Should Stevie drop the Edge Walk?
 

Okay, so I walked out of the Rosemont show having shaken Stevie's hand during the Edge Walk, AND with gum stuck in my hair, courtesy of the lovely ladies who stood beside me at the stage. I am not a fighter. I am not mean, rude, or a drunk. I had a pit ticket, (though not in the first row), and the consent of the security guard for everyone inside the pit to go to the stage for the Walk. I did not push anyone, or do anything I thought was out of bounds. I simply asked the girls beside me if they could possibly move over a bit to make room for all of the people who were coming behind me. I thought, erroneously, apparently, that there was an understanding among Stevie fans that our common goal was to allow as many fans as possible the opportunity to shake Stevie's hand. That was the way it was for years, in my experience. But now, I think people are getting meaner. At the last show I attended, there was a fight during the Walk and a lady ended up thrown to the ground.
Maybe people can no longer handle being kind to one another, and maybe it's time for Stevie to stop allowing us this opportunity to connect with her for that short time. I don't know. What do you all think?

You can create a poll when you start a new thread. There are options below that allow you to create a poll with your thread.

But for the record, I vote numbers 3 and 4.

Thanks--I think I got it! I'm struggling between 2 and 4. When I have a front row seat, I gladly share the edge of the stage with people who come up from behind me. But not if people are going to be so nasty to me and those around each other. I think Stevie wouldn't want us to treat each other this way in order to get to her.

Sorceress, where were you in terms of the stage? Camchristo and I were right by the girls, and everyone was polite in that area. There was an obnoxious person just in front of Carlos, but I never saw her do anything as rude as what you experienced. I'm sorry that happened to you.

I've never had the experience myself, though I can imagine it can get a bit scary when people get rough about it .... I know there have been reports of Stevie herself calling for a bit of civilisation during the walk -- shouting at people to take it easy and all the rest.

But I think it's great that she does it, and she should keep offering that chance to her fans.

I had very first row in Detroit back in June....I was the middle of the aisle yet a couple of idiots from Pittsburgh still jumped into front row....a drunk lady and boyfriend in their late 20s.

I've been close to a hundred rock concerts at the young age of 22 so I'm quite used to obnoxious rock & roll fans however I wasn't fond of being squeezed up against the stage when I finally had "my moment" with Stevie :-)

I think the Edge Walk is tremendous but I'd think by now she has shaken pretty much everybody's hand that wants to be shaken.

There is one person running around here and Seven Wonders that was in 3rd - 10th row for a few different shows this past summer, including Rosemont, that keeps shaking Stevie's hand. That is disappointing as you know the user is pushing their way to the front at least at some point :-/

I was in 4th row for Stevie at another concert this past summer but didn't even bother jumping to the stage as there were too many people in front....4TH ROW! Rather we just waited for Stevie to wave to us :-)

1st row is quite the exhilirating feeling ;-) I've had the opportunity twice but will not go smashing into people for the opp, as nobody else should. Too bad that's easier said than done :-/

I think she should do away with the "edge walk" and make it more spontaneous. Don't make it so obvious of when it's going to be, because even before people hear the intro of that guitar riff, they already start pushing. she could do it 4-5 times throughout the evening during rocking songs maybe, and go to different areas of the stage. Granted, this might require her to take her mic off the stand and I know she's not gonna do that. But maybe she doesn't have to. She can carry it :laugh: I just remember seeing aerosmith and there was a catwalk thingy and I was right next to it. Steven Tyler walked up and down it a million times, but only 5 or 6 times did he lean over so you could touch him. And that, my friends...is when I got crabs :(

:lol:

IDK if after so many shows, people would get the hang of it and know when it's gonna be but :shrug: right now it just seems so staged. The security guards know when it's coming, we know when it's coming and so does everyone else who isn't even at the concert.


my $0.02.

Yes, absolutely, get rid of it.

I believe it is time for it to go. Stevie doesn't want to see anybody hurt. That would cast a haunting shadow over the glittering ballroom
~*~ all these years ~*~

http://www.fourseasons.com/image_lib..._web-large.jpg

This is a good idea. Stevie must gain something from the contact with fans or she would have stopped doing the walk long ago. Actually reaching out to people spontaneously would give her the opportunity to still have the contact without the mad rush (when most of the problems occur). Of course, then it would be more difficult to have that body guard with her to prevent her from being pulled off the stage--or falling off the stage, whatever. And, people who pay attention would know it would take place only during songs when she's wearing gloves, since she became worried about fan cooties a couple of years ago and never does the walk without the gloves anymore. (Not that I blame her! :laugh:)

So it's not just me who's noticed the increase in rudeness. Sheesh. I do know that for myself, I will not be involving myself in the rush anymore. If I'm in the front row, great, but I'm not going to be part of the problem by adding another body to the mob otherwise.

Get rid of it
 

IMO The edge walk has become much more dangerous over the past few years than it was in the 80's. I have seen several fights break out in the pit....clawing, scratching, pushing is very common. Stevie is aware of it and yet she continues. I wish she should get rid of it. I usually sit in the first few rows for shows and I hate the massive crowd that comes forward before Edge starts. (I sit in the first few row because I like to be close to the stage for any performance, not just Stevie). But as I have grown older, I find myself leaving the Pit area when that rush to the stage starts. At my age, I have no desire to stand in a mosh pit for Edge and the one or two songs afterwards. I don't really bitch about it, I have learned to accept it over the past 10 years, but it does suck that I do not get to see her sing the last few songs "up close". I also worry that fans are getting hurt. I have been to countless Stevie shows and it just seems to be getting worse. She won't stop doing it though. It feeds her ego. Why else would she do it if she knows that people are getting hurt time and time again. If she wanted to reach out and touch her fans "if only for a moment" she would do meet and greets like every other artist out there.

right on. although it would be technically difficult for her to do it i'm sure, it would seem more appropriate that essentially telling your fans that the only way they can touch your pinky finger is to start running for the front with elbows up.

i don't condone getting physical with other fans, but in all honesty, at the CV show in chicago, i made it to the stage and was not going to let myself be pushed around. i just don't think the edge walk inspires a good attitude among the fans...i felt a little weird afterwards...yes, it was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life, but i felt kind of like a savage fighting to hold my position the whole time.

i'm surprised that the venues continue to allow for it to happen..from a security standpoint, it seems like a bad idea. i wonder if they are told by stevie's people or if it just common knowledge that 'this is how it works?'

Hardly.

Because it's what is expected.

The way Sorceress was treated disgusts me, but it wasn't Stevie's fault. It was the fault of the jerks who selfishly wanted to deny others the privilege of touching Stevie's hands. Why? They wanted more elbow room? Security kept the non-pit people out so it wasn't crowded for them, and Sorceress is hardly the type to push and shove. She paid just as much as they did for her seat. She wasn't blocking them. They have some nerve. What you wanna bet if the situation had been reversed they'd been up there too?

It's easy for those who have had the opportunity to touch Stevie's hand to just shrug and say "Stevie should drop it!" You've got yours, after all. But people are forgetting not everyone is as hardcore as they are. The assumption that there will never be a new fan eager to touch her hand for the first time - maybe someone who's never been that close before - is flawed, IMHO. I assure you that it is not accurate that 100% of Stevie fans who want to touch her hand have done so. I daresay many on this forum can attest to that fact. What if YOU were that fan? What if YOU were the one who finally got close enough, only to discover that it was stopped due to some unruly fans and violent first row elitists?

Nobody complained about the rush when Lindsey let people touch his guitar at the end of GYOW. I remember very well getting crushed at Mac shows at that point, and it wasn't any more spontaneous than the Edge walk. What's the difference?

The idea about multiple walks during the show doesn't solve the problem; the same people in the front couple rows will get to touch her hand again and again because no one else will be able to get down in time - although you can be sure some folks will try, causing even more chaos. That seems kind of pointless.

I believe that limiting the amount of people who can come up is a good practical solution, if not ideal. The first few rows, such as the pit section, would be enough. It is a compromise between those front-row people who would push others out of the way and the semantic issue of too many people crushing up. Unfortunately, not every venue has a clear division between the front few rows and the rest, and it would be difficult for security to block people in that situation. I also know that it would be disappointing to people who were on the fringe, as I have been before, but frankly, only the first folks up there get to touch her hand anyway, so it's an exercise in futility for the rest to run down there and attempt to do so.... unless you're one of the shovers. Those are the people who are violent - the people who were really too far back to make it in time, but want to get up there anyway. Therefore, the limitation to the first few rows would solve that problem. I think it should be done when possible to at least minimize the problem, if not solve it.

Regardless, I believe the benefits of the Edge walk for the majority of her fans outweigh the displeasure of the few who have done so before and now find it an annoyance.

^Let me clarify my position a little bit. I do find it an annoyance, yes. But not just because I've shaken her hand before. I would find it an annoyance even if I hadn't. I feel weird about the whole thing. Why? Well, frankly, I agree with danax6. I think Stevie does it because she thinks it is what is expected of her. I don't think she really enjoys it or sees it as connecting with her fans. I think she might enjoy saying "hi" to the little kids that are up there on occasion, but beyond that? Not so much.

Does that make sense? I go to the show and always try to sit in the first few rows because I really enjoy the music and the performance and I like to have a good view of the show. I like to sit close at any show. I don't really have any delusions of connecting with Stevie by shaking her hand. She's shaken so many hands she wouldn't remember from one show to the next.

In general, you connect with someone when you get to know them. Shaking her hand is not getting to know her. Now if I could sit down and have dinner and drinks with her, we might connect. I'm not trying to be ****ee, just trying to explain my own thoughts on the matter.