Billy Joel Fans Blast Nassau Coliseum Over Long Delays Getting In To New Year's Eve Show
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Billy Joel's New Year's Eve concert at Nassau Coliseum hit a sour note with furious fans.
They are complaining that they had to wait on line in the pouring rain for more than hour to get in to see the show.
They expected a night filled with celebration, but many who waited in the freezing cold downpour in front of the coliseum to see the "Piano Man" said they were left with nothing but misery plastered across their faces.
"The wind was blowing against us. It was cold and it was really frustrating and there were a lot of people screaming," fan Steve Koenig told CBS2's Marc Liverman on Thursday. "They were yelling, 'Move the line along! Move the line along!'"
Koenig said he waited in line for close to 90 minutes, all while the rain kept pouring down.
"There were hundreds of people in front of me. There were hundreds of people behind me. And we were budging an inch at a time," Koenig said.
Some concertgoers took to Twitter to voice their frustrations.
One woman wrote, "this is atrocious!! Is the coliseum not letting ppl in or are not enough ppl working and prepared?! It's pouring, they are closing doors and no lines are moving."
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CBS2's Liverman reached out to a coliseum spokesperson to find out why so many people were kept out in the rain for so long, but he didn't get very far. Coliseum management wouldn't take any questions and instead issued a statement.
"Extreme weather conditions placed additional strains on our staff and we apologize to any of our guests who were impacted. We are currently reviewing and addressing these matters," the statement read.
For Joel fan Dave Marcus, the statement was the first and only communication he has heard from event staff since that night.
"There was no information," Marcus said. "They could have said by Twitter, by somehow they could have sent messages. We're having a problem. We're overwhelmed. We don't have enough people. Whatever it is, they should have let us know."
As for complaints and refunds to the show, management said they are being handled on a case-by-case basis.
Some concertgoers said on Twitter they were so upset, they will never go back to the venue.