...crossposted from the PM board.
[I hope I won't be accused of plagiarizing myself!]
As a person intimately involved in the operations side of this festival, I really wish more people could see things from our perspective. Here are my observations.
#1 - You Can't Please Everyone - It wouldn't matter if you booked Jesus And The Twelve Disciples to play, someone would gripe about it. Call it human nature. Call it whatever you will. I just wish people would reflect a little before they react negatively. Year over year, it is absolutely impossible to book a lineup that will please all of the fans of this music. The music is too diverse and people's tastes are simply too broad. As Old Abe is reputed to have said: "You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." It's impossible.
#2 - You Don't Know The Whole Story - I would really like for people to stop and consider the overwhelming complexity of the logistics involved here. This is a multi-day/multi-band/multi-sponsor/multi-vendor event. So the planning and detail that goes into it's execution is astronomically greater than any one night only touring bill event could EVER be. There are at least a dozen different management/booking agencies to deal with and multiple contracts to be signed. Not to mention all of the other "detail work" from swag to food to transportation to vendors to advertising to gear rental to accomodation and on and on and on. Add to this mix the various bands who commit to a date and then back out, even AFTER a contract has been signed. Sometimes even at the last minute. Yep. I happens every single time. Some band that grees to the contract terms and makes a commitment backs out. And that leaves Glenn holding the bag and burning up the phone lines calling in markers and contacting his faithful "backups" to fill a slot. In the four years that I have worked the festival, the lineup Glenn planned has NEVER ONCE been the lineup that you end up seeing. It's disappointing. It's frustrating. It's a pain on SO many levels. But you'll never see/hear him complain about it. It just goes with the territory. It's all part of bringing together what is, in essence, a logistical nightmare.
I truly hope more people can understand the complexities of the situation and cut Glenn (and his boyz) some slack.
[I hope I won't be accused of plagiarizing myself!]
As a person intimately involved in the operations side of this festival, I really wish more people could see things from our perspective. Here are my observations.
#1 - You Can't Please Everyone - It wouldn't matter if you booked Jesus And The Twelve Disciples to play, someone would gripe about it. Call it human nature. Call it whatever you will. I just wish people would reflect a little before they react negatively. Year over year, it is absolutely impossible to book a lineup that will please all of the fans of this music. The music is too diverse and people's tastes are simply too broad. As Old Abe is reputed to have said: "You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." It's impossible.
#2 - You Don't Know The Whole Story - I would really like for people to stop and consider the overwhelming complexity of the logistics involved here. This is a multi-day/multi-band/multi-sponsor/multi-vendor event. So the planning and detail that goes into it's execution is astronomically greater than any one night only touring bill event could EVER be. There are at least a dozen different management/booking agencies to deal with and multiple contracts to be signed. Not to mention all of the other "detail work" from swag to food to transportation to vendors to advertising to gear rental to accomodation and on and on and on. Add to this mix the various bands who commit to a date and then back out, even AFTER a contract has been signed. Sometimes even at the last minute. Yep. I happens every single time. Some band that grees to the contract terms and makes a commitment backs out. And that leaves Glenn holding the bag and burning up the phone lines calling in markers and contacting his faithful "backups" to fill a slot. In the four years that I have worked the festival, the lineup Glenn planned has NEVER ONCE been the lineup that you end up seeing. It's disappointing. It's frustrating. It's a pain on SO many levels. But you'll never see/hear him complain about it. It just goes with the territory. It's all part of bringing together what is, in essence, a logistical nightmare.
I truly hope more people can understand the complexities of the situation and cut Glenn (and his boyz) some slack.
