Stinky Rolling Stones Concert Wasn't the Band's Fault

WASHINGTON - Imagine spending hundreds of dollars to see one concert, getting dressed to the nines and then finding yourself face down in flooded sewage water.

That's what happened Monday night at the Rolling Stones concert at MCI Center.

"I noticed a lot of women, who were tipsy to begin with, walking around in high heels just wiping out left and right," said Bob, one of the people who attended the concert.

"The stench was definitely noticeable," he said. "It seemed like it was a New Orleans cocktail. There was definitely fecal matter."

The water cascaded down the steps of one concourse, forcing people to walk through the watery muck.

After the smell hit Stones-lover Sammy, he noticed that he was "sloshing through the water that (was) a good quarter of an inch thick."

He ruined a pair of shoes in the ordeal.

"It was obviously from the bathroom. The smell grossed me out enough that I don't think I wanted to look down."

But he says the show was so good he tuned out the sewage problem.

A blockage in a sewer line outside the building affected part of MCI's sewage system, says MCI spokesman Matt Williams. It affected about one-quarter to one-third of one concourse and could be smelled for blocks.

So far, nobody has complained to MCI, he says.

"We hope any inconvenience to our patrons was minimal."

(Copyright 2005 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)