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Lawyer urges cancellation of EDM festival
Former Milwaukee Assistant City Attorney David Halbrooks warns of dangerous drug use and hazardously loud music at the Freaky Deaky music festival this weekend.
As thousands of electronic dance music fans prepare to descend on downtown this weekend for the twoday Freaky Deaky festival, a Milwaukee lawyer warns the event should be canceled over the risks of dangerous drug use and music so loud it could raise the Wisconsin Center District’s potential liability to “stratospheric levels.”
David Halbrooks, a former assistant city attorney who practices extensively in code enforcement, licensing and building safety, began writing a series of letters to the Wisconsin Center District in June, citing problems with the general EDM culture, the promoter and even the Saturday headliner, Bassnectar.
“People die at EDM events. People die because of drug use. EDM may appear to be music events to you and me,” Halbrooks wrote. “They are not. They exist for one main reason, to accentuate the drug-use experience.”
So far, organizers are still selling tickets for what looks like a big Halloween weekend bash that most fans will enjoy injury-free.
Is Halbrooks really a sentinel for safety or just a civic Chicken Little? The connection between EDM festivals and drugs like MDMA, and the many deaths that have resulted, isn’t a new discovery. Halbrooks says he’s just trying to keep Milwaukee from becoming one of the news stories.
The subjects of his warnings at the Wisconsin Center District have only told him thanks for the input, he said.
The WCD is a government body whose board is appointed by the governor, mayor and Milwaukee County executive. It operates the Wisconsin Center, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre and will own the future Milwaukee Bucks arena. It is financed by taxes on hotel rooms, car rentals and food and beverage sales at restaurants in the county, and it earns revenue renting out its facilities.
Its director, Russ Staerkel, did not return messages seeking comment but released a statement. “We have conducted our own research into EDM concerns and best practices nationwide, and we will be employing them at this weekend’s event,” it read in part.
A spokesman with the Chicagobased promoter, React Presents, did not return an email and call.
Tickets to Freaky Deaky cost from about $60 for Friday general admission to about $200 for a two-day VIP pass. The Milwaukee event is part of five days of “Midwest Halloween Takeover” the promoters are staging in Chicago, here and Michigan starting Thursday and continuing through Tuesday.
Halbrooks describes festival fans on MDMA (Ecstasy), Molly and other drugs dehydrating, overheating and being taken to hospitals, and he provides links to news stories of such incidents at other EDM events around the country. One Los Angeles Times story highlighted 29 young people who have died at EDM festivals put on by California promoters since 2006.
“Trust me, you do not have anyone in your organization who knows anything about putting on one of these events,” he wrote. “If you did, I know you wouldn’t be doing an EDM event at all.”
He urged the WCD, which is co-promoter of Freaky Deaky with Chicagobased React Presents, to provide plenty of free water and chilling spots for attendees, and to be extra-strict about screening for drugs coming into the event, all of which Staerkel’s statement said will be done. Staerkel also said there will emergency medical personnel on site.
It seems organizers are aware: on the long list of banned items are tampons, unless they are still in original packaging, because sometimes they are used to surreptitiously infuse the drugs into the body.
Also banned? Pacifiers, typically used by ravers to combat the teethgrinding and jaw-clenching that accompanies an MDMA high.
Halbrooks says the rest of Bassnectar’s tour is all outdoor dates, because he’s the “loudest act out there.” He cites a Denver resident complaining that he thought he felt an earthquake when Bassnectar was playing three miles away.
“He’s louder than ‘Jump Around’ (at Badger football games) all by himself,” Halbrooks said.
He contends there’s no way Bassnectar can perform at his preferred volume and not violate Milwaukee’s noise ordinance. He also asks the district to consider why Summerfest, which has extensive experience hosting outdoor music acts, hasn’t booked Bassnectar, one of the top EDM acts.
Halbrooks says if Freaky Deaky happens, he’ll be outside with his own sound expert measuring decibels and alerting police if necessary. He’s already written to the chief and copied the Drug Enforcement Administration about possible violations of the federal Rave Act, and the city’s liquor license office.
What’s driving Halbrooks’ zeal on this issue? He denies that it’s personal; he said he doesn’t know anyone whose loved one died at an EDM festival. He says he’s not trying to protect other local music venues, some of whom are clients.
He says he doesn’t hate EDM and that it’s a fine genre if enjoyed outside the festival format. But if Freaky Deaky goes badly, he said, it could damage the Wisconsin Center District’s reputation and budget.
He says he’ll help “dead kids’ parents,” by turning over all his research to them and prosecutors.
“At least I can say I tried to save this person’s life. I’m not going to stop.”