A long-time Metallica fan told CTV News he was disappointed, after his view of the band at their Commonwealth Stadium concert on Wednesday was blocked for most of the show.
Derrick Jones, who lives in Fort St. John, B.C., drove seven hours to Edmonton for Metallica’s concert Wednesday with his mom.
He told CTV News at first he could see the stage during the opening act – but as the crowds gathered for the headliner, his view quickly became obscured.
“We got to the concert…and Avenged Sevenfold was playing, nobody was in the way we could see the stage then, and then before Metallica started, people started coming in,” Jones said in a phone interview from just outside Whitecourt, Alberta. “That’s when the people in front of me sat in their seats.
“Right when Metallica came out, that’s when people decided to stand up.”
For most of the rest of the show, Jones’ view was obscured..
The 28-year-old has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and has had to use a wheelchair for the last 10 years. He told CTV News he has been to a number of concerts, including some in Edmonton, but he’d never had this problem.
“I’ve even been to [Northlands Coliseum], and I’ve never had this issue,” Jones said.
He’s been a fan of Metallica for 15 years, and Wednesday was his first Metallica concert.
Jones said there were other accessible areas at Commonwealth that were raised, but those sections were full. At the time, he tried to ask for help from an usher, he said she apologized but couldn’t do anything.
He shared a photo of his view during the concert on Twitter, he even tagged the band, but as of late Thursday afternoon, he said he hadn’t heard from Commonwealth, the concert promoter or Metallica.
Jones said in a tweet that his photo and story received 53,000 upvotes on Reddit.
Now, Jones hopes to changes are made so others don’t experience the same thing he did.
“Just to prevent it happening to anyone else.”
