This 1980 clip shows the lines, crowds, and chaos that preceded a Bette Midler book singing in San Francisco. 

The signing took place at Brentano's, a bookstore, which was located on Geary Street in downtown San Francisco. People from balconies watch the hubbub on Geary Street below. A few San Francisco Police officers direct the flow of traffic and make sure people don't block the street or hurt each other by pushing one another. Cars and a bus pass by and beep their horns, firing up a segment of the already antsy crowd.