The next person with a lawnchair...

[AD]

if people are gonna sit, why not make use of the huge field behind the mbna stage and put up some screens, a killer sound system, and have waiters and service right to your chair? no jostling, good sightlines, and a simulcast from the show.

this is half sarcasm, half not

[Velvet]

And not half bad either.

Every festival I went to in Europe last year was lawnchairs at the back only. It didn't seem to be the rule, just common sense. I think the Bluesfest people are afraid to try it, but I'm sure it would work. The majority of lawchair sitters would be happy with a speaker tower and a big screen. Really, if you're not in the first hundred metres you're watching a screen anyway, right?

[jonyak]

unfortunatley a large cross section of the ottawa public has neither smarts, nor common sense.

[Freak By Night]

I went to the Tampa Bay Bluesfest in 2005 and the lawnchairs were kept to the rear of the venue. The lawnchair people seemed to be happy with that too.

[phorbesie]

agreed...i've never encountered this problem at any fests in the states, europe, asia, anywhere else but here.

[gentlemonkey]

agreed...i've never encountered this problem at any fests in the states, europe, asia, anywhere else but here.

Ottawa has a bit of a problem with the cultture of entitlement of entitlement.

[popo weenie]

...that gets in my face will lose me my festival pass, and I assure you up front, it's gonna be worth it.

wear dark glasses

keep on a trucken

go up front

sit the and take no shit but keep smiling, it works i did it at the capitol theatre

danniel o,donnel

i,d kill to see doc watsona, I MEAN A LAWN CHAIR

[AD]

Todd's letter to CBC just got read on-air by Adrian Harewood, and a brief chat with Ian Black and Harewood occurred. They didn't decide anything of course, but good work Todd!!!

[phorbesie]

wow, awesome!!

good work velvet!

i just printed up 1000 flyers to be distributed tonight. it cost me $50 so if anyone feels like kicking down a few bucks to help out the cause it would be greatly appreciated.

[bouche]

holy crap. I'd have love to have heard Velvet's letter on air!

[Velvet]

Me too!

Good work phorbesie!

[NewRider]

Takin' it to the streets! Nice work!

[d_rawk]

That's awesome. For those of us who missed it, could you post the contents of the letter here, Velvet?

[Velvet]

No, I can't, as I sent it directly through the website, and not through my email. Wish I knew what I wrote. I think I mentioned the word "riot" though.

[Im going home Donny]

ha!

good stuff kidz.

[bouche]

Velvet and Heather have some flyers already at bluesfest. AWESOME job Phorbsie! I got a short stack and handed some out. What would the strategy be? Just hand them to anyone, or people that appear to be discourteous?

I took a couple of chair "issue" photos tonight and I'll get more tomorrow that tries to show what we're talking about.

Send it to me and I'll post it on the main page. Then we could share that link with all of the local dailies.

Edited July 7, 2007 by Guest

[Velvet]

I'm thinking to mainly had them out to standers (in multiples) so people can have them on hand when lawnchair users are being incurteous. Plus I think if the standers read them and realise that they aren't the only ones pissed off about it the cause will be helped.

Of course if you see someone being an idiot with their chair they deserve a smile and a flyer.

[PassedOutGuy]

How can we get this deal onto the Colbert Report... he's already got a relationship with Oshawa due to the Oshawa Generals... how about sending this thread and some info to his staff regarding whats going on... could definitely be a fun piece...

[AD]

phorbesie, can you copy and paste the text of your flyer message onto the site here?

[Magnum]

phorbesie, can you copy and paste the text of your flyer message onto the site here?

What he said!

[color:red]See this hose... Know why I'm drenching sexy torso and buff man forest?? I'll tell you why. 'Cause the Magnum is burning hot with fiery anger, about these bluesfest lawn chair bitches!

Now higgins, TC, Rick and the Chameleon and me are coming to see Steve Miller, P-/funk and moe. and we are looking to drink some Daquries and shake it on down! and let me tell you when I hear Steve Miller sing Jet Airliner this P.I. goes buck and puts his short shorts into action on the dancefloor!

How am I 'sposta get on down to the Flashilight with George Clinton (personal friend...TC used to play castanets in Funkadelic for 1/2 an album) and get my mitts on some lady curves.. when there's no funkin' room to get down??!! I can't work my macho sitting!!

BUMP THAT!!!

The boys from the Robin's nest are ready to take up the fight!!! We wil; also hand out flyers and show those rigormortous muthafukas in the chairs .....it ain't hip!!!

Post that flyer!

Edited July 7, 2007 by Guest

[bagochips]

Great work on the flyer, phorbesie. Tim handed me one after the show. I am impressed. All I have ever done is bitch to my friends ad nauseum.

Last night I was able to get within twenty feet of Gary US Bonds without trouble. Everyone was standing for the Flecktones and the crowd at the river stage were too busy shaking it to Femi Kuti to care about chairs.

[AD]

i have a stack at the ready for Manu Chao tonight. i am hoping someone can get one to Joe Reilly or Mark Monahan. I've seen Reilly on the grounds a few times so if I spot him today I'll flag him down. (He's the head of PR for bluesfest)

[YearsAlongTheSea]

Fight fire with fire; WWF style...

[phorbesie]

thanks everyone!

last night was much better than the previous 2 in terms of lawn chair meanies, but there were still a few out there that we dealt with. funny how smiling and handing a piece of paper can cause someone to glare, yell and swear at you!

many standers that we heard complaining were given flyers too for future use and loved them.

i hate the confrontations! leaving a flyer on a chair that is sitting unoccupied up front is a good thing too.

if you got some flyers they may come in handy on nights coming! i won't be printing up more (though we still have a bunch left) due to the cost but i think the issue has really taken hold, especially as the front page of the citizen today had an article about it, featuring an interview with velvet! also the 'letters' section really does a good job of making our points, even the lawn chair person that wrote in made themselves look bad.

heading down shortly to see burnside brothers!

[AD]

the lawnchair only area is totally ass-backwards - they are excluding standers and are giving MORE room to people with lawnchairs, as the other side at the front is still open to lawnchair people as well as whatever standers can get in between them. put in a standing only section!!!

here's the article from the citizen.

Lawn chair area aims to quell squabbling

Alana Toulin, The Ottawa Citizen

Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007

Bluesfest is back and so is the annual lawn chair debate between those who want to stand and dance and those who would rather watch the show sitting down.

Just two days into the festival, and already complaints have prompted organizers to arrange a designated lawn chair area, which was added last night. It will continue throughout the festival.

The section is at stage left with space for about "two to three hundred" lawn chairs, said Mark Monahan, executive and artistic director of the Cisco Systems Bluesfest.

He warned that people will have to get there early if they want to be sure no one will stand in front of them. He also said that if people place a lawn chair outside the area, there will be "no policing."

"It's an adult crowd and I think most behave themselves," he said, pointing out that most of the tension happens during the final act of the night, when people are trying to get close to the stage.

Bluesfest has experimented with different lawn chair policies in previous years.

At some past shows no chairs were allowed, including the Black Eyed Peas and the Tragically Hip. In 2003, the crowd was divided into sitting and standing areas during Ben Harper's show, prompting him to tell the audience, "it looks like my 'fro in the morning when I wake up when I sleep on one side."

This year there are no plans as of yet to entirely ban lawn chairs from any specific shows. Last night, the area to the left of the front of the main stage was clearly marked with "Lawn Chair Area" and "Sitting Only" signs.

During Gary U.S. Bonds' performance, almost everyone in the area was sitting in their chairs and clapping politely. No one stood up to dance until his last song. Dean Tremblay said he arrived with his lawn chair at 5:30 p.m. to get a spot in the area. "It's awesome," he said.

Others were more upset. "I paid $30 and they paid $30 as well and the people in the lawn chairs get to sit so close up to the stage," said Johnathan Larochelle.

The situation has been tense for some concert-goers. At the Van Morrison show Wednesday, one group of standing people were asked to move by a group in lawn chairs who arrived later and sat behind them.

At Thursday's Bob Dylan show, some members of the crowd were equally territorial, said Todd Snelgrove.

"I was trying to walk from one area to another and this lady in a lawn chair stood up and wouldn't let me walk by. She said, 'You can't walk up here. I have my lawn chair up here, I'm guarding it, and nobody's walking by," he said.

Mr. Snelgrove said he "didn't want to start trouble" so he walked away, but turned around and saw the woman stopping everybody else who attempted to cross. He also said the lawn chairs force standers onto a narrow path, a recipe for a potentially dangerous situation. "The exits aren't well thought-out this year," he said. "What if something really horrible happened?"

Bruce Langer calls lawn chairs "anti-social" and said they've got no business at a music festival, where most people want to move about and dance.

"It's an outdoor party -- you socialize, walk around, meet your friends, dance in front of the stage," Mr. Langer said. He said he has been to rock festivals all over the world and said the lawn chair issue is unique to Ottawa.

"I think it has to do with the number of government people. Perhaps they're used to sitting in cubicles and having a little space for themselves," he said.

Lisa and Lori Lejeune brought their lawn chairs on Thursday. The sisters, who have been coming to Bluesfest for 11 years, said that while they haven't experienced confrontation, they've seen it happen in the past.

"All the old people have been here for hours with their chairs and then the younger crowd comes in and pushes forward, so the old people want them to back off," Lisa laughed. "We're usually not sitting all the time so it's nice to be able to get up, too," added Lori.

Those who oppose lawn chairs say that is the exact problem. Concert-goers are frustrated by the amount of extra space the chairs take up, and some wonder why people wouldn't fold their chairs when they choose to stand during a show.

Don Saunders and his wife, Sue, said they too brought their chairs to the Dylan show so they could sit down between acts. "You could certainly fit more people in without them. But there's lots of old guys like me that need to sit down," Mr. Saunders said.

Similar North American festivals don't seem to have the same problems with lawn chairs. At the Chicago Blues Festival, seating is provided in front of the stages, but people are encouraged to bring their chairs to the lawn areas, said spokeswoman Blythe Lopez. "It doesn't seem to be a problem here."

In Montreal, lawn chairs are banned entirely from the big events at the Jazz Festival, but attendees are welcome to bring them to smaller shows.