Champagne Supernova For One

I went to see Oasis the other night and it was a surprisingly good show. Even though I thought their latest album was a terrific return to form, it has been a few years since I really appreciated their music. When I was in high school and back in the 90's they were certainly one of my favorite bands and it was a joy to see them and revisit some of the good old tunes as well as the best from "Dig Out Your Soul", which came out last year. Oasis are not longer the hottest and coolest band around, but they've been going at it for about fifteen years now and it was clear when you saw them perform that you were dealing with absolute professionals. It was a great gig.

The show took place in Oslo's major concert hall, Spektrum, and whenever you go there you have to deal with their quite peculiar bar policy. It is the only place I have ever been to where they serve by the following rule: only one unit of alcohol per purchase. Meaning that if you are there with a friend who also happens to enjoy a cold one during a smashing rock show, like me the other night, you both have to show your faces to the bartender in order for him to serve you two beers. It really is quite remarkable. If you ask the staff why they have this rule they will tell you it is because they don't want people to take up too much time at the counter by ordering several drinks at once. This of course is pure rubbish, since the rule does not count if you buy a Coke or a cup of coffee. They just don't want people to get too drunk. Fair enough I suppose. But even if they didn't have the one unit per person rule, they still have the right to refuse service if a customer appears to have had too much to drink. So that doesn't really make any sense either. I have been to a number of events in Oslo Spektrum and every time, there is a stir amongst the audience about this rule. People get upset, frustrated or worse and it can obviously take away some of the joy you are expecting from the evening. The other night there was an Englishman in front of me in line who had to ask for an explanation of the rule more than once and still could not get his head around it. For someone who has travelled a long way to be at the concert (which people often do since Spektrum is the venue where all the major artists usually perform in Oslo), or someone else who is there for the first time it can be really difficult to make sense of it all.
The problem I have with this rule is more of a practical one. If you are a group of friends and it is a concert you've been looking forward to you usually get there early in order to get a good spot in front of stage. And at all these shows there is always one or two supporting acts and you will be at the venue for several hours. Needless to say, more than one trip to the bar if often required. And instead of taking turns on the traditional beer-run, every single one who fancies a cold drink amid the sweaty and crowded audience has to leave for the bar. And it is not always certain that you will be able to get back to your spot or regroup with your friends. And if you have a seating ticket it's even worse. You have to squeeze your way out from the row of equally annoyed spectators, just to perform the same hazardous balancing act trying to get back in minutes later, after you've gotten your one overprized refreshment.
So the consequences of this rule are usually that thirsty audience members get frustrated and lose some enjoyment of the show, or that the really experienced guests spend the hours before the gig drinking themselves silly in a bar outside the venue. And that's just stupid. Just like this exclusive rule.