Cardiff Castle

This review relates specifically to the venue being used as a place to hold a gig. We went to see Weezer and Smashing Pumpkins. The location itself is beautiful and an incredible setting to see your favourite bands. However, I have to say we found the experience to have negative aspects which very nearly ruined our experience. The first and major issue was how long it took to get into the venue. It took over 45 minutes, which meant we ended up missing three songs by Weezer, the band we'd travelled from London to see. This was due to an extremely poor security setup where the incoming footfall was hearded like cattle through barrier after barrier. Just as we thought we'd reached the end of the queue, another appeared. The pinnacle of this incredibly frustrating experience was when we realised everyone was crossing over what I assume used to be the old moat on a very narrow footbridge. To make matters worse, the very same footbridge was being used to get vehicles in and out of the venue. Which meant they closed the barrier to let the cars through, slowing down the queue even more. The worst part of this was when they shut down the bridge to allow one family through who appeared to have backstage passes. It honestly felt at that point as if there may be some sort of peasant revolt. Quite apt given the setting. Once we were into the venue, there were very few food stalls and the toilet situation was diabolical. Nowhere near enough provision for a sold-out gig which meant any trip to the toilet was slow and painful, especially for the women in our group, but even for the men. The men's urinals were like something from a North Korean prisoner of war camp, cramped and claustrophobic. Of course this led to a lot of urinating against fences (not by me) which is just awful. I couldn't help but think of all the families who'll be visiting this site long after the concert rig had been dismantled. Also worth mentioning how badly planned and communicated getting the crowd out of the venue was at the end of the performance. Despite there being two exits we were stuck at the exit furthest away from the stage. They kept telling us there were two exits but  of course, we assumed that the crush we were experiencing was the same as at both exits. We were forced to abandon our crush and went to the exit behind the stage which was absolutely fine. It would have been nice to have had clearer communication on this. Anyway, this all sounds very negative, despite all this we actually had an amazing time. Both Weezer and the smashing pumpkins were brilliant, but the experience was very nearly ruined by the poor provision. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the castle itself and the organisation who run usual tourist experience. That said, they should take on some responsibility for what they host at their venue. I'm not saying I'll never go to a concert here again, but something needs to change. Information about the concert was extremely hard to come by before the gig and it would have been helpful to warn people how long it takes to get in and out. It wasn't a cheap gig (is there any such thing these days?) but it was clear the money was not being spent in the right places. Photo added to illustrate how beautiful the setting is for a gig