A new security procedure went into effect Sunday night at Robinson Center in Little Rock. But despite efforts by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau to get the word out, many of those who came to see singer/songwriters James McMurtry and Jason Isbell perform didn't know about it.
On a warm, windy evening with the ominous threat of rain, people approached the auditorium and were greeted by the unsettling sight of a long line snaking down the grand steps leading to the auditorium's historic lobby and meandering down West Markham Street. It wasn't moving any too quickly, either.
Once people figured out that they were going to have to walk through a magnetometer to get in, there was a lot of mumbling about the pokey pace of entry, the fear of getting drenched, and the likelihood of not being able to get seated before the concert kicked off--or even worse, that the starting time would be delayed so all those hapless audience members could find their seats.
But what most didn't realize was that the entrance at the top of the steps wasn't the only one. All the entrances to Robinson, including the one on Broadway and another near the will-call window, had magnetometers in place.
Too bad the vast number of staffers on hand to guide people to their seats didn't step outside and inform the crowd there was more than one way in. The concert did in fact start promptly at 8 p.m. Plenty of folks were murmuring "excuse me" in order to thread their way through those already seated during McMurtry's opening numbers.
(At least one concert-goer missed the entirety of McMurtry's 45-minute set while waiting to buy a beer.)
It ended up being a spectacular show, and a good time. But had some weather models held and the skies has opened up, there would have been a lot of wet and unhappy concert goers Sunday night.
Editorial on 01/24/2018