A crackdown on rave shows is being mulled by the mayor and some council members after Wednesday night’s TD Garden debacle that sent 36 intoxicated concertgoers to the hospital and left the city dealing with a major?public health hang-?over.
“I’d have to look and see as far as banning goes, but that’s something I’d want to have a serious conversation about,” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said of the performance by Swedish DJ Avicii. “I know that in other places, there have been problems at his concerts and if he’s here to perform as a performer, then I respect that, but when you have incidents like this where young people are getting hurt — we don’t need that in Boston.”
Echoing Walsh’s concern was District 7 Councilor Tito Jackson, who said he was shocked to learn that so many young fans ended up in the emergency room.
“I think we need to take a ?closer look at these concerts as well as the activities that take place at these concerts that put people in danger,” Jackson said. “It’s not only this one individual — there are other performers that attract this type of attention and drug activity and we should be consistent across the board in terms of enforcement.”
East Boston Councilor Salvatore LaMattina said the city should “definitely have a conversation about what’s going on and how we can prevent these kids from taking drugs inside.”
TD Garden’s event manager, Joyce Papa, was slapped with a citation from Boston police for “numerous intoxicated underage patrons observed inside premise requiring medical treatment and transport to area hospitals,” a police report states.
Prior to the show, concert ?organizers took a number of precautionary measures, ?including limiting alcohol sales, arranging for additional security and providing two areas ?to cool off, TD Garden’s Director of Communications Tricia McCorkle said.
News of the hospitalizations prompted the cult electronica DJ to tweet a somber message to his fans that read: “Just hearing the awful news abt tonight. Its a terrible thing, I rly hope everyone is ok! My thoughts go to those affected & their families.”
Two men also were nabbed outside the TD Garden with a big bag of suspected drugs right before fans made their way into the show.
Jeffrey Sousa, 23, of Seekonk, and William Lopez, 25, of East Providence, R.I., were arrested by Boston police on Friend Street after officers found a plastic bag containing 2.2 grams of “pink rock-like crystals” consistent with Molly in their car, according to court documents.
They both pleaded not guilty and are due back in court ?Aug. 19.
