Music Fest

Started by yoshi, September 20, 2008, 12:59:56 AM

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yoshi

What about returning Music Fest to the Hilton Ballroom, as it was in 2006? The San Jose Civic Auditorium sounded like a huge gymnasium (which is what it is). FanimeCon only filled maybe half of the auditorium and forced convention goers to stand in line for tickets AND entry. When the Music Fest was in the Hilton ballroom, there were no lines, there were in-and-outs allowed, and no heavy handed security. Renting out the SJ Civic Auditorium has got to be a complete waste of money. Along with that, the Civic just sounds like CRAP!

Kazuko

the reason it was ticketed because of the AN Cafe event and it was up to an agreeance between fanime and An Cafe's Managment to make it a ticketed event thats why there were serches for cameras too. It was for their first american appearance and all measurments of security and flash photography had to be taken seriously. Normally music Fest is not a ticketed program, but also in 07 the civic auditorium was being leased to another event hence why fanime did it at the ball rooms.

I think the civic is a better place because that place fills up for masq and when music fest has a variety of artists. Also if we dont have masq at the civic where would we have it? I dont think I want to walk to get to another place for it :T

Shi_Musouka

#2
I think a factor may have been the fact that MusicFest staff expected the An Cafe attendance to be over 3,000(the civic's capacity limit as stated on the sanjose.org website) because of the high attendance numbers for 2008. According to state(or is it federal?) law, it's considered a fire hazard to fill a specific location beyond the capacity limit and if Fanime were to allow the attendance to exceed 3,000, that could land both the con and the civic auditorium staff in some hot water.

Besides, if you were there at the local bands concert on Friday and 2006 MusicFest, you would have noticed that the security was much more lax compared to An Cafe's performance. I think it was 2007 when they had it at the Hilton Ballroom. Granted, it had its ups and downs, but it wasn't any different than when MF was in the civic, other than the smaller capacity limit. Besides, I like how the civic gives a more concert-ish vibe than the ballroom.

This isn't official staff word, but rather one out of many reasonable possibilities why the civic may have left a bad impression on some of us. If you want the official staff word, drop a line at Tony via PM(I'd add his e-mail address, but I don't have it).

ewu

hi:)

This could have very well happened at Fanime..I'm glad it didn't

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7pwa5U0k1s
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Tony

I hear you, on all of those concerns! I take the blame for being overly cautious; I sincerely regret all the hassle of the ticketing and line policies.

That said, concerts at conventions are a somewhat new and tricky thing. If we had put An Cafe into the SJCC J ballroom, as we had in 2007, we would have had major overflow and security problems. Yet when we had 4 days of shows in the J with lesser known - but incredibly talented - groups, the place wasn't more than 40% full at its best. And the cost of setting up a stage, sound, and lighting in the J was nearly as expensive as running it in the Civic.

For next year, I'm loosely advising the new head of MusicFest, Val, to focus on a small, well-run concert for this year. (By small, I mean in contrast to, say, 2007, when we had like 10 acts over 4 days.) We'll probably pour some more money into the sound system to make it sound better, and plan things (like the ticketing) much better. We're always on the road to improvement...
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J-Ro

You dont need to pour more money on the sound system Tony. The system that Musicfest has used for the past two years have been enough. I dont know of the other years cause I only helped out in the J Room and the Civic. System is a system what changes are characteristics is the room. Civic will always sound the same even if you spend more money on the sound system. Its the character that the venue has. It is what makes it the Civic. It was built for plays and basketball, so you get this natural reverb ambience. A midas console is as good as the venue console. The main thing you need is a good engineer and I think the person who ran the sound system was good. Knowledge of the frequency and the tone of the room are key, and figuring the best way to get the best quality sound from the room. As for guest engineers it is different. There is more then one way to bake a cake so all engineers have different ways of doing things, which leads to mistakes  and can really change the sound. Like trying to find the garbage can at someone else place. Ego gets in the way so they tend not to ask, and could be costly.
As for ticketing yeah that needs to improve, it was not bad but room for improvement.
As for less bands it is all in taste. You can get four bands and they can all be diva's and cause a lot of damage. Or you can get more acts and have them to agree to rules with the stage. Everyone uses same gear. For locals stand point. Headliners use there one stuff.
Finally you need a really really good as crew union or no union. If you have a super crew that is ready to work and understands the principle of the live concert. The show will run smoothly.
I think J room was more of an intimate performance, and the civic was a basketball court disguised as a gymnasium. They both sounded good. All depends on the budget, the con gets, and the act they hire.


Acid_Android

Firstly, thank you for expressing your concerns regarding MusicFest! I want to assure all of you that we are keeping in mind what worked and what didn't work so well; that kind of knowledge is key in improving and planning ahead for future concerts as well as MusicFest-related events (Q&A, autograph sessions, etc), so I do encourage everyone who has come to previous MusicFest shows to voice their opinions on what they liked and didn't like (just keep it respectful xD ). Your feedback is valuable :)

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Shi_Musouka

#7
Quote from: Tony on September 23, 2008, 10:08:47 PMI take the blame for being overly cautious; I sincerely regret all the hassle of the ticketing and line policies

Well you know what they say, better safe than sorry :). I can't really blame you for doing it either at that time given our circumstances. lol.

yoshi

Hi, everyone.  Tony, it's cool, I'm glad that there is someone like yourself that is listening to us convention goers and open to suggestions. As for ticketing, I was under the impression that the ticketing was purely to create demand since access to these free tickets were limited. Even with this heightened demand, the Civic was only half-full for the An Cafe show. By the way, having the Civic only half-full only adds to the poor sound quality of the Civic. J-Ro, you are right that the sound system is fine; it's an uphill battle with the Civic. The sound was much better in the ballroom in 2007 because sound is easier to deal with in the ballroom. I just think that the environment of the Civic with all the security just did not jive with the overall vibe of FanimeCon, which is kind of like a Anime Fan's Burning Man. To come and go as you please with no tickets or lines would match the vibe of the rest of FanimeCon. What do y'all think?

J-Ro

Hi everyone,
  I agree with Yoshi having the civic half-way did add to the poor sound quality, and that was because people absorb sound. The less people the less absorption happens. What happened was cause it was not packed the low end frequency expanded creating a muddy sound to all those fan sitting in the back. It was not bad but it was not good either. If we would've had AnCafe play in the J room with the same amount of people that were in the civic, it would've been considered packed. But you have to take account of the popularity of the band, one could never know how many people are going to show up, are people going to try to rush back stage. I do believe that having all the security did not give the fanime vibe, but sometimes it is good to have around you never know what might happen. It like what Shi_Musouka said better to be safe than sorry.

Plus the Civic might make it seem like a real venue, but some people are lazy and dont want to walk across the street. I think that is where J had it  advantage. People would walk be interested and walk in to check it out, if they liked it they stay. If they didn't the can leave and go back to playing video games in the gaming room.


Acid_Android

Actually, the Civic only looked half-full because all the chairs were taken from the main floor space. Everyone had squeezed up against the barrier to get closer to the stage which really made it look like there weren't a lot of folks, but because we had given away nearly all the concert tickets, we were definitely near the capacity number. If the chairs were left in, it probably would've looked a lot more packed.

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KyraEnsui

I really enjoyed how MusicFest were held at the Civic. I didn't went for 2006 so I don't know about it being at the ballroom. But having at the Civic is the closest feeling to having a concert at a venue. It's always good to be safe than sorry especially when taking into several precaution. To be honest, I really enjoy the amount of security that they have out since it's a good to enjoy the concert than worrying about non-con goers making some ruckus.

*blinks* If you willing to walk throughout the convention center, then how is walking across the street makes a difference? It's a plus side to get some fresh air too.

Thank you MusicFest staff for making it better every year! =)

Long

I'm sorry, but that one year that Music Fest wasn't in the Civic center, pissed me off, and I hope it never happens again. There was no where to sit. And a concert doesn't feel like a concert in a tiny stupid room like that. I'm voting for keeping it in the Civic center all the way no matter what bands we have and how many acts they have or how empty it is.


deonchan

*waiting for MF announcements*
Calvin...

Rovers
Suits
Musicfest
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BrightHeart76

Just slightly over a month 'till Fanime.  No announcement.  Are we having MusicFest this year?
Sometimes I'm glad I became a teacher.  Other times I wish I had simply become a ninja.

Nyxyin

I figured Momoi Halko is enough of a MusicFest all by herself.  ^_^

WaffoCellist

Quote from: Nyxyin on April 17, 2009, 08:45:20 PM
I figured Momoi Halko is enough of a MusicFest all by herself.  ^_^


I am so excited that she'll be at Fanime this year!  I saw hear a couple of years ago at AX and I loved her stage presence.  Her fans that followed her from Japan made the show even more entertaining as they encouraged the rest of the audience to dance along with glow sticks.

Note to self: Buy glow sticks.
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SOawesomeness

Quote from: WaffoCellist on April 19, 2009, 11:45:06 PM
Note to self: Buy glow sticks.
Note to you: clarify if you can even bring those. o:

SJCC doesn't want glowsticks, I think Rovers would take them away from you. Not sure about the space where Momoi is going to perform at, though...
So you might want to e-mail whoever would be in charge of knowing that info.
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PyronIkari

Quote from: Chiri Kcrinh on April 19, 2009, 11:57:24 PM
Quote from: WaffoCellist on April 19, 2009, 11:45:06 PM
Note to self: Buy glow sticks.
Note to you: clarify if you can even bring those. o:

SJCC doesn't want glowsticks, I think Rovers would take them away from you. Not sure about the space where Momoi is going to perform at, though...
So you might want to e-mail whoever would be in charge of knowing that info.

Momoi concert without glowsticks would be fail. Seriously.

jemz

Quote from: Chiri Kcrinh on April 19, 2009, 11:57:24 PM
Quote from: WaffoCellist on April 19, 2009, 11:45:06 PM
Note to self: Buy glow sticks.
Note to you: clarify if you can even bring those. o:

SJCC doesn't want glowsticks, I think Rovers would take them away from you. Not sure about the space where Momoi is going to perform at, though...
So you might want to e-mail whoever would be in charge of knowing that info.

Actually, the concert is held in the Civic Auditorium and not inside the SJ Convention Center. So having glowsticks at the concert won't be an issue but Facilities is double-checking that for me.

And yes, no glowsticks at Momoi's concert would be a sad thing!
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