Crowds leaving Golden Gate Park around 10pm on Saturday. Photo by citznkane1
Outside Lands concluded its seventh year on Sunday night, with headliners The Killers and Tiesto closing out the music, food and arts festival on Golden Gate Park. The Chronicle has a nice slideshow and writeup of the weekend’s activities.
On Friday night, controversial headliner Kanye West was heard all over the city, even in West Portal according to one of our commenters, thanks to the high volume and booming bass of his performance.
“Wow, Kanye has the bass turned way up. People in Ingleside, West Portal and Lake Merced are upset.” Another commenter wasn’t impressed with his use of the f*bomb.
Can hear the rap (Kanye?) AND feel it – 1200 30th Ave. Thought it was thunder at first @sfoutsidelands @SupervisorTang @richmondsfblog
— Suzie Hansen (@SuzieInDaSunset) August 8, 2014
Things seemed to improve on Saturday and Sunday. Commenters made note of the lower volume levels compared to past years and even compared to Friday’s performances:
“I must say I’m quite pleasantly surprised today (Saturday). After last night’s barrage of unpleasant sound, I expected to be blasted all the way to the Underworld today here in West Portal. But we haven’t heard anything at all and it’s already 5:30 PM. There was an article in the Chronicle this morning about turning down the noise, especially the bass, and maybe the Festival organizers read it and actually heeded the suggestion! Anyway we’re fine out here and hope this courteous lack of noise continues through the night.”
Another commenter that lives alongside the park said this was the best year to date. “We live at the entrance/exit @ 30th and Fulton and this has been the most improved year, thus far.”
It seems the organizers were more mindful this year of noise complaints that came in through their hotline. ABC7 News reported that “Organizers have set up a noise complaint hotline for neighbors and claim every complaint is investigated with mobile sound monitoring equipment, then relayed back to concert sound technicians who can adjust volume.” Watch the story below:
In spite of the concert noise being more manageable, some neighbors still found it tough to weather the crowds that streamed in and out of the park, leaving garbage and sometimes urinating on their lawns and front steps.
We had this comment passed along to us from Friday night from a resident that lives across the street from Golden Gate Park:
“I saw the complete sh*t show from about 10:30 to 1AM and the aftermath. Fights, fisticuffs, opening card doors into people, people jumping off moving Muni busses, gaggles of girls running full drunken throttle into oncoming traffic on Fulton, almost dying, bro-grammar dudes in total verbal altercation with their Uber driver, some amateur youth pukers and some urinaters outside of Safeway which was completely overrun with drunkards and animals of the night.”
Yup, sounds like a music festival.
Another commenter asked that the festival conclude a bit earlier on Sunday night. “Please end the festival on Sunday by 7PM. Some of us have to get up at 4:45am Monday morning. Ending at 9:45 + another 2 hours of noise is unacceptable on a work night.”
So it sounds like there were some improvements this year with regards to noise, but status quo with regards to the crowds and revelry.
What was your experience with Outside Lands this year? Leave a comment to let us know.
Sarah B.
I’m pretty far north from the park, and didn’t have any problems. I could occasionally hear music, and I could hear people getting their cars late at night, but that was more amusing in a “whoa, you had to park all the way out here?” way. On Saturday, I even had to drive down to the South Bay for a party, and using Great Highway was fine.
24th Ave was the staging ground for tons of Uber, Lyft, and other cars. Really annoying. People double-parking every night and drunk people walking all over the place.
Was at Yoshi’s on Friday night, so missed the Kanye thing (hooray for us!).
Saturday we spent the day at the Academy of Sciences enjoying the SKULL exhibit so we missed the hoards of people trying to find parking. (hooray for us!).
Sunday we hit the farmer’s market on Clement (found parking!!) and then did laundry on Cabrillo, we did see massive amounts of people trying to find parking from 11am on, pretty steady stream. Dangerous u-turns, pedestrians crossing where the weren’t suppose to, cars stopping when they weren’t supposed to (adding to the chaos). Huge backups on Balboa in both directions on Sat and Sun nights; pretty surprised that the bus kiosk and city trash can by our corner weren’t demolished by trash!! Also, pleasantly surprised that we didn’t witness any drunken people crying on the street which is usually the case during one of these festivales.
I could hear the concert but it wasn’t bad at all.
The super crowded 38 and 38L were more of an issue for me.
But otherwise, no complaints.
As quiet as our neighborhood is every other day of the year I enjoy the Outside Lands debacle and shenanigans. The feeling of leaving the park with thousands of others only to walk 4 blocks to arrive at my home while they futily tried to hail taxis, get on the bus, find their friends…tons of fun and glad it’s so close!
While there are safety issues and real areas of concern I think they’ve been handled well and that in place of acting like curmudgeons we should be proud our neighborhood is so awesome.
My recap – Friday was unbearable. I could feel the thumping for hours. It got worse – louder and deeper – when Kanye came on. Couldn’t get through to the hotline because it apparently was overwhelmed with calls. Tried to leave a message at Katy Tang’s office but it wouldn’t take my message so apparently the mailbox was full (Note: she has made it clear that she is not interested in hearing or doing anything about the problems this concert causes her constituents).The Saturday morning sound check was too loud with too much bass. When I called in at 10:30am the operator was very nice about it. When I mentioned I couldn’t get through the night before she said they were flooded with calls and even said “Yeah, he was kinda loud”. So I don’t believe OL sound people travel around and check on complaints. If they did it would have been turned down.
With one exception, MTA was great all weekend. The exception being a van that parked in the bus zone on Lincoln next to the park. He arrived about 3:00pm. He was selling/distributing something in big yellow containers. People were driving up and coming out the park to get whatever it was. Several neighbors called this in and when MTA would show he would pull away but come back a few minutes later. He was in the middle of the bus stop and people who drove up would double park leaving one lane for traffic. Buses were forced to stop in the street. He finally left about 9:30pm. Other than that MTA chased away all the double parkers and driveway blockers. Limos, Uber & Lfyt drivers were blocking driveways and double parking causing all kinds of traffic issues; not just on Lincoln but on the Avenues as well. Not as many limos & town cars as in the past and this year very few of those had out of state plates as in previous years.
Tom Petty was loud but it was tolerable since the bass wasn’t as vicious as the night before.
Saturday night brought the first street fights we’ve seen. About 10:20pm a guy in a van got his rear window busted out and chased the guy. They fought in the street for a while. There was another street fight up near Irving a little while later.
I don’t know what kind of security they had but it wasn’t as good as they claim. A neighbors kid and his six friends snuck in on Saturday and Sunday. This is verified by the photos they posted online. He says that before they got in they wandered around and there were guys selling beers and drugs everywhere in plain sight – $5 for a tall Bud.
At one point on Saturday there was a guy sitting in a folding chair in a parking space across the street. He was saving the spot for his buddy who went on a beer run. Also saw a guy go by with a dolly loaded down with cases of beer and water and enter the park. Saw that several times last year. It sort of confirms my idea that maybe some of the trouble isn’t concert goers but people hanging around outside the fence to hear the concert.
I’ve spoken with several neighbors who said they chased people out of their alleys and off their stairs and lawns and cars. Most report finding lots of trash and puke on their property and on the street.
My girlfriend on 24th and Fulton chased pot-smoking kids off her front steps.
http://sfappeal.com/2014/08/sfpd-no-major-arrests-crime-reports-during-outside-lands/
From the article…
“A sobering center had been set up at the festival to treat people who imbibed too much and the dozen citations were issued only to those who were uncooperative with the people working at the center, Shyy said.
Police had said on Saturday that 35 people were detained for scalping tickets. Shyy said today that 10 people were eventually cited for peddling tickets without a permit.
One person was arrested on suspicion of robbery while another had a felony narcotics arrest, Shyy said.
Considering the tens of thousands of people that attended the festival from Friday to Sunday, Shyy said the number of incidents was relatively minor.
“It was definitely a well-behaved crowd,” he said.”
Trash everywhere on 30th between Cabrillo & Futon. I pulled a full recycle bin of bottles & cans off the hedges and sidewalk in front of my house. They really need to address the trashing of the surrounding streets.
Was glad to see them close the street which helped a lot. 2 more months and we get to do it again with HSB.
I’m pro-concert. I’m pro music, and love that I live in a city that embraces festivals of all kinds. What I don’t love is floods of people visiting a city or neighborhood and treating it with no respect. I left my house this morning to go to work (after not being able to go to sleep until nearly midnight) to find cigarette butts, gum, garbage and broken glass in front of my building.
I don’t love not being able to enjoy the park for nearly 3 weeks during set-up, the concert itself and the clean-up. I don’t love that my 6 month old baby did not have a proper nap for three days due to noise.
When OSL first started wasn’t it only two days? And didn’t it end by 8 on Sunday? Or am I getting it confused with the Blue Grass Festival? Regardless, three days of constant bass, noise and commotion is surprisingly stressful. My patience started to wear thin come Sunday at 9:36, when I could still hear and feel the Killers. I really think it needs to end much earlier on Sunday. As Elaine has said in Seinfeld…I NEED MY BUFFER!
Be happy you’re living in a world class city that attracts world class concerts. Other cities would kill to host this show.
It’s my understanding the folks at OL are paid to do massive amounts of cleanup…probably happening right now. I wonder how bad the city streets and the neighborhood will look this evening. Hopefully not so bad…
@J – Someone I know drove through the park this morning and they said it was much cleaner than they expected, so I am sure cleanup was underway almost immediately after closing last night. And if past years are any indication, they do a very thorough job of cleaning up after concertgoers in the park.
Sarah B.
I’m reading all these comments and it’s kind of sad to see all the whiners! Man, it’s 3 days out of the year for Outside Lands. I live in Outter Richmond (right in the thick of things) and love that I only have to walk a few blocks to get home each year. And yes it is a bit loud during the festival, but I love that we have the opportunity to go to such a cool event that is so close and brings such a diverse group of musicians. I don’t like Kanye but It’s kind of neat to see someone I would never see otherwise. Yes, people were yelling late into the night, some crazy drunk girls were fighting/hysterically crying at like 1am. But if that is the price to pay to walk over to see amazing bands, I’m in! Stop whining and enjoy. This is why you live in one of the best city’s in the world, to have access to such amazing events. If you don’t like it move, maybe it’s time move to the burbs…or just suck it up for 3 days. Dang cry babies!!!
Outside Lands is the wrong event in the wrong place for the wrong reasons.
A typical day’s attendance at Outside Lands is estimated to be around 60,000 people. That’s roughly the same number of people who attend a sold-out 49ers football game.
When football fans go to a game, they drive on purpose-built access roads to a purpose-built facility where they park in purpose-built parking lots. They do so for an event that lasts on the order of four hours end-to-end.
Outside lands attendees use public streets to get to a park that abuts private residences and was never designed for large-scale concerts. They do so across three days and nights.
Football games are also not characterized by protracted periods of over-amplified bass and drums. Outside Lands is nothing but.
As the saying goes, what’s wrong with this picture?
Actually it was surprisingly calm.
i live on 38th and Fulton. Had zero issues. I made sure to get home early on Friday, park, and leave my car there. Actually pretty close, too… 39th and balboa. Noise was not an issue.
All the WHINERS like suzie need to put a sock in it. It’s 3 days a year. Next year, get a ticket and go enjoy yourself!
I’m glad that we have these events in the park – they make the area a more vibrant place to live. That said, living so close in Mid RIchmond, the noise shook our back bedrooms pretty annoyingly. (Sorry, we have a 5 year old kid and we’re not personally enjoying these events at this point.) A group of people walking back to their cars after the concert thought that our driveway would be a great place to hang out, talk loudly and blast their music. My husband said that after they left, someone pissed on our plants. Nice. At least nobody barfed on the driveway.
I don’t like the fact that all of the meadows and polo fields were closed for over a week. I don’t like not being able to move my car for 3 days, because I would have never been able to park again. I did enjoy listening to Tom Petty from the comfort of my back deck.
I like that Outsidelands exists, but are 4 layers of fences really necessary? I am sure the Coyotes, foxes and raccoons didn’t appreciate being fenced in. I know some my neghbors felt like they were trapped in their homes, too.
I lived in Long Beach for 2 years – they hold the Long Beach Grand Prix car races….. it’s LOUD! The first year, I stayed close, went down & watched (you could find free passes for the opening days) and enjoyed the hoopla. The next year, I spent most of my weekend on the other end of town…. you just plan around it. Part of urban/city living is that there are events that you enjoy/attend/participate in, and events that are not of interest… but for just 3 days you can generally work around it. That said – it sounds like the sound was turned down/better balanced for Saturday & Sunday…. if it was all like friday night, that wouldn’t be good!
the organizer of the event should give free tickets to people who live directly across the park on Fulton and Lincoln. that may help people feel better that they are part of the event!!!
All you people complaining are probably the same people who complain about 60 degree weather.
To the people who say it’s once a year/3 days…it is not once a year/3 days. We have a litany of events that occur in and around Golden Gate Park/Ocean Beach that have substantial disruptions and closures. To name a few: Outside Lands (3 days plus 7plus days of set-up/closures/fencing off), Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (3 days + few days for set up/clean-up), dozens of small and large running events such as Nike Womens, SF, Bay to Breakers, Rock ‘n’ Roll, etc. (1 day + day for set up/clean-up), and those are just a few that I can name off the top of my head.
Some events have no to small impact while others have a large and prolonged period of impact. Also, some events bring substantial public benefit ie. free/low cost events, fundraising, publicity, etc.
Outside Lands is the outlier of many of these events as it has a large and prolonged period of impact and brings few public benefit.
That being said, I found that this years event seemed better than previous years. I did not enjoy the 10am soundchecks though. I completely empathize with parents who have young children, seniors, or people who have to work early or late nights (needs to sleep during day).
I live at 25th/Fulton and I agree with Alvin regarding all the events that go on… We had a few mishaps this weekend… Someone puked on our steps, folks sitting on our stairs (as long as they are quiet and don’t smoke, we usually don’t mind) and scampers on the corner who were louder than our TV (and we had it pretty loud)…. The biggest issue was the mass exodus coming out of the park and only 2 MTA guys directing traffic… They could of used a few more but overall it was okay (I’ve seen more crap go down during B2Bs). We’ve owned the house for over 50 years and have learned to adjust just like many others… We’re not whining, just making true statements.
Couldn’t agree more, Tim k! Stop complaining! It’s a fun festival that brings world class artists to our sleepy little neighborhood! Definitely a better behaved crowd than Coachella or EDC! Also, this has been the tamest year yet. I say kudos to the Outside Lands and City organizers! It’s not an easy feat to put on such a large festival! There will always be unhappy people, but I’m certainly not one of them! 🙂
It wouldn’t hurt SFMTA (and the City Govt in general) to really step up & provide more traffic control officers for ALL big events in the City…… keeping traffic moving would lessen the stress on all that encounter these events.
The Kayne noise/bass level was extreme. But the noise on Sat and Sun was fine by me. I didn’t get a lot of the visitors deficating at the front of my house as I installed cameras and security lighting after last years debauchery.
Blocking of driveways was still and issue, even with the signage I put up. The tally ended up being three tickets and one tow away.
Well onto the next concert!
The whiners who whine about whiners are the whiniest. Joking aside, they’re proof positive of the attitude problems surrounding this event, I wasn’t disturbed much, but I feel badly at least for the people who live closer and those with young kids. It’s not skin off my nose to care that much. It’s also a fair statement that people don’t treat the city with enough respect when they come from out of town and that could be improved on.
Riley, you make excellent points. Free tickets for those closest and most disturbed sounds like a really nice idea, but I doubt this cash cow would go for it. So, whiney whiners whining about the whining, do more LISTENING and less whining yourself. /irony
We live on Fulton and 25th. Parking was awful and the massive amount of garbage and vomit down our street was terrible. Every time we came home, our front steps were full of empty bottles and cans of chewing tobacco which was very annoying with two small children. We plan to go away for the weekend next year.
This Event and the Upcoming Hardly Strictly Bluegrass DESTROY Golden Gate Park. But I suppose those of us who look at the ENVIRONMENT first are considered Luddites. So Party On, Folks.
@fiddles is right – noting problems like broken glass, public urination, etc., isn’t “whining”. It’s identifying real problems that shouldn’ occur and are inexcusable.
Friday night was really annoying (am @ Funston & Balboa), but after that wasn’t bad, and in fact I was pretty surprised how much parking was available during the day Saturday – maybe we’re far enough out that the impact was more than offset by locals going away for the weekend!
The empathetic challenged cretins who are calling us long term residents and homeowners “whiners” and telling us to get over it, need to get over themselves.
IMO, The event does more harm than good for the park and surrounding neighborhood. It is destructive, obnoxious, noisy, environmentally unsound, a magnet for crime, parking violations, alcohol/drug abuse and not only degrades the park but spills into our neighborhoods and brings them down too.
Some simpering 20-something transplant renter who thinks that we natives are unreasonable, needs to grow up and realize there is more to life than an Endless Party and that not everyone want’s to attend a “corporate music show.”
If you proponents were really Rock-N-Roll or even edgy, this for profit pop music fest would make you cringe. Poseurs GO HOME!
Dingo Jones – I agree that people shouldn’t be called whiners just because they don’t like the show. But then you turn around and disparage people who DO like the show. That’s no better. Please practice what you preach.
Those who live on the park or very close to it obviously have the most at stake in this situation. I agree that the festival should consider comping or at least discounting some tickets to those neighbors.
With regard to destroying the park – I’ve heard lots of claims on both sides about the impact of OL on the park. Besides temporary impacts like garbage, which can be cleaned up (and it seems like they do clean a lot) – are there more permanent impacts? What are they? Is there any documentation of the impact of the festival year over year? Real evidence – not speculation. I am genuinely curious
I think it is fine to point out the problems associated with Outside Lands without being labeled a whiner. I live just 2 blocks from the main Richmond entrance of 30th and Fulton. There was a car crash in front of our house, an Uber and a Sidecar, lots of trash left behind (much of it the ads that were placed on all cars in the area), many people waiting 1-2 hours after the music ended for rides right outside our home, driveway blocked all Friday with no ticket or tow despite my phoning it in.
That said I heard lots of good music and the crowds generally seemed well behaved. I also spent time in the park on Saturday with my son and while a good bit is fenced off for the fest there are still hundreds of acres of GGPark to enjoy.
I also bike through the park on my way home from work and found it remarkably clean by Monday night with much of the festival infrastructure down already. I found this article on the evolution of Outside Lands an interesting read
http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/outside-lands-another-planet-golden-gate-park/Content?oid=3058055&showFullText=true
It points out among other things that the organizers, Another Planet, give a significant amount of money to Golden Gate Park. “The first five years brought in $8.3 million for the park.. . Another Planet endows a gardener, and sets the festival up incrementally so that as much of the park can remain open to the public in the days leading up to the festival for as long as possible. And, the sign that this is a true San Francisco event, when the fencing goes up, they make sure to feed the feral cats that are affected, and bring in an arborist to protect the trees as best they can.”
So yeah, the festival is not without its problems but it seems to be well run all things considered.
The issue isn’t criticizing people who point out problems with the show…the reason that people are called whiners is because there’s some folks who want the show gone, despite all of the benefits the show brings. The police themselves have said the crowd was exceptionally well behaved, and as a lot of folks have pointed out that yes, there was a lot of litter and vomit and whatever after the event, but by Monday night most of it was gone. That’s pretty good cleanup. All in all this event is a plus for the neighborhood and I hope it continues.
$8.3 millions over five years is certainly paltry…they stand to take in revenue $18m in ticket sales alone just for 2014 (~180,000ppl X $100).
While the money received would be beneficial for the Rec and Park, it is hard to see where this money actually goes towards. Most of the major and visible park improvements come from the voter approved bonds of 2012 Parks Bond ($195m) and 2008 Clean and Safe Parks Bonds ($117m). Rec and Park budget is $102m for 13?-14? and $88m for 12?-13?. Which equates to about <2% (~$2m for 2014) of their budget.
Surely Rec and Park can and should be charging more for this event. Our own Cabrillo Playground still had to fundraise for furniture etc. (of which $5,000 OSL donated) because the bonds (which paid for the renovation) and budget does not cover such items for some reason.
“My girlfriend on 24th and Fulton chased pot-smoking kids off her front steps.”
I hope that was /sarcasm
for, if not…
Wow, is that supposed to indicate the moral decay the Richmond district is suffering? I would proffer that we need more pot smoking kids on our steps, our blocks, and in our neighborhoods…
And less white male state capitalists…
I leave town every year. It’s the only way to stay sane.
From the vantage point of 18th and Cabrillo, it sorta kinda worked this year. Friday night’s music was quite loud, but Saturday and Sunday were reasonably quiet most of the day. Saturday traffic on Cabrillo was like a two-lane version of Fell Street (nose to tail cars all day). Didn’t go up to look at conditions on Fulton.
Music ended in a timely manner (9:40 better than the first year’s 10 PM). Friday’s crowds stayed right to the end; Saturday’s music or weather precipitated a more gradual departure; steady stream of generally happy, reasonably boisterous people both days for well over an hour after the event. Corner store stayed open until 11 PM.
Venturing out on Sunday morning was reasonably easy once north of Balboa. Didn’t get back until late afternoon. It would be kinda nice if Sunday ended a little earlier (a bit of a why bother situation the third day of the marathon); having to park a mile from home and fetch/move the car a mile from home on Monday morning is not a great way for working people to start the week. But being self-employed, our trek led to breakfast at Hamburger Haven (whose waitress and cook were happy to have a light Monday morning after a super-busy weekend).
It was fun as usual. Tom Petty & Tedeschi Trucks Band were awesome. There’s never any rowdiness going on inside the festival, just people jumping around & dancing to the music, or people walking fast from stage to stage. Everybody is searched before entering, for alcohol, weapons, or anything that can be used as a weapon. If you bring your own water, it has to be unopened factory sealed. There is also police all around & lots of security making sure the dancing crowds don’t get out of hand. There’s other things going on in there besides music, like magic shows, comedy, minstrels. My boyfriend & I found a gold package in a tree that said we won 10lbs of Guittard chocolates. We thought it was a joke but went to their chocolate stand & we did win!
They make it hard to get drunk, as the prices are very high for alcohol. Most of the food is good but overpriced as well. It goes up like a dollar every year. That’s how it usually is though at festivals. I’ve been going every year since it started & will continue. I live 3 blocks away & only had one piss mark in my driveway all weekend…another win for me 🙂
Oh also, it’s amazing when you go back to the festival Sat. & Sun. morning, it’s spotless. All the trash is gone
And…74 yr old Patrick Stewart attended. He said it was his first festival. He was there to do comedy Shakespeare & the. Watched the music from the VIP stand
20 year Richmond resident, like it matters.
I had no issues with the fest. Didn’t mind a couple hours of noise Friday and didn’t hear much Sat or Sun. Glad to share this beautiful city and area.
Park looked fine today.
My two cents.
I live by Park Presidio Blvd. Except for the thumbing percussions sounds that I hear, that’s about all. Parking spaces were all taken by music lovers. No trash left out on our street. Unlike the years before, we didn’t get a letter from Outside Lands stating that they were hosting a music event. SUGGESTION: People that live near the venue, should leave their Blue and Black bins outside their house, so the trash can be dumped in them, instead of on their sidewalks.
@Kitty – What a great suggestion!
Sarah B.
I live on Fulton and 26th, almost directly across the street from the concert. I have to say that this year I was really sorry I didn’t get to see the Killers or Tiesto, but then again I wouldn’t have put that much money down or dealt with the ridiculous amounts of people there in order to see them. I can’t say there was much difference on either day of the concert. The bass was outrageous on Friday, and they lowered it on Saturday, but turned everything else up in order to make up for it. The crowds after the show were also the same… since OL has started, the same group of people find their way right under my window each year and laugh, shout over the traffic and drink until midnight.
This blog has seen every year of Outside Lands, and the comments haven’t really changed. You have the same arguments from people (“It’s our park too!” “It’s only three days a year!” “You’re all NIMBY’s!”, et al), but what people don’t ever seem to realize is that noise levels like this, for ten hours a day, three days a week, are illegal. Plain and simple. What makes the matter worse for me is that City Hall and the SFPD ignore the laws and continue to look the other way in the name of money. If these laws can be ignored from the people who are the most responsible for enforcing them, what else will be? I’d really like to see a detailed report of just where all this money goes, and from the lack of response from our supervisor, the Mayor, etc. for this long, I’m finally convinced that there’s some under-the-table $$ being passed around.
San Francisco is a small city. A concert of this size with 65,000 people has no business being held right on the outskirts of a neighborhood, and it’s becoming an albatross that needs to be relocated just like every other large concert in the U.S.
Someone mentioned they should give free tickets to residents. I’m a nurse at SFGH on a very stressful unit, and have to be up at 5:00 a.m. every weekend. I have no desire to attend Outside Lands due to these circumstances. It seems to me Another Planet should relocate residents to a hotel for three days every year.
Until there is less apathy and more motivation from Richmond district residents, OSL will continue. Posting to the Richmond District blog won’t accomplish anything… voices need to be heard in City Hall or in a courtroom.
BTW, I think I know what that loud bass was from. “The House” which was a tent with DJs playing EDM. On Fri., we couldn’t believe how loud & thumping it was. It vibrated our bodies & hurt our ears.
Though we don’t care for Kanye, we had to go watch for a little while. There was no loud bass from his set. On Sat. & Sun. I noticed the EDM tent was toned way down. People at festival must’ve complained, because it was unbearable.
” but what people don’t ever seem to realize is that noise levels like this, for ten hours a day, three days a week, are illegal. Plain and simple. ”
it’s not illegal if the city issues a permit. While there are noise regulations in the city, those regulations can be bypassed if the city issues a permit, something which it regularly does.
San Francisco is in no way a small city. It’s a city of almost a million people. It deserves a concert that suits it’s size and it’s stature as a world class city, and the park is a perfect place for it.
And motivation isn’t a problem…there are plenty of Richmond residents who are motivated to help make sure Outside Lands is a successful event for years to come.
It’s too bad the city can’t get the people in charge of the Outside Lands sound to work on that emergency announcement alert system that the city tests on Tuesdays at noon. Most of those announcements are garbled whereas Outside Lands is able to deliver some pretty clean sound that is understandable some great distance from the venue.
J, you come up with the same three or four smokescreen complaints every year, and when they’re answered, you start them all over again. When you make comments like city nightclubs being closed down as a result of “an 80 year old,” it’s very clear where you’re coming from. Last year you made comments about “the whiny old people.” The fact that you’re baiting people each year from the minute the forum opens until after it’s over has made it more than obvious you have a lot more issues going on here than just a concert.
As was pointed out to you years ago, the city issued a permit to Another Planet Entertainment with the understanding that the noise level would stay within a normal level of decibels. APE has continued to go way over those levels year after year and the authorities who should be dealing with this issue have continued to look the other way in order to to profit off the growing crowds. Yes, these noise levels are most definitely illegal.
I’m not even going to address your response to the issue of San Francisco’s size. If you think this city is as big as Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, as well as our population, then you haven’t done very much to brush up on your geography. In any case, so be it.
The sad thing to me is that this has been an issue on the Richmond Blog for several years now. We have a supervisor who’s never even put up a posting, much less hold a meeting with any concerned residents, pro or con, to help settle any of this. We had three meetings with the SFPD and APE a few years ago and Mar never even had the common consideration to show up… he sent one of his aides instead. We had lots of promises about the noise levels from APE, and absolutely every agreement we made was ignored. It was just an attempt to stall and to keep people. Many people wrote letters to the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors and asked for answers and were also completely ignored. There was absolutely no response.
I gotta say, this year the organizers seemed to have it more together. Not saying it was perfect, but I live VERY close to the festival, like right next to it…and it was not the s#show it’s been in the past. However, judging by the comments, maybe they just rerouted crowds away from my front doorstep?
On the Richmond side, the entrance had always been 30th ave. Then they changed & tried 25th ave. It’s now back to 30th ave, which makes more sense, away from busy 25th.
So loud and crowded. I left town. I’m thinking with the many thousands Park and Rec makes on this they could cut the archery folks (not to mention Jimmy’s picnic) a little slack.
Hope all the folks citing impacts of OSL on park and neighborhood are actively opposing the AstroTurf and lights project at the west end!