OK...so you're saying reporting that there were an estimated 8000 people at this show, and that sounds reasonable, if not a bit of an underestimate...

But this is what I don't get...Siren has been claiming the following in their press releases:

"The Village Voice SIREN MUSIC FESTIVAL™ has solidified its status as a leading outdoor indie rock event, drawing over 170,000 music fans last summer"

170,000????? really????? no fucking way...I think they may have one to many zeros on the end, and maybe not, because even 17,000 sounds like a bit much...

has anyone else pondered this or is it just me?

Toronto had our own little indie rock festival this weekend. Not sure of the numbers though.
Check out some pics on my link.

i really love the lighting in the first shot. i was too tired to make the show and the pictures are a pretty nice substitute. thanks!

Possibly 8,000 in attendance and a good show. You fail to mention that it was marred by a complete breakdown in crowd control by Celebrate Brooklyn staff that resulted in several hundred people rushing the stage and jumping barricades about 20 minutes into the show. Great for the band to have a thrashing crowd. Bad for those who had seats ups front and for the little children that could have gotten hurt. 8,000 people, a rock concert, and the entire Celebrate Brooklyn staff asleep at the switch. Maybe, next time, we can all be treated to Tot Crushed in Brooklyn Concert Frenzy in the Post. I know--it's a concert. But, it's Celebrate Brooklyn for God's sake. Clean up your acts guys.

I was puzzled why they even have that barrier, and then have the "important" people sit there. If you need a VIP area, it should be off to the side but close to the stage, and accomodate for the public to be up close as well. I did not see any "Little Children" in that area either. I can't vouch that there weren't any, but I think you are overestimating the danger of the situation that actually occured. The show went from Ho-Hum (similar to their Wed. Maxwell's show), to a fantastic and memorable performance.

Let me add, that the idiot that staged dived was, well, just that.

Glad the Celebrate Brooklyn staff were on top on that.

"I was puzzled why they even have that barrier, and then have the "important" people sit there. If you need a VIP area, it should be off to the side but close to the stage, and accomodate for the public to be up close as well."

- This was the same thing that bothered me about Siren last year, with that huge VIP pit in front of the main stage. The worst was when the entire VIP section cleared out at the end of Death Cabs set while everyone else stayed. Then Gibbard comes back out to an empty pit and all the "real" fans still there, several yards away behing a barricade. Stupid.

This is the first year they've done that VIP section, and my friends got a rant-ful from me about it. One of my favorite concerts last year was They Might Be Giants at the bandshell. I showed up as the opener, Corn Mo, finished and joined a relaxed group about 6 feet from the stage. It was exactly what a public concert should be. No hassle, no elitism. If the corporate sponsors require a place for their employees, it should be on the side, not in the way of the real fans. I guess this calls for a sternly-worded letter to Marty.

In regards to the children... yes there were a number of them in the VIP section. There was this tiny little blonde kid running around during the Sadies and the Stars barefoot, there were those two kids with the lights on their necks (so their parents can find where they are in the area) which AC Newman made fun of during the beginning of the set and there were a group of 4-5 kids who were up in front by the stage as the NP during Mass Romantic who were rushed by the hipsters. The director of Celebrate Brooklyn had to jump in the crowd to pull them out. The two kids with the light necklaces were sitting right in front of the guy who stage dived.

I'd know since I was one of those snooty indie yuppies/donors. As for the barriers it's so Celebrate Brooklyn can actually make money. Do you really think they'd make a bundle by just charging $3 a head? It's a nice perk and if you wanna shell out some money to go see a band you like, do it.

I was at the front of the barrier when 20 minutes into their set a dude ran up to me.. " COME ON JUMP THE FENCE!!! " So i was the first to jump and everyone followed.. it felt very liberating.. we all ran up front and danced / sang to Mass Romantic. Truely and epic moment.

you are my hero

:p

Public concerts, paid for partly through tax revenue, should be for the public and not segregated by class. The Summerstage model works fine: special nights of benefit concerts to raise money for the free stuff. The new Celebrate Brooklyn VIP section has eliminated a nice open area where groups of devoted fans - usually the ones without a lot of money for VIP passes - can dance and build a great energy. Now there is no place to dance up front, only the aisles which, after last Saturday, will likely be kept clear by security. Fair enough; nobody wants gate crashers. What we want is a concert truly open to the public with room to dance up front, as it used to be. What we have now is a handful of privileged tools and poseurs lording it over the freedom-hating liberals and hoi-polloi behind the barricades. This is to be expected at Continental Airlines Arena, not a municipal event.

First off, Summerstage also has a much more elitist and more expensive model:
http://www.summerstage.org/s706/images/2005_membership_form_cpss.pdf

For a mere $50 you could have gotten a season pass to the front of the line for the entire Celebrate Brooklyn Series AND sit at the front (excluding Ben Folds and those benefit concerts).

Second, the devoted fans could have trucked up to Maxwell's and dance up close to the band which some of us did.

Third, if you wanted to dance, try dancing on the grass like all the hippies. Call Celebrate Brooklyn (718-855-7882) and tell them not to have chairs anymore.

Tickets for New Pornos at Webster Hall in October on sale at Ticketweb now!

I love you!

I would guarantee that the band rocked out harder and put on a better show for everyone in response to us miscreants sneaking past the gate.

Wow. What did I start? First of all, the "VIP" section of seats has been up front in previous years. I don't defend "elite" seating arrangements, but if you are going to have them, well...the organizers need to do their jobs. Second, the Director of Celebrate, came down after his staff did went MIA, looked around, scratched his head, snatched a few kids out of the barricade jumping hipster crowd, and left. Third, there has been ZERO effective crowd control at Celebrate Brooklyn this year. The aisles are left full of people and if ever, God forbid, people had to be evacuated, people would be hurt. Maybe they're waiting for people to get huffy and a fight to break out? Hey, I'm a veteran of many years of concerts all over the world, including ones that have devolved into ugly situations in which injuries resulted, and Celebrate Brooklyn is a benign scene. Still, when you get 5,000 or 8,000 people in one place, you always have the potential for a problem. (PS--With all the checking of bags, there were a bunch of people drinking beer out of big quart bottles right in front of the stage in sight of Celebrate Brooklyn staff at New Pornographers. Wait till some over-revved drunken hipsters throws one of those babies). Celebrate Brooklyn has been well run in the past, but Jack and his staff are asleep at the switch so far this year.