Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest 2008
July 30th, 2008 - Written by A7
Last year, CONFRONT Magazine was granted passes to cover the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. We were very candid and honest in our review, and pointed out some areas that could use improvement. Much to our surprise, Bluesfest organizers clearly listened to the feedback people were giving them, and made a point to address most of these issues in this year’s staging of Bluesfest. As with any large outdoor event of this nature, there will always be room for improvement, and there will inevitably be some issues that arise, but over all Bluesfest 2008 was a resounding success. Let’s take a look at the improvements and the problems from this year’s show.
Having attended Bluesfest last year, we were in a better position to compare what worked work last year to what worked this year, and figure out what didn’t work so well (and perhaps why). The most obvious change to Bluesfest this year was the addition of a fifth outdoor stage, called the “Roots Stage”. In order to accommodate the extra stage, organizers had to move the stages into different areas and change the positioning and layout of the entire venue. This had a profound effect on crowd flow, sound isolation, and space. On paper, it was a good idea; The extra stage allowed organizers to schedule shows at greater intervals to allow for more stage setup time between acts. It also allowed the River Stage to be placed opposite its previous location (now close to the street facing the river), which made for a more scenic view. Unfortunately, this change had adverse effects when put into practice. Last year, attendees had to leave the grounds, cross the street, and re-enter a separate section of the grounds, showing their bracelets and tickets each time. It was a nuisance, so the new stage layout allowed organizers to properly block street access and ensure the crowd would remain on the grounds (not have to show bracelets between stages). Unfortunately, this meant the crowd entrance was immediately to the left of the stage. As you can imagine, when a popular band would hit the stage, a large crowd would form at the front of the stage, thus blocking the entrance in its entirety. People would scramble to squeeze their way in and make their way through the thousands of people in order to see the stage. Although there was another entrance at the back of the crowd, it was hidden and unadvertised, so no one used it. This did not cause any major problems, and was more of a minor inconvenience. However, the sound isolation (or lack thereof) was a more serious issue. In addition to moving the River Stage near the street, they also moved the Rogers Stage sideways, now facing the street. Last year, the Rogers Stage was directly facing the Bank of America stage, so it acted as a sound barrier to the River Stage. This year, with the Rogers Stage out of the way, and the River Stage directly in line with the Bank of America stage, sound quality was not nearly as good. Sadly, almost every headlining act (9:30pm) on the River Stage suffered from terrible sound due to the competing (and much louder) Bank of America stage.
But enough about the technical aspects of the show; This is a music magazine, so let’s dive right into the music.
Related Articles:
Find arcitcles with similar tags: Akon, alexisonfire, bluesfest, cisco, confront, confront magazine, crash parallel, donna summer, feist, fergie, Great Big Sea, metric, michael franti, music, ottawa, plain white Ts, primus, snoop dogg, spearhead, theory of a deadman, three days grace, tokyo police club, wintersleep, Wyclef Jean