Ah. The last night of the jazz fest. That went by quick, didn’t it? First up tonight was Marianne Trudel, tinkling the ivories in the beautifully intimate Hatch Hall. I stuck around for her first song (coming in at a lengthy 15 minutes), and her soft stylistic playing was perfect for the pin-drop-quiet acoustics of the hall, but it was conceptually lofty and more than I could sit still and grasp at the time. Her tune (an original) also made me realize that unlike other shows, for a solo jazz show like her’s, it is quite hard for a reviewer to tell where the line between improv and a piece’s regular ebb and flow is, as well as how close a player’s work is reflecting the original idea. There were a few odd note choices; but I can’t say if they were purposeful, or not. I guess that’s jazz for you.
Next up, and closing off the festival, was Jazz Fest veteran Trombone Shorty on the super jam-packed East and Alexander Street Stage. He’s almost become a staple of the festival at this point, and there’s good reason why. He’s more of a brass rock explosion than what might come to mind when you think of a more traditional jazz ensemble, and he is one simply put, one hell of a trombone player.
Trombone Shorty is damn good at what he does – and strongly consistent – but I just wasn’t as blown away this time as when I first saw him. He is a perfect festival musician: loud, vibrant, powerful, charismatic, and full of swagger, and he always brings in those much needed non-hardcore jazz crowds to the street stages. He’s just become a safe and expected part of the festival at this point. But, he does give hope for trombone players everywhere that one day they can leave the back of the band and be rock stars some day, and that’s something.
Not to end on a sour note, but one last side note on the festival as a whole: To all the rude patrons who camped out in folding chairs taking up almost the first entire block of the East/Alexander stage where Trombone Shorty was playing; please don’t. I don’t care if your feet hurt or it’s uncomfortable or hot or whatever. It’s a music festival: it isn’t supposed to be comfortable. These are standing events. Everyone is there for the music and deserves the same chance to experience it that you do, and it continues to boggle my mind that the jazz fest (unlike most other concerts/festivals/etc.) continues to allow chairs. A few people should not be able to commandeer nearly the entire viewing area of a show to the detriment of the rest of the crowd behind them. It’s really quite inconsiderate.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2013.
I have gone through my ” Handbook of Music Festival Rules and Regulations” cover to cover, and I can’t find the rule that says “no chairs.” Every club pass venue has chairs. There are chairs provided by the promoters on Jazz Street. Like a lot of things, the ” free” shows (as a city taxpayer, I subsidize these) are ” first come, first serve”, so if Willy wants to elbow his way to the stage for some eardrum smashing volume and a close up, he just needs to get there before the chair crowd. I know, it is tough life having to walk right into clubs that patrons have stood in line for more than an hour to enter so you can meet deadline, and your sense of entitlement can get disrupted when your access to the front is limited by people who got there early and staked a claim on a small amount of ground . And I want to hear what tune he is singing when he’s reviewing the festival from the other side of 60, and the challenge of 4 to 5 miles a night is exacerbated by advancing years. You want “no chairs,” go to “Party in the Parking Lot!”
Lucky 13
I went to see Dr.John the first weekend.Had to stand beyond the intersection because of all of the chairs.I could not hear the band at that distance!Tried to get closer,and I did get close enough to actually hear what was being played.The combination of a lack of volume(which has never been a problem in years past),and a passive ,complacent ,all too comfortable,audience,made for a bummer of a show.It is supposed to be FUN! Get up and shake that thang!Spill some beer,its a concert for cryin out loud.I’m old and slow,but I’ll party as long as I am able.Guess it won’t be here anymore!
Lucky 13 has certainly captured the attitude of a majority of The Chair People at the big shows. – “I got here before you, and I have chair dammit. I brought it here myself, and I think it acts like a ticket to this spot which I feel I now own. I will sit here and take up the space that three people could stand in and I will expect my sightlines to be maintained identically to what they were before the other 15,000 of you showed up” . Who really has the sense of entitlement here?
There are many venues and situations at the Jazz Fest where chilling out in your folding chair from your back yard is appropriate and works out great. A large free concert that draw tens of thousands of people is not one of them. A big “general admission” type crowd like that is not static. It moves. It has ebbs and flows. It shifts. It has circulation, at least it does until you hit the artery clogging mass of The Chair People . The what you have is tension and conflict as the usual conventions of crowd movement and compromise no longer apply. Allowing chairs to be set up in front of the major free stages definitely creates sour notes in what is otherwise a great festival with a great vibe. The majority, who are forced to stand a block away from the stage by the actions of a few, should be considered the aggrieved party here. And given that, it is odd how much anger seems to come from those seated comfortably in their chairs.
Actually, as a purchaser of a pass, I don’t have to do the free shows, I just have to put up with the line jumpers, texters, and people who talk all the way through the performance at venues like Abilene and the Tent. But I carry a chair for use in the lines, and for SRO areas like the balcony at Harro, and I would definitely not like being told that I could not access some portion of the street because I am carrying my chair for other functions. And chair people or no chairs, when 30,000 plus people show up for a free show, somebody will be in the back. Maybe it should be no standing keep walking so everyone gets 5 minutes up front. It is probably moot for Trombone Shorty, because after a street run like his, I’m predicting that if you want to see him next year, you’ll be digging into those tight pants for some Eastman Ticket money next year. But then you’ll be able to show up 5 minutes before the show and be entitled to your seat!
Lucky 13