Darryl Butler (right) spent 15 years as a concert and event security guard. (Design: Emily Wong/The Spinoff)
Looking after Flea’s kids, holding onto Dave Grohl’s guitar and being blessed by the Dalai Lama were all in a day’s work for Darryl Butler, who spent 15 years as a concert and event security guard.
I started doing security in 2007. They were advertising in local newspapers for security guards to start at Vector [now Spark] Arena. I hadn’t done security [before]. I was a music fan. I’d been to hundreds of concerts – Gwen Stefani, Pink, whatever tickled my fancy, I’d go. I wanted to be on the other side. It was something different and I guess I’m a bit imposing. They paid us $14 an hour. We had to wear these horrible green shirts.
Six months before it opened, they got us all into the main bowl at Vector. There were 40 of us. Guys were painting the floor, putting seats in up the top. They were like, “This is the best thing since sliced bread”. They explained the production corridor and the green rooms. They told us, “Don’t talk to artists, don’t annoy them”. We were taught that you could be doing anything, scanning tickets, bag searching, or you could be on the barrier.
On the barrier, you’re basically looking for anyone trying to signal you. When they all pack in at the front, the crowd moves as one. It’s quite eerie, yet within that, you’re looking for someone with an arm up waving. The worst nightmare is somebody going down in the middle of the moshpit, because the crowd generally moves forward over them and they get punished. You’re looking for people panicking. I’ve pulled kids out of the front before the show’s even started, puking, out cold, fainted. Their night’s done, they’re not coming back.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers show [in 2007] was my first experience backstage. The lights went out and everybody went crazy. Then they came out the door and walked past me. I was like, “Holy shit – that’s the Red Hot Chili Peppers.” My supervisor said, “You’ve got to watchthem,” and I had to stand and watch Flea’s wife and daughter. I had to make sure no one came through and disturbed them.
I got called up to the barrier one night and they said, “A hole has opened up in the middle of the crowd, we don’t know what’s going on, can you go and have a look?” So I’ve got to go in. Someone had puked on the floor. The cleaner’s got to go in, so you’ve got to escort the cleaner – “Get out of the way, move, move, move” – because they’ve got to go clean up this mess.
When the Dalai Lama came in 2007, me and five others had the highest security rating in New Zealand to be around him. My bosses weren’t allowed around him. There were protests outside. We worked with the diplomatic protection squad. They had a car backed up with an AK-47 loaded and ready to go in case he was threatened. They took it seriously.
The Dalai Lama came out with his entourage. He was cackling away. Then he stopped right in front of me, and an almighty calm came over me. It was really weird. He reached out and touched my arm, smiled at me, and walked off. Later that day, one of his entourage caught up with me and goes, “Do you know you were blessed by the Dalai Lama? And it wasn’t scripted? He saw something in you, and he blessed you.” I didn’t feel any different.
At a Split Enz show [in 2008], a couple had come up from Rotorua and they were up in their seats. They had a couple of young kids behind them. Split Enz came out and it must have been the first or second song, and one of the kids leaned over and covered them head to toe in spew.
They took them out, cleaned them up and said, “Look, we’ll give you free tickets”.
You’re not supposed to talk to [the stars]. Their security gives our security a brief and says, “This is what we’re looking for, this is what we want.” The general rule is, you’re nice to them, you say hello to them, but you don’t engage them, you don’t talk to them about the weather, because they have a job to do. They come in and they’re focused. They can walk past you and not even know you’re there, they’re so focused on what they’re doing.
There are always exceptions. Eric Clapton walked around the arena before the show by himself with no security. I swear, no one recognised him. Justin Timberlake bought this massive big entertainment cabinet, it had everything he needed. They just wheeled it straight into his dressing room. He was there playing video games. He told my supervisor, “Come sit and play with me.” They’re there playing games on the couch. He was a real kid backstage.
At a Foo Fighters show [in 2008], Dave Grohl came out. I was holding onto his guitar and heard him go, “Come on, motherfuckers.” He hadn’t played a note and he just got this eruption from fans. I have never experienced anything like that. It was unbelievable. He was God before he’d even done anything. He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s wonderful. He spent two and a half hours with these kids he’d met on Queen Street after the show, mentoring them.
I heard horrible stories about Metallica. The crowd was mental. It was just out of control. The guitarist for Matchbox 20 flicked guitar picks off my head all night. You’ve got to cop it. You can’t react. The drummer for P.O.D broke his drumstick, kicked it off the stage and it hit me. Thank you very much, I’ll have that. Finders keepers. I’ve got the only setlist from when Lady Gaga opened for The Pussycat Dolls in 2009.
Art Garfunkel made a security guard cry. He didn’t know what the hell he’d done wrong. Paul Simon’s lovely, but as you may have noticed, there’s been no tour from them [together] since 2009. It’s something to behold, watching them on stage, but Jesus Christ.
There’s always issues. There are issues with ticketing, issues with drunk people, issues with drugs. It’s all the time. People are trying to test you. You always get people that will probe security. It’s one of those things. They tell you, “You’re a bastard,” or, “Go get fucked”. It is different. It depends on the act. Swifties aren’t all going to be blazing up joints, you know? Someone like Kings of Leon, everyone’s tooting on the old whistle, and you have to deal with that. They’ll go, “Somebody’s smoking weed, can you go in there and have a look?” You immediately know who they are. I’d tell them, “You’ve got two options: I can bring the police in, or you can share.” They’d always share, “Oh, here bro!”
Nine Inch Nails [in 2009] is one of my top concerts. I’ve seen 600 concerts and that’s up there. Trent Reznor was so mad, he was just raging. The best one is Leonard Cohen [in 2009]. I got goosebumps. I get goosebumps now talking about it. Him singing ‘Hallelujah’, it was just mind-blowing. I was standing at the sound desk watching this 74-year-old cranking it out.
I worked for Vector Arena for two years, then I went to Auckland Live and worked with them through to the World Cup in 2011. I’ve seen guys turn up to a rugby game at Eden Park. They were carrying a coffin filled with beer. It was full-size. I’ve held up the Bledisloe Cup, I’ve held up the Tri-Nations Cup, I’ve held up the Rugby World Cup. No one saw.
I did mobile patrols for a while. I went to a site one night, and there was a guy having sex in a car with a prostitute. I knocked on the window and said, “I appreciate what you’re doing, and good on you, I appreciate the effort, but you can’t do it here.” He goes, “Bro! Can I just finish and leave?” “Yeah bro, finish up.” I got called to a bloody pig running down the side of the airport.
I did security for 15 years. It was a good time. It was fun to do, but it wasn’t really strict. It’s obviously gotten stricter as time has gone on. Why did I leave? You’re just treated like shit. Everyone treats you like shit. It’s full of sharks.
