Venue launches investigation into security complaints at The Last Dinner Party concert
A venue in Lincoln has issued a statement following reports regarding the conduct of security at The Last Dinner Party’s concert on 28th September.
The Engine Shed responded to comments online after the show as several male members of the audience complained about the way security had handled them. Numerous adult male fans of the band claimed they were extensively questioned by security at the venue about their knowledge of the group and their presence at the band’s tour.
“Just arrived at the gig, been funnelled into a dark corner with other men, told I might be a pervert cus I’m alone and then taken into a room alone with a security guard where I was interrogated and searched. Feel sick,” one man claimed on X, formally Twitter. His post has gone viral with other fans of the band or music fans reacting to the incident.
In the comments, he also added that he was asked to name his favourite song by the band. Other men echoed this same experience as another wrote online, “I rocked up there tonight at 8.45 on my own, no queue, I got asked how long I had liked them for, and to name my favourite song.” He added, “I thought it was a bit strange and the first time I’ve ever felt like I’m on mastermind to get into a gig. Now I’ve read this I understand why now.”
Another shared, “queued for 7 hours to get to barrier as i am 4′ 11′, got whisked away, searched, asked condescending questions, didn’t get to barrier, best not, show cancelled.”
Now, the venue has responded to these comments. The Engine Shed wrote in a statement online, “We pride ourselves and are committed to operating a safe, secure, inclusive and welcoming venue for all our guests.”
“We are aware of reports on social media that the entry procedure utilised at The Last Dinner Party on September 28 fell short of our venue entry policy, which requires all attendees to be treated equally and subject to the same entry requirements,” they continued.
“We have today carried out a preliminary investigation, which indicates that after information was provided to our security team about incidents at previous The Last Dinner Party gigs, the venue management team made an ad-hoc change to our policy. Although this policy was changed with the right intentions, it is clear that this change resulted in the treatment of some guests, which was not acceptable, and The Engine Shed would like to fully apologise to anyone affected.”
The venue said that they have launched “an independent investigation that will review all of the reports and will make recommendations on actions to be taken which will be implemented by our Directors. As an urgent measure, we will also be implementing further staff training on our door entry policy to ensure that this cannot happen again.” They encourage anyone who felt discriminated against to get in contact with them.
After these incidents, The Last Dinner Party’s show on their debut album tour didn’t go ahead in the end, prompting further complaints from other crowd members about the handling of the whole night. The band’s audience were already inside The Engine Shed when their performance was cancelled due to a member of the band falling ill. The band also axed their show in Cardiff at The Tramshed on September 29th.
Far Out have reached out to The Last Dinner Party for comment.
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