album? Can I hear any of their songs on the radio?

"Further" is a joke and exactly what Trey never wanted Phish to become, a nostalgia act playing for pay. Frankly, I'm surprised Shelburne Farms agreed to host this "sham-band" in the first place.

[Brian]

Yeah, Shelburne Museum, not Shelburne Farms. My bad.

[Jimmy]

"Actually I do know what really happened here."

Interesting that you choose not to tell us, than. There are certainly plenty of details left out of this story that could use filling in. Just as well, because if you don't have the Museum's side of the story, you don't really know what happened. When did HG submit their security plan? What was done to resolve whatever differences came up?

HG will lose money on this, so if the Museum violated their contract, we should see a lawsuit. That would just be common business practice in a situation like this. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that that won't happen, and that concerts on the green will continue.

[only dead pianos players know the dead]

Hey,

Glenn Miller is still touring!
http://www.glennmillerorchestra.com/
In the mood?

[vermontdh]

BOOOOOOOOO to the Shelburne Museum for waiting until the last minute to cancel this show. It is a real shame that they screwed up so many people's plans and vendor's opportunities to make a living. I only hope that they suffer a similar fate. It will be a long time before I spend another dime at the Shelburne Museum.
I will also think twice before purchasing tickets with service charges. This non concert cost us $24.00 in non-refundable service charges.

[Jimmy]

"Authorities said assaults, conflicts and the rampant use of hard drugs led to the that arrests of 63 people"
"In one cited incident, a 3-year-old child tethered by a leash to his overdosing mother removed his clothing to get away from the woman."
"Undercover officers reportedly seized 8.9 grams of ketamine, 962 grams of psilocybin mushroom and mushroom chocolate, 61 ecstasy tabs, 2.5 trams of powered ecstasy and 30 doses of LSD."

Sounds super mellow

[JSVT]

Uh, ya Jimmy you read about that all the time in Vermont. When you quote somthing, you should also include the source....

[JSVT]

P.S...stereotype much?

[Lynda Sutton]

" not some 4-day drug festival which happened to include live music (Calaveras County last month). "

Furthur Festival was a wonderful musical experience, not as described above. I was there and had a great time with music, friends and fun. Yes, apparently there was some trouble in the lot, but that was.1% of the folks there. Just wookies without tickets making trouble...

[Jimmy]

"stereotype much?"

No, I just read blog posts before I comment on them. Like the Soundspike link from the one that you're commenting on, about a "furthur" show from a couple of weeks ago. There are plenty of other choice nuggets in there...

"It got so out of hand we had to call in everybody we could muster."

[JSVT]

Hey Jimmy,

From that same article:
"most in attendance enjoyed themselves safely and peacefully."

"All in all, the festival was very mellow, a very nice crowd," Malerbi said."

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100603/A_NEWS/6030327

And the main point: You are comparing a 2 day festival that sold over 30,000 tickets to a sleepy VT venue that sells 3000 tickets. Simply not apples to apples there!

[Jimmy]

JSVT, 30,000? Interesting, because the article you cited said they sold 7818 tickets. Extrapolate that to Shelburne and you have 30 arrests, a conservative figure given that the Museum is open to all four directions and virtually impossible to secure completely. The article was also entitled "63 arrested at chaotic Furthur fest," and contains this quote from the Sheriff's Department, who unlike Malerbi have no vested interest in spinning what happened:

"Contrary to reports of the attendees being peaceful baby boomers from the 1960s and '70s only using marijuana, the sheriff's office came into contact with numerous violent young adults under the influence of strong drugs with psychotic and aggressive behavior expressing anti-government sentiment similar to those subjects who protest G-8 summits and other anarchist movements"

Sorry you didn't get to hawk your pretzels or whatever. Let us know if you ever get the full story on what happened, and I don't mean by talking to a promoter who had to save face with their target demographic.

[JSVT]

I misspoke:
The venue in question has a capacity of 30,000 vs. 3000 at Shelburne. 7818 2 day tickets were sold. Along with the individual day passes this put the attendance at 11,000.

The demographic of the 2 venues is simply not comparable.

I worked for several years with Clean Vibes attended all Concerts on the green shows. Your not picking up empty nitrous tanks and balloons at Shelburne, your picking up empty wine bottles and cheese wrappers and the Patagonia wind breaker some one left behind.

It's about so much more then "hawking pretzels" Jimmy. That's pretty shallow.

It is not my job nor responsibility to make transparent the decision made by The Museum. Their "official statement" was pretty weak. I am waiting to see if they step up themselves.

[Matt Nunan]

It's very simple; Vermont needs a venue that can accomodate upwards of 5,000 people. it currently has none. I guess the Essex Jct. fairgrounds comes close, but they can only do seasonal shows, and the security for the shows there f#cking suck. We need an ARENA, like every other mid-size city. An arena that can hold 5-10,000 people. then maybe I won't have to trek to Montreal or Albany if I want to see an arena-sized band. As for the p#ssy a-holes at Shelburne Museum, f#ck them and their disgusting, elitist, pretentious existence. BOYCOTT SHELBURNE MUSEUM FOREVER!!!

[Jimmy]

"It is not my job nor responsibility to make transparent the decision made by The Museum."

Well you said you know what happened, and clearly you don't. That's my point, no one does. HG has a huge vested interest in keeping "furthur" fans - their core demographic - from thinking they dropped the ball. SM, much less so. So you get a brief, calm press release from the latter, and a long, screeching one from the former. No surprise at all, and it gives you no sense whatsoever of what really went down.

When you're talking about the same band, you're talking about the same demographic. You get the wine and cheese crowd at classical concerts at the Museum. You get the crowd described in your article for a "furthur" concert. The band and the ticket price are the only factors that are going to dictate the demographic, it's not like there's a dress code at the Museum.

Dan, saying that the Museum didn't do its homework is just silly, especially after linking to that soundspike article. You do understand that the concert at which there were 63 arrests was just earlier this month, don't you?

[Pasqualina]

This show would have been too wild for Shelburne Museum and for Shelburne. Too big, lots of drugs, etc. It was a crazy idea to begin with.

[BiggerThanAuthority]

Jimmy,
There were other articles about the Memorial Day concerts in question. Unlike the one you quote, these articles feature a journalistic quality known as objectivity.
Your math does not account for certain critical variables, and you misinterpret the additional variables which you do attempt to introduce. Multi-day weekend events are much more prone to wanton intoxication than one-day concerts on weekdays. They are also more enticing for bigger fish in the drug dealing pond. If that article was the extent of the museum's "homework", then said homework would be returned with an F. The teacher has spoken.

Lynda Sutton's perspective is an accurate one, like it or not. The news articles without an agenda confirm her perspective. The drugged-out wookie element was a scant minority, and that element is likely to be even less prevalent at a one-day concert held at a venue with no real place for a centralized "lot scene". Unless one has experience with working and/or attending a variety of concerts and festivals within the "jam band" genre, it is impossible to make valid speculations about the matter. Period.

[Jimmy]

BTA, I just quoted the two articles linked in this thread. If you have evidence that either of them - or the Sheriff's Department - are not objective for some reason, please enlighten us.

More importantly, you and a couple of other idiots on this thread are encouraging people to stay away from Shelburne Museum, when in fact you have no idea what actually led to their pulling the plug. Personally, I don't think a lot of "furthur" fans ever went there in the first place, and those that did are probably intelligent enough to realize that they don't have the whole story. SM surely lost a lot of money on the deal too, I'm sure it wasn't a decision they made lightly.

As I've said, if HG sues SM and wins, then you'll know the Museum administration were in the wrong. If they don't - and I don't think they will - that should be a pretty strong clue that the blame does not rest solely - or even partially - on the Museum's shoulders.

[BiggerThanAuthority]

The article sensationalizes a statistically small number of incidents and says nothing else of substance about the event. Thus, the focus of the article is inherently biased. The assertions about police being over-extended require explicit numbers in order to have the opportunity to be taken seriously. The author ignores the possibility that overzealous police behaviors may have instigated / escalated at least some of the violent events cited. (To dismiss this possibility is to announce one's categorical ignorance about such matters. Neither party is blameless in many cases.) The assumption is made that Furthur fans were responsible for the problems, when several other bands were on the bill. While there likely is some accuracy to that assumption, it is important to recognize that the multi-day, multi-band festivals are not accurately equated with a one-band, one-night concert at a small venue sans overnight camping.

The facts are these: The concert is cancelled, and Shelburne Museum has announced in an official statment that they made the decision to cancel. The logical conclusion therefore is as follows: The null hypothesis is that Shelburne Museum is at fault. Unless the museum can provide convincing evidence to the contrary (i.e. specific, concrete data to support their assertions about insufficient security), then alternative hypotheses remain speculative at best.

The requirement for a successful lawsuit by HG against SM is not a valid one. There are multiple competing interests which might lead HG to forego seeking legal redress, and also which might impair the court's capacity to render an impartial decision.

[Jimmy]

Wow, BTA, you've got the persona of "sixth grade dropout trying to sound like a lawyer" down pat.

A news article focusing on 63 arrests at a concert is not "inherently biased," it's reporting the news. "Most people were super mellow" is not news. "95% of attendees were high as hell all weekend" is also not news. They are topics for blog posts at dead.net.

"There are multiple competing interests which might lead HG to forego seeking legal redress"

Yeah, like the fact that the Museum were within their contractual rights to withdraw and HG have no case. This would be a no-brainer lawsuit if they weren't.

Both parties state that HG's security was deemed inadequate. HG disagrees, without providing any details. You and I have no idea what was proposed, what was counter-proposed, or what the police or other third party input was. Your "null hypothesis" is that SM is at fault because that's what you want to believe, but logically speaking it's an asinine thing to say. An equally supportable hypothesis is that HG is at fault. There's no way to prove either one, despite the kangaroo court playing out in your head. Now go buy a ticket for Lowell and ask your mom if you can borrow the car that day.

[Carl]

Jeezum! I wish I knew 1/2 as much as Jimmy thinks he does.

[Jimmy]

I'm sure that's true, Carl. This seems an odd time to bring it up, though - a thread in which I'm the only one who isn't pretending to know more than they do.

[Bokey]

Vermont just out-Vermonted itself.

[motorcycleman]

I am offended that Shelburne Museum would consider Vermont fans to be the equal of the those in the California arrests. There are many deadheads here, and since the band kind of ended in 1995 with the death of Jerry, there are not many new fans coming on board. Just those of us left, growing older and showing a touch of grey. Yes, a ticketless horde of 35 to 75 year olds would create alot of problems for the shelburne museum, they probably would have had too much money to count that day. My respect for them has dropped alot. They probably will have to sell another peice of art to deal with the lawsuits. Boo to you shelburne museum, why didn't you let them play the fairgrounds? The Dead played there, and the prior furthur festival with no problems at all. Shame on you! And to those of you who don't have a clue, get off our bus!

[biggerthanauthority]

Jimmy,
If I were an attorney, or a 6th-grade dropout assuming one's persona, I might be prone to conflating "contractual rights" with moral correctness. Kohlberg would be amused.

You correctly identify what we both do not know about the security provisions, but you miss the mark completely when you attempt to name my bias. I have no vested interest in holding Shelburne Museum accountable. As I stated previously, I have enjoyed several visits to the museum. It is no more pleasant to see the museum holding the blame than it would be to see that blame lie with Higher Ground, Furthur, the town, or the state authorities. Anyway you cut it, the blame rests upon an entity that I have liked and respected for years. Realistically, I am going to return to Shelburne Museum before too long, and I probably will recommend it to friends and family even sooner.

I do not dispute that the state and local authorities raised misgivings about the security plans at the last minute. The fact remains that the adequacy of said plans had not been disproved when Shelburne Museum pulled the plug. That fact is why the burden of proof rests with the alternative hypotheses.

Finally, mea culpa re: the quoted article's so-called bias. The text was so similar to another article that I had assumed it was the one that Mr. Bolles had linked. Here is the cartoonish hack job that raised my hackles: http://www.thepinetree.net/index.php?module=announce&ANN_user_op=view&ANN_id=17763

(Once the term "narcotics" gets applied to drugs which pharmacologically are not, all credibility is dismissed.)

[Jimmy]

"The fact remains that the adequacy of said plans had not been disproved when Shelburne Museum pulled the plug."

You know this how, exactly? You saw the plans? You were in on the discussions? Of course not. You're speculating and/or relying on Crothers' word, which means you have no idea what happened. Give it up.

[biggerthanauthority]

If I relied on Crothers' word, I would say that the adequacy of security plans had been proved. This is not the logical corellary of what I did state (i.e. that the adequacy of said plans had not been disproved).

The objective data we have are:
- public statement by Shelburne Museum taking ownership of the cancellation.
- public statements by the museum and Higher Ground which provide conflicting opinions regarding the security situation (including second-hand assertions about authorities' / officials' perspectives)

With such limited data, the parsimonious conclusion is that Shelburne Museum made a decision without conclusive resolution of whether their position on the security issue was right or wrong. To state otherwise is to use the handle of Occam's razor, instead of the blade.

The indelible reality at this point: *Both* sides were speculating, based on their own experiences and assumptions. We will never know who was right, because the concert is not going to happen.

P.S. People might be inclined to volunteer their own biases if you don't make hyperbolic accusations that miss the mark, peppered by ad hominem insults. Just sayin'...

[biggerthanauthority]

P.P.S. Apologies for being part of a pot-kettle duo that has blown wayyyy too much hot air around these parts. Hope everyone - including Shelburne Museum, Jimmy, and that bird that pooped on my car - has a safe and happy 4th!

[Jimmy]

"Shelburne Museum made a decision without conclusive resolution of whether their position on the security issue was right or wrong."

...which could only come by holding the concert and seeing what happened. So the real "correlary" (sio) to what you were saying is that the only way for the Museum to prove themselves blameless in your mind would be to host the show and let their grounds get trashed. Then they could just get in a time machine, go back and cancel it. Good thinkin', perfesser.

[JSVT]

Hey! There have been 118 arrests so far during the world cup. So by this stereotyping logic that certainly means we should never have soccer games in VT, right?

[Jimmy]

Mountain Aire arrests translated to 3500 attendance Shelburne show = 22 arrests. Same calculation for the world cup = 0.275 arrests. Try again, genius.

[JSVT]

Not talking statistics...just making a point of the equivalent of "racial profiling" of certain concert goers/demographic. You all should move to Arizona. They like to discriminate there!

[one_vermonter]

Oh come on! You can’t compare what happened here with racial discrimination! That's just silly.

You might feel like you’ve been treated unfairly – but it’s nothing close to the racial profiling that is going on in Arizona.

Next you are going to call anyone who disagrees with you Hitler.

Dial the rhetoric back a little bit. It’ll improve your argument.

[Jimmy]

"Not talking statistics..."

Your entire point was based on a statistic.

[JSVT]

Thanks Dan for a great article in today's days'.

To bad The Museum still does not want to explain themselves....

[Reality]

Jimmy, I'm sorry but you are way off. You have no idea of how these events are planned and the logistical details involved? It ain't a backyard party.

FACT: Security was well thought out and planned by the same people who have provided planning and crowd control for the largest and most successful music festivals and events in North America. Let me say it again..the largest and most successful music festivals and events in North America.

My guess...someone like yourself spent an afternoon on Google searching the worst case scenarios and forwarded it to the museum.

Bottom line: Who wins here...nobody.

Cheers,

Reality