I don't normally feel sorry for "the man" when people are sticking it to him.
But I must admit I did feel just a slight pang for the "customer safety" staff at the Echo Arena last night.
They came under fire from Crowded House frontman Neil Finn for trying to stop people rushing down the aisles to the front to dance and sing.
Finn kept telling them to lay off the audience - and you could see his point.
These weren't dangerous troublemakers. They were at a Crowded House gig for a start! All they wanted to do was have a bit of a dance and sing in the aisles and get close enough to take a photograph of the band.
But of course they were being pushed back by the health and safety police, presumably worried if any of them stubbed their toe the venue would get sued to Hooton and back.
Or if there was a fire, it would rip through the giant steel structure before 20 people had turned tail and legged it.
When did this start happening?
I remember going to gigs as a teenager and standing on my chair with no trouble let alone standing up (which seems to garner disapproving comments at some places these days) or trying to leave my seat.
So I could empathise with Finn, and eventually his good-natured Kiwi pleas had an effect and the "customer safety" guys stepped back a bit.
But equally I can see their dilemma, because they were merely doing what they have been employed and instructed to by their bosses.
Anyway, it was a good night with many a sing-a-long opportunity! And Johnny Marr joined the band for the last four or five numbers.
Apparently, if the Finns and the Marrs are "within 50 miles of each other" they hook up.
The evening finished with Weather With You, which considering the monsoon conditions outside was the most appropriate song I've heard in a while.
