Lawnchair call in show on CBC radio one

[bouche]

attendance will not plummet. a few lazy asses that take up space with big chairs may leave, but that leaves room for 4 more people for each, that haven't been going because of the damn chairs.

[AD]

if they ban lawnchairs, attendance will plummet.

all of a sudden people won't want to see bob dylan or van morrison?

ban lawnchairs, put in bleachers for those who want to sit. or something. in the meantime, be nice to other people

[MarcO]

if they ban lawnchairs, attendance will plummet.

if attendance plummets, no more big name acts like the White Stripes.

no it won't.

[ollie]

I don't think banning lawnchairs would solve the real problem that people are selfish assholes. I can imagine the same space issues cropping up with blankets. You're still gonna have 2 people sitting on a blanket that takes up the space of 5 or more people.

It's the notion of owning festival space that bothers me. That and the safety issues generated by people blocking pathways.

[Alexis]

is that a ottawa only occurance? i don't think i've ever seen lawnchairs at any other fests. ever.

i keep likening this to a show i saw in a small venue once, that had their tables and chairs out where the dancefloor usually was. there was about 8 feet of space between stage and tables rather than the usual 25 feet. people at the tables weren't pissed their view was blocked. it's expected. so why's it so different here. i amazed that this is such a seemingly insurmountable problem. and i'm really surprised at how none of these sitters are embarassed by how completely LAZY they are.

[Freak By Night]

if they ban lawnchairs' date=' attendance will plummet. [/quote']

all of a sudden people won't want to see bob dylan or van morrison?

ban lawnchairs, put in bleachers for those who want to sit. or something. in the meantime, be nice to other people

I'm just playing devil's advocate here.

I'd imagine a good number of people (e.g. seniors) would refuse to attend the bluesfest if chairs were banned.

Suppose they banned chairs and people brought blankets. They'd spread these blankets out and take up a bunch of room. Then when you try to walk to get a beer or whatever, all you'll hear is "don't walk on my blanket".

Bleachers would be a good idea. Didn't they have bleachers a few years ago?

[popo weenie]

I agree. Just ban the damn chairs. NO LAWN CHAIRS.

there, problem solved.

no problem here and we have lots of music and festivals, get tipsy wander around and fall on the people no problem

[Ms.Huxtable]

For sure a blanket takes up more room than a chair and people are a lot more protective of a blanket then they are a chair. IMO

The only way to resolve this? Move to a different city. Ottawa is Ottawa. It's a conservative city because it's full of government workers. It's got nothing to do with lawnchairs. I go to concerts at the Corel Center (or whatever the hell it's called now) and we all have assigned seating. If I yell out to much to request a song or stand up, I hear "Shut up and sit down."

[Kanada Kev]

Problem for many of us around here is that we have been "spoiled" by going to so many shows where the audience is actually INTO the performance and the majority respect one another and don't get argumentative about trivial things.

Get into a "mainstream" show and the bullshit seems to rise to the top and causes problems. And in the case of PFunk, the shit seems to get all over the bathroom too

[phorbesie]

The only way to resolve this? Move to a different city. Ottawa is Ottawa. It's a conservative city because it's full of government workers. It's got nothing to do with lawnchairs. I go to concerts at the Corel Center (or whatever the hell it's called now) and we all have assigned seating. If I yell out to much to request a song or stand up, I hear "Shut up and sit down."

i don't think it's fair to say move to a different city. there are obviously tons of people that feel the way we do. the lawnchairs take up so much space that it seems like there are many thousands of those people but really it's not as many as compared to us standers. (if you were to take away all their chairs)

i don't know why it's so hard. i wouldn't even say ban chairs completely. JUST MAKE A FREAKIN SEATING SECTION that isn't at the front, or at least that does not take up the whole front. keep those people away from me. they'll be happy, i'll be happy.

[ollie]

Institute one simple rule: No lawnchairs allowed within 50 feet* of the stage.

* Reasonable distance to be determined.

[AD]

i agree 100% with phorbesie. (even though i said up above to ban lawnchairs or something, i really just want them out of people's way who want to stand.)

make a section off to the side, or put up bleachers (people wouldn't have to carry their chair, there would be wicked views from the elevated platforms, concession stands and shade underneath)

[ollie]

Maybe I'm being pedantic but a "lawn chair section" won't work. It needs to be a "no lawn chairs section".

[phorbesie]

there needs to be both, for sure.

[AD]

ideally, whatever sections are created would have a label.

[Kanada Kev]

there needs to be both, for sure.

But does there really? For some acts maybe, but I know more venues that don't allow you to bring your own chair in than those that do. Just wait until the first person tosses a chair in the crowd, then you'll get a NO LAWN CHAIR rule fast.

[phorbesie]

hehe maybe we should take it into our own hands...

bring fencing, fence off the front, put up some signs (really early on the first day next year). people will just go along with it...hehe

[bradm]

hehe maybe we should take it into our own hands...

bring fencing, fence off the front, put up some signs (really early on the first day next year). people will just go along with it...hehe

Get some "Ottawa Blues Fest Fence Crew" t-shirts made, too.

Aloha,

Brad

[Jakis]

I think bleachers is a great idea. I was only at the bluesfest for 1 day but I noticed that the blacksheep stage had those raised hills and all the people on lawnchairs set up there and standers were by the stage.

[bouche]

I pictured bleachers 2 years ago at the old site, but they'd have to be far enough to the side so they don't block anyone.

[mark tonin]

I felt that the discussion today didn't go nearly as far as it could/should have.

Nicely done AD ... you articulated yourself well.

Other festivals I've been too:

Winnipeg Folk Festival - as the caller said, they seem to have it worked out. Blankets and short chairs only, with a dancing area. Definitely more of a folky festival though.

Hillside - lots of blankets and sitting in the main stage area, but no lack of dancing and grooving around the tent stages. Chairs and sitting/standing has never seemed to be an issue when I've attended.

Owen Sound Summerfolk - the lawn chairs drove me crazy. People set them up in the main stage area, and then leave them there all day as reserved seats. For some acts, there are more empty chairs than chairs with people in them.

Gratefulfest - what's a reserved seat?

Hopefully the lawn chair debate won't taint the festival too much, as Ottawa's Bluesfest really does have an incredible lineup of music.

Peace, Mark

[Kanada Kev]

Gratefulfest - what's a reserved seat?

We don't need no stinkin' reserved seats ! !

It was perfect. Anyone who wanted to chill in a fold up chair did so at the back in the cool shade of the trees (not banana trees ) It's about hearing the music. I've always liked the fact that at shows like that you can relax at the sides/back and then boogie up front for a few songs (and nobody gets their nose out of joint) and then groove on back.

You gotta design a really TALL lawn chair and take it in to the Ottawa Blues fest and set 'em up in front of those cantankerous other lawn chair people ... no rules on chair size right?

Edited July 12, 2007 by Guest

[AD]

here is a sendspace link to an mp3 of the complete phone-in

file is 42 minutes long and about 20 mb.

[Velvet]

Thanks for that AD. I am sooooo disappointed I didn't get to call in. Right off the top Rita asked Mark why they don't have seperate sections. He said they couldn't police it. When she asked why they couldn't police it he said "For us this is a no-win situation." In other words, policing it isn't the problem*, the issue is they have thus far resisted making a decision on what to do.

As stated before, eventually some dispute will end up in a chair being flung into a crowd, and when it gets ugly you can bet they'll be bellying up to the table to make a decision then.

I also wanted to ask him about the site capacity. As I understand it the fire marshall has okayed around 50,000 people onsite. Is that standing or sitting? I'm sure the fire marshall was curious as to what percentage of people would be seated and what percentage would be standing. What do those numbers look like Mark? Would your capacity go up if there were no lawnchairs? Or was the site merely sanctioned for 50,000 people, period? It would be a funny sight to see 50,000 people crammed into that field and have everybody open a chair at once for a little sit down.

Finally Mr. Monahan (damn I wish they'd done the show an hour earlier), with a growing festival in size and stature one must concede that from the administration's point of view lawn chairs eat up space and in the event of a sellout they can certainly eat up profits. Essentially, if nobody brought a single chair to the festival it would make for less headaches for the admin given space and safety concerns. It seems that most of the artists would prefer if people were standing and having a good time, and those that stand sure would like it if the lawnchairs weren't impeding them. So who wants the lawnchairs there? The people that bring them and nobody else. Ironically because they take up huge permanent swaths of space they think that they are the majority, but they aren't. Every person that sets up a chair at the Bluesfest should have the following mantra ringing in their head, "If I asked the bands, the admin, and most people here if they'd rather I left my chair home they'd likely say yes," and act accordingly.

*hell, if you can police 35,000 through a gate you can police people that start setting up chair where they shouldn't