Outdoor concerts

So here I am at the Canada Winter Games enjoying what I do best, photograph sports, but as part of the contract I have I am suppose to be covering all the cultural events as well, not always possible, in reality, not possible. The toughest part is that I am suppose to cover the outdoor concerts, however these concerts all happen at the same time as the sports I'm trying to cover, so guess what doesn't get covered?

There is another side to all this, it's the 3 song rule, if I want to shoot at the front of the stage, I have to show up early and join all the amateur camera owners that were handed passes like rice to a starving kid. I have no doubt that I would be the only professional photographer in this mass of digital retards that have decided they want to be "concert photographers" Here is the interesting thing, if I show up early and get a spot close to the front of the stage as a spectator, these are free concerts, I could shoot the whole concert. Professional 3 songs-spectator all the songs. So here in lies the problem, as a professional I am restricted as to what I can cover, but anyone with a digital camera is not. If someone could explain the reasoning behind this I would be open to listening.

So tonight I will wander to the concert, find a place a little further back and shoot some pretty pictures, it will be interesting to see if security drops by and says I can't, I will raise the point that it would mean going through the entire crowd and telling everyone, no pictures.