the great pumpkin

Last night was the first night of the North Side Festival.  It started off really well with a great set by Ducktails at Cameo.  We then headed over to Live at Shea Stadium to catch Marnie Stern and Magic Markers.

When we got to the show the guy at the door said that they were not accepting North Side Badges, and there was a sign saying that Marnie Stern canceled.  He also handed me this flier.

I have a lot of respect for what they stand for, and agree that all ages shows are very important (there are many all ages show promoters in Brooklyn and I think it is essential to the music community)…but on the other hand North Side Fest and L Magazine announced from the beginning that you had to be 21 years old to buy a badge.

A lot of the bands that are playing the North Side Fest also play all ages shows, and as far as I know the shows at the Shank and Death By Audio will be accepting badges and will be all ages.  Reserving 20% of the room for people that purchase badges is a small amount, and Shea Stadium is a big place….and I’m pretty sure that at least 20% of most shows are made of people over the age of 21.  The 80% of the space that was sold as individual tickets was enough to cover the guarantee of any bigger band playing the festival (i.e. Hold Steady).

I feel that Strength In Numbers new what they were getting into when the signed on to be affiliated with the North Side Fest (since their show was being advertised on the Fest’s website, and still is).

I really enjoy Shea Stadium, and think it is a wonderful venue… and I will still support any Strength In Numbers show that have bands I like playing. It just appears that they wanted to ride the publicity wave of the festival, and then take an ideological stance at the last minute (this is evident by the fact that they knew that shoes were being given away to the bands).

I feel that if you want to take a stance against the ‘over 21′ aspect of a festival throw a competing show like the Live at Shea Stadium show with So Cow on Sunday, or Todd P’s Un-Amplified Acoustic BBQ.

End Note. This is an independent blog.  I do it for me.  I’m not supported by any source other than myself, and have been promoting North Side because I’m happy that it is happening right in my backyard.  I support Shea Stadium, Todd P, Death By Audio, and the like in a similar way because I think they are doing good things.  When I post about shows on this blog it is because I honestly like the band, or I am interested in seeing them play.  I don’t post about mp3s that are sent to me unless I can say that I truly enjoy it.  What it comes down to is… I just don’t like when people advertise in a misleading way, and that is what happened in this instance with the show last night.  Also note that the flier above is the views of Strength In Numbers, and not necessarily the views of the bands that played or the people that run Shea Stadium.

Although this was a disappointment it’s over now, and I’m looking forward to tonight.

UPDATE: North Side Fest responds to the situation via Brooklyn Vegan.  Now all we need SIN to respond?

Tags: All Ages, brooklyn, Marnie Stern, North Side Fest, North Side Festival, Strength In Numbers