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Rant: Extremely Loud Music from Festival

Started 1 year ago by Vanessa
Latest reply from yeah-me

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Vanessa
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Until 11:30 last night, the blaring music from the festival was unbelievable. We live 3 blocks SOUTH of Mt. St. Vincent's. How many miles is that from the grandstand where the band was playing? I mean really, does the volume need to be THAT LOUD? I feel so sorry for the families with young kids, older folks, and just all of us, who don't need to be annoyed with that noise late into the night. And for the people who were standing in front of the stage, don't be suprized when you're at the audiologist wondering about your hearing loss. I will be writing a formal complaint to the festival folks about the noise level.CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? WHAT?

Posted 1 year ago #
GenHillOne
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Are you positive it was from the Junction? We live a couple blocks from the stage/s and couldn't really hear much when I was outside at 10. I was actually a little disappointed because I like the vibe (once a year anyway).

Posted 1 year ago #
Ken
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In Highpoint, about 1.5 miles from the venue, it was quite clear and about the same volume as a local band that plays in their garage about 4 houses away.

Sound travels quite a distance along the ridges of West Seattle. Calm air and light wind can bring the engine noise of river traffic, barges and 99 as clearly as local street traffic.

Posted 1 year ago #
Vanessa
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Hi GenHill, so I'm just curious, are you North of where the bands played? With Ken's comment, the wind played a big part in carrying this noise to our heights......

Posted 1 year ago #
k
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it's one weekend out of the year. a weekend that brings tons of people to west seattle and money to the junction. seeing the entire crowd (many with kids in tow) singing along with the Neil Diamond cover band was fantastic! many happy people. one weekend out of the year.

Posted 1 year ago #
GenHillOne
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Yep, north, but so much closer, odd. I'm with you on Cherry Cherry, k :) Think there should be one sing-along band every year!

Posted 1 year ago #
Sue
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I think a lot of it has to do with elevation too. I'm at Fauntleroy & Dawson which is only a few blocks, I think, from the original poster, and closer to the Junction, but didn't hear a thing. But then I'm down in a valley where Mt. St. Vincent is up higher.

Posted 1 year ago #
SEG
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I heard it at my house and I LIKED IT! Yay West Seattle Street Fair!

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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if life is just seen
and never heard
you aren't getting much out of it.

joy is noisy business

music from the junction would have been welcome here
it would have covered the sound of the fireworks that are a nightly occurrence here for the past two weeks :(

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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Admiral District here, right behind Safeway...only heard the Safeway trucks and the guy yukking it up at my neighbors in the building next door (their door was open, and he was very amused, as I heard YUK, YUK, YUK for hours last night)

Posted 1 year ago #
HunterG
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Seriously? These rants are getting a little out of control on this blog lately - sure, we all love to "bitch" but come on...

IT'S A FESTIVAL. Do you expect the Saturday night music to be soft and quiet? No, it will be loud so people a block away in the festival can hear it.

The Festival happens once a year and I doubt highly that they are going to begin to book bands that play easy listening - if you don't like it my suggestion is to plan to be somewhere else or get some good earplugs.

Now fireworks after the 4th, that's a different story.

Posted 1 year ago #
Julie
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Vanessa, my theory is that most people have by now become somewhat deaf from all the noise in the world--simple acoustic music requires too much attention, and everyone "cranks it up" and raises their own voice so they can listen to what they like and be heard over the general din, thus perpetuating the cycle. Those of us who prefer quiet joys seem to be an oppressed minority. You're not alone, despite the jeering comments.

http://www.nonoise.org/

http://books.google.com/books?id=zXqcQAAACAAJ&dq=inauthor:%22Garret+Keizer%22&hl=en&ei=LBsuTMrdL8PvngeFzNSNBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBQ

Posted 1 year ago #
herongrrrl
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Vanessa, I feel you. I didn't hear the festival but I'm not a noise and crowds person and I really find it annoying when loud noise carries on long into the night. All else being equal, seems to me like a community festival should be required to follow the city noise ordinance and keep the sound low after 10:00.

And before I'm accused of being one of those NW whiners with no sense of humor, hey, I'm really glad the festival happens so people who like a neighborhood festival get to go and enjoy themselves. I'm just saying, the noise pollution is a problem for some people, and considerate neighbors don't impose their noise on each other at night. It's not a personal attack against you if you like the festival.

There are people who don't work "normal" hours and have to get up very early on a Sunday morning to do work involving other people's safety. For them, a noise disturbance that keeps them from sleeping even just one night of the year could have negative consequences for a lot of other people. Personally, I'd rather the pilot flying my airplane or the trauma doc taking care of me in the ER got plenty of sleep the night before my life is in their hands. Just another perspective on it.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSeaFam2
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I think we all need to lighten up and let people have some fun. It is only one weekend a year. In this time when alot of us are losing our homes, jobs, and sanity there has to be a time when we can let loose and just be free of our stress for a day or night! Maybe just sit back and see the "noise" you had to endure may enable a business to stay open because the festival funds brought in, or the family able to get out and have fun for free, in a time when little is free anymore. Stop listening for "noise" and listen for laughter and joy & you will be happier over all I guarantee it!

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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Have a good ol' raucous time, but turn it off at 10 pm. There is no evidence to support the theory that loud noise = joy, or that joy cannot occur in abundance before 10pm, or that late night noise brings more money to businesses than noise during the previous 12 hours. It's not like there is a shortage of noise all year round, especially on the heels of the seemingly never ending 4th.

Posted 1 year ago #
hj
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I don't quite understand why people who live in a city of 1,000,000+ people are griping about a great community festival that happens once a year. Either buck up and wear earplugs for the one night where the noise doesn't match your schedule, or check out some of the beautiful, quiet suburbs where you'll be undisturbed.

Oh, and the argument about needing to get up early on Sunday is just so precious. Everyone has a different schedule. That same trauma doc or pilot could just as easily work the night shift and sleep during the day, at which point we'd be banning everything in sight to make sure that everyone gets a pleasant sleep.

Posted 1 year ago #
TKDguy
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I'm assuming that the people on this post in the "noise = fun" group don't live right down the street from the junction. I live in an apartment a block away and was a little annoyed when I realized that the music was scheduled until 11:30pm. We have a baby that was trying to sleep, but he kept repeatedly getting woken up by the loud music. I am all for the festival and the bands, but seriously, wrap it up around 10pm.
By the way, as I'm writing this the festival is officially over, but some group of kids have a spontaneously thrown together rock band on the corner of California and Edmonds and I'm getting a full blast version of their crappy music through my window. I am assuming they aren't part of the event since the festival is over at 4:45pm and they aren't within the barriers. Ugh.

Posted 1 year ago #
bebecat
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When I was a teenager that "festival" was nothing but a bunch of tables put out in front of the stores with sale items. It was great fun to shop with my mom. There were no huge crowds and it was local people. There were no politicians or booth of peoples ideas of what life should be. It was just a quiet relaxing stroll. I have not gone in years...leave to those who like it. Oh yes and they did not disrupt traffic.

Posted 1 year ago #
ellenater
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I'm sorry but I really think you guys are the biggest whiners. Seriously.

Posted 1 year ago #
lazybeard
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Sounds like some folks from here should band their efforts together and write a strongly worded letter to the Junction Association now, and then half way through the year so they can take it into consideration.

The Junction Association published the first band lineup on June 3rd (http://westseattleblog.com/2010/06/first-look-at-music-lineup-for-west-seattle-summer-fest-2010), and kept revising it since.

I for one, love that they have music so late during the first two days and I love that there are that many bands that want to play here.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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TKDguy...

i am assuming you had a reason for choosing an apartment a block from the junction even though you have a child to consider ... after all.. you had an entire peninsula to choose from and still have a West Seattle address...

if the benefits don't outweigh the hazards...
you can always move.

the summerfest is a small price to pay for the benefits you enjoy.

Posted 1 year ago #
rdm
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Less then 30 days till the Blue Angels hit the town. Cant wait to hear the bitching then.

Posted 1 year ago #
hammy
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For adults try some earplugs and/or a fan. For an infant, try a fan. They also sell white noise machines that mask noise suitable for adults or children. Neither of these ideas work well for fireworks but should solve your discomfort during other times. I hate noise while I am sleeping too but rather than kvetching about it I just turn put in ear plugs and turn the fan on in the kid's room and then go right back to dreamville.

Posted 1 year ago #
TKDguy
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JoB...

We moved here before we had the baby and we are currently saving up for a down payment for a house. I'm not quite sure what your point is anyway. That we are supposed to pick up and move just because they hold a street festival once a year? That a couple with a baby shouldn't live near the junction?
I was just making a simple point that they should maybe consider an earlier time to stop the music to be considerate of people who live nearby. 11:30pm is a little late for an outdoor event like this.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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hammy..

and the fans drive me right out of dreamville :(

but for most people suffering from the celebration in the junction this weekend they would have had a positive double whammy :)

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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I like to sleep in on Saturday mornings, too. But in 2 weeks there will be a parade on Calif. Ave. SW that starts right where I live. The bands, marching groups convene early and practice, sometimes over and over for a couple of hours before the parade starts. And then...the pirates set off their cannons. Talk about loud - wow ! But, you know what? It happens every year, once a year. I know it's coming, and I don't expect the world to be run according to my schedule. Life happens anyway. I don't plan on moving because of it, not do I plan on complaining during the construction of the new Safeway across the street, just like I accept the SW delivery trucks at 2am.

No community is immune.

As an aside, someone brought up the Blue Angels, who will be here in a few weeks. I have seen infants sleep through their program on the shores of Lake Washington. I'm wondering if it wasn't the heat keeping children awake, instead of the noise. The parents were maybe interested in their own comfort and sleep, perhaps? If baby is awake, so are they? Just a theory...hope you all get some cool, comfortable rest tonight :)

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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oh, and lest you think that it's very little to cmplain about, I also hear the bands playin g at Shipwreck when they have them, and I hear the music, etc. from Admiral Sanctuary if/when there's a function there. I don't expect any of them to shut it down at 10pm, so I can be comfortable.

Posted 1 year ago #
mightymo
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The Junction is a business district with bars and clubs. Because the back lots are used for parking, it doesn't have a lot of back patios, and the front sidewalk is relatively narrow so it doesn't have a lot of sidewalk seating. Nevertheless, you don't choose to move within a block of it without knowing that there'll be a certain level of noise from businesses there.

As the economy turns around, there's a chance that more places will open with outdoor seating and noise well past 10. That's part of living in an urban area, and if there's ever that sort of density growth in West Seattle it'll probably be at one of the junctions. You pay extra for the convenience and also the possibility of a denser urban area. I'm actually pretty surprised how quiet West Seattle's commercial centers are compared to many in the city. You can't expect it to be quiet year round.

We recently moved about half a mile north of the Junction and didn't notice any noise last night. Of course I grew up six blocks from Seattle Center so I got used to the two or three times a year we had music audible that far up the hill.

Posted 1 year ago #
thee
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for a coupla days there, i thought the "sidewalk hog" rant was as nannyrific as WSB could get. I was wrong. So very, very wrong!

viva abuelas!

Posted 1 year ago #
Gina
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In my neigborhood (Admiral) I can hear events using amplification on Alki. It only bothers me when the Christmas Ships come around. Because I realize I am missing their performance!

bebecat--remember how Hallmark, Meridith's, Shafran's and La Grace would haul out the same items every year to put on the card tables? Makes me wonder if that stuff is still in the basements of the businesses that took over, sitting in boxes, forgotten.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
Member Profile

Anybody care about a semi-behind-the-scenes perspective?

We spent virtually the entirety of the festival next to one of the stages - this year, the southernmost stage was moved to right in front of Key Bank. Last year it was on Alaska east of California. Previous year (and I can't remember before that) it was at the Edmunds end of California. Also, disclosure, we are festival co-sponsors.

Sound DOES carry oddly in West Seattle. We are over the Fauntleroy ferry dock/Lincoln Park and yet we can hear the trains at night, all the way over from Harbor Island, despite the fact that means the sound has to carry over three ridges.

Anyway, if you have an opinion to express to the Junction Association, I'm sure they will appreciate a clear, simple "I live at X and the music was very loud at X time on X day/night." Perhaps they will be able to compare that to feedback from years gone by when making the decisions for next year. There were many changes made and there will certainly be a feedback/debrief period coming up. There were even tweaks made during the festival - we know this because, since we were part of the info booth, we heard about some of the concerns expressed/actions taken.

For example, on the first morning, even before most festivalgoers arrived, it was clear that the main sponsor's booth needed to ratchet down the music and continuous live sales pitch. They did. The music volume at the Alaska stage (near where we were) was experimented with, too, looking for a happy medium.

There are more outdoor concerts to come in West Seattle this summer and other neighborhoods will have to deal with those. Alki has at least three; Admiral has the Thursday night series ahead; Providence Mount St. Vincent has its August Friday night concerts. Just so you all know. Also, the Saturday night outdoor movies in The Junction (by Hotwire) start next Saturday night.

P.S. Gina, we're nowhere near as native as you and yet I also remember when it was just a sleepy little sidewalk sale. We went one year and never bothered going back. The Junction Association took a turn a few years back to make this a bigger, better festival. Before we even had Forums, in March of 2007, Dave Montoure of West 5, on behalf of WSJA, asked if we would put out the question, what do you like/dislike about Summer Fest?

http://westseattleblog.com/2007/03/think-summer

40 comments was a lot for WSB for March 2007 (our traffic last year was six times what it was that year). But take a look at those comments
http://westseattleblog.com/2007/03/think-summer#comments

and see how it's evolved. And help it keep evolving.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSeaFam2
Member Profile

People please step outside your little bubble and realize there are other people that do not get sucked up and revolve in your special wake..IT was ONE WEEKEND for Goodness sake!!!! Don't spoil this for everyone by complaining to the Junction association. Stop being selfish put on your big girl/boy pants and walk it off you have a whole year to make plans to go away the next weekend it happens so if you don't want to be around it you don't have too

Posted 1 year ago #
PDieter
Member Profile

I'm just going to assume that Vanessa's sense of decibels is about the same as her sense of distance and move on.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
Member Profile

I have a feeling Vanessa suffers from a rare disorder called Summerfesthatertoidosis.

But good news Vanessa..it's totally curable with a pill you take once a day called. FESTAGRA. But be careful, Vanessa because there are side effects...

In clinical studies, patients reported the following common side effects while taking FESTAGRA:

* Diarrhea
* Upset stomach
* Muscle and joint pain
* Alterations in some laboratory tests

The following additional side effects have been reported with FESTAGRA:

* Tiredness
* Tendon problems

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you have side effects that bother you or that will not go away. These are not all the side effects of FESTAGRA. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a complete list.

Posted 1 year ago #
celeste17
Member Profile

Not to mention the trouble that Alki's and my Chupy's got into once they ended up at Matador's sipping Tequila Margarita's tonight. They really enjoyed the music and didn't mind the traffic. Only rant was a car parked right in front of the ramp we use to get into and out of the house. But that was my fault for not putting the garbage can out to protect our spot when we went to church.

Posted 1 year ago #
Ken
Member Profile

Just to clear things up, I enjoyed the music even 1.5 miles away. I was reading on the back porch for most of it and enjoyed the light breeze that brought it to me as well.

They were much better bands than my local three chord wonders...

Posted 1 year ago #
villagegreen
Member Profile

Man, every time I feel like West Seattle is becoming a vibrant and thriving urban neighborhood, someone has to start complaining. It really is an easy fix - ear plugs and a fan for the baby. Damn, even if it was 4 weekends out of the year I bet you could handle it. The music schedule was published months in advance. Sometimes the enjoyment of the majority causes a slight inconveience for the minority. I'm sure at some point you've been in the majority. That's the way a productive society gets along.

Posted 1 year ago #
ksawka
Member Profile

I agree. Use the ear plugs! If my wife snores I don't wake her up to tell her to stop snoring. I put in my ear plugs and I sleep like a baby! There are better things to rant about. Next...

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
Member Profile

Alki Rant...I would like to rant about the Ferries..they are always in the way of my view of the water. I would also like to rant about sand at Alki..it's always getting in my shoes and my bag..can't we just pave the whole beach?, also I would like to rant about the smell of pizza in the air from Slices..I like pizza but cannot eat it and it makes me hungry and mad that I cannot have it, I would also like to rant about people on those funny looking bikes for 10 people..they don't know how to drive them and always stop in the middle of the path to take pictures and get ice cream from the ice cream truck. Why do these people have to have fun? those creeps!..also, I would like to rant about cracks in the sidewalk. I am always falling down on my roller skates. Ok, I need to go cry now..too much ranting....

Posted 1 year ago #
WSeaFam2
Member Profile

I agree STOP dwelling on the negative take each beautiful moment we are given each day..Take a breath.. ENJOY rinse and repeat

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
Member Profile

now i am super depressed...is there a 'Gun World' in West Seattle? just asking. Maybe that is what they should put here instead of Trader Joes. Ok, I need to breathe and do my positive affirmations. The sun is not out today..ugh. why does the world hate me? Breathe Breathe Breathe

Posted 1 year ago #
HolyKow
Member Profile

The festival is awesome, we had a great time there and it is a boon for WS and all of her great citizens.

However....(how many people knew I was gonna say that!) that being said, I do not think it un-reasonable to keep the noise ordinance hours in effect. If this was in the middle of a cow pasture in Un-Inc. King Co., that would be one thing. But this is in the middle of a metro area. Fun can still be had by all on the "One Weekend per Year" festival, but others can also be respected by keeping it within the legal regionally approved parameters that we call the Noise Ordinance.

There is space in this argument for a Win / Win.

During the day, play it loud!

After the accepted noise ordinance time, fade it out please.

Personally, I have no issues with it, but I am not the law. The law is the law and we should all listen to it. Festivals included.

hk

Posted 1 year ago #
bebecat
Member Profile

There are 42+ comments in this RANT thread. There are just 4 comments in the RAVE thread about the street festival. This tells me 2 things. 1)Few people were impressed with the festival as a whole and 2) Those who disagree with the ranters just want to harass them.

Posted 1 year ago #
twobottles
Member Profile

bebecat, I beg to differ. In general (concert reviews, hotel reviews, restaurant reviews and so on), the most likely people to post are those that DISLIKE something. Most people, having gone to a nice restaurant, or a nice hotel, do not feel compelled to comment. However, whenever anyone has a negative experience, no matter how minor, they want to tell the world. I also believe that the second most common post in this type of thread, is from those that don't agree (and honestly don't agree) with the original rant/negative review.

Posted 1 year ago #
villagegreen
Member Profile

bebecat - ha! No Sherlock Holmes, I see.

Posted 1 year ago #
thee
Member Profile

oh... so close! one of the things that makes a classic WSB nannyrific rant is someone citing chapter and verse from the Seattle Municipal Code.

on the bright side, only 45 posts. There is still plenty of time!

http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/code1.htm

Posted 1 year ago #
sam-c
Member Profile

from time to time, we could hear the music too, and we aren't close. I'm torn. I'd agree with villagegreen's comments about thriving urban community; I often have Cal Anderson park envy with all the fun stuff they have going on. we had a blast at the WS fest and look forward to it every year. but, neighbors shooting fireworks off til the wee hours of the morning annoyed me as well. the 'leave town for the event' comments are funny too. seems like people should leave town to get away from fireworks, the WS fest, the blue angels, the parade. you'd miss the entire Seattle summer, and that's the best part !!! we have window fans that keep the noise to a minimum.

my biggest rant (not actually angry here) is that the WS fest kept me from everything else that was going on at the same time. people don't ever put on events on july 4th, but then right after, there is a flurry. ballard seafood fest, the pirates at alki, the edible garden tour, another mobile chowdown, the world cup,..... there was too freaking much going on this weekend.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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bebecat, don't forget the third kind of people who analyze the thread and give stats and multiple choice questions.

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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FWIW, there's quite the body of comments that will add up to feedback for Summer Fest - what the Junction Association hears directly, what we all talked about after hearing from people on site at the Info Booth, what's discussed elsewhere ... even in the spokes from the WSB hub, positive comments outnumbered the not-as-positive ones in discussions on our FB page (comments on stories, not specifically set up as "rant or rave") and after the multitude of stories we did as in-progress coverage.

(Someday in Web 3.0 there will be a bonafide way to bring it all together ... so that no matter where you are discussing a certain thing, you can access what's being said about it in other places too, without everyone having to agree on the same tag or hashtag or link or ... someday.)

Posted 1 year ago #
sam-c
Member Profile

speaking of feedback, if we have other comments, including requests for things to come back, where can we email ?

Posted 1 year ago #