Many questions remain in the aftermath of the Lil Baby riot in Vancouver. Now, an employee at the event is sharing more details on what led to the destructive incident at the PNE Amphitheatre earlier this week.
Daily Hive spoke to a part-time bartender with the PNE named Eunice Dayton — an alias the employee provided to protect her identity.
On Sunday, she worked on cash and took drink orders at the Breakout Festival this past Sunday at the PNE Amphitheatre. Dayton tells Daily she was working at the East Bar on Stage Left.
In a nutshell, she said that the “vibes were off.”
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“I immediately noticed upon arrival to the grounds that the crowd demographic was very young,” Dayton recalls.
She began her shift slightly before 4:30 pm, and at that point, the bar was moderately busy, and there were some lineups. She added that the crowd was polite when ordering drinks, but they weren’t tipping.
“This is fairly normal for the demographic.”
Dayton sensed something in the crowd that worried her.
“What I noticed with regards to energy was a general rowdiness building.”
She told Daily Hive that she grew up in the ’90s and went to Lollapalooza “and moshed” in her day.
“What I felt was energy on the verge of explosion. Hundreds of kids were crammed together in front of the stage, jumping up and down and screaming. Nothing unusual at a concert, but there were also a lot of drinks flying through the air, plastic glasses, etc.”
She mentioned some minor altercations near her bar about smoking, and Dayton felt a “general elevation of aggressive energy.”
“There were a lot of young men in attendance,” she added.
Dayton was anxious to leave quickly as the bar closed; she hurried along Hastings Street after her shift and noticed many Vancouver Police Department vehicles racing eastbound with sirens blaring.
“I knew at that point something had exploded.”
Dayton says during her shift, she had one privately contracted security guard near her till, something she said was not typical.
“That was an early indicator that shenanigans were expected.”
Dayton believes the incident was “fueled by alcohol and probably a lot of drugs.”
In the aftermath of this, Dayton says she “doesn’t feel safe returning to work in the Amphitheatre after this event.”
It wasn’t just because of this event, but because she says the bars are overstaffed with temps and inexperienced staff during her time there.
“The atmosphere is always chaotic at the best of times with too many cooks.”
PNE response to security concerns
We gave Dayton’s concerns to the PNE, who responded to Daily Hive about its security measures.
“We had a good security plan that is developed in conjunction with the Vancouver Police Department and based on significant experience in this genre and also with this event specifically,” said Laura Ballance, PNE spokesperson.
“Along with our own security team, we had 36 police officers on site. It didn’t happen because we didn’t have a good plan or the right amount of staff.”
Ballance added that 4200 people left the venue disappointed but respectfully, while the rest “decided to channel that disappointment into anger and destroy property.”
The PNE is providing staff with counselling and trauma resources for everyone who worked on the day of the incident.
“We understand some people are upset, and we would never ask someone to return to work if they aren’t ready.”
The Breakout Festival also issued an apology.
— BREAKOUT FESTIVAL (@BREAKOUTFEST_) September 19, 2022
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