The White Elephant Is Really Quite Nice

The young man with the mohawk stumbled blindly through the deserted concourse of Kemper Arena Friday night seeking an appropriate spot to vomit.

A few yards away, about 15,000 people were getting pummeled by the apocalyptic thump of progressive metal band Tool. When two security guards approached the intoxicated patron I expected them to unceremoniously toss the guy out into the West Bottoms. Maybe they’d even get a few jabs in just for fun. Instead, they escorted the punk to the men’s room and gently patted him on the back as they sympathetically assisted him with his sickness.

That’s the new Kemper Arena. The current management company, Global Spectrum, has significantly improved the event-going experience at Kemper since they began overseeing the venue. While they can’t do anything about Kemper’s absurdly narrow concourses or the dingy West Bottoms, everything else is better in the old white elephant.

The tolerant attitude of the Kemper staff prevented unnecessary conflicts Friday night. Obligatory weapon and recording equipment pat-downs at the gates were efficient and dignified. Inside Kemper, security personnel looked the other way as Tool fans lit up. They smiled patiently as hundreds of vocabulary-challenged Tool fans repeatedly hollered, "F*** yeah!"

I hope the administration of the new Sprint Center is taking notes.

(Some random geek wrote a pretty good review of the Tool show here.)