[brooklynisbetter]

WTF? did i miss something? have there always been these GIANT fences with black mesh covering any chance to see anything from the outskirts picnic area?

i am fine with those little fences separating out the main area. i am fine with those security guards patrolling around.

for those of us who didn't want to shell out the $30 for this show, i felt like that sketchy guy hanging around the backdoor of a movie theater hoping to hear snippets of what was going on inside.

see what i "saw" http://bit.ly/EQNbE

[Land_Mine]

they do that for paid shows. usually. crock.

[rosweed]

[Santa]

im going to sit outside anyways.

[Lexie Z]

Feist did it last year, I think it's whack!!!!
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www.himandherinthestuy.com

-and i can say brown people because I am Puerto-Rican and we are brown.

[Daveon8th]

[flynn]

can't always get somethin' for nuthin'.

nothing to see here, move on.

[new2hood]

(where'd my post go??)

I kind of feel the same way about the shows that are sold out (Dylan). That being said, I think Celebrate Brooklyn is such an amazing asset, that if they feel the need to put up a fence for the paid shows so they can continue to do the free ones, more power to them.

See you in the fence at Bonnie Raitt tonight!

[Lo Kee]

I generally agree with the posters who said "tough titties".

But I would point out one distinction.

Our tax dollars don't maintain Hamerstein et. al. But they do keep the park and bandshell operating.
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giggity giggity

[Trainsmoke DeLeon]

Sure would be hard to get a view that good for a show at any other venue without paying. Swap that sense of entitlement for a sense of gratitude and you will be a happier person, guaranteed!
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www.ilovedeleon.com
Keep Freedom Free - Buy This Record

[brooklynisbetter]

no entitlement here. i just don't remember seeing that same black mesh fence up last year at any of the other paid shows. happy for the Park to be making $$ since they need it to keep up the Series. and i bet this fence will get more people to actually pay for shows and help their cause.

[embereye]

Just want to say that I shelled out for that show, and it was fabulous... although I wish more people had been dancing. I was totally in the "we refuse to dance keep trying you dancey bands" section. They were also the "we aren't going to bother applauding and cheering for an encore because of course you're giving us an encore" section. Sigh.

Good times otherwise!

[sharpie]

Tonight's show isn't sold out. They're selling tix at the door if you don't want to watch the black fence.

[pitu]

[brokechick]

fence was up at the spoon show last year, and there were people standing behind it complaining about its presence. i don't know what people expect; even with the fence, you're still getting a lot for free if you decide to hang around outside of it.
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your girl is something of a shrew, hubbell.

[eggcream]

"for those of us who didn't want to shell out the $30 for this show"

You get what you paid for. Actually, you got more. Stop complaining.

[raw]

The fences are dumb. Does the park think some people will break down and shell out the 30 bucks they don't have last minute? Some people don't have any money. Even if everyone has money, $30 is too much for a concert at that location. $15 or $20 is a reasonable price for one park concert ticket. Erecting visual obstructions during expensive concerts sends a bad message. The black fences should be up all the time or never.
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I blame such comments on beer.
© karlthedruid 2007

[flynn]

actually, yes. people do shell out $30 last minute to go to a show. this would explain the large line to purchase tickets to the TVOTR show on Tues.

if you don't have any money you probably should not expect to see too many shows (minus the free outdoor summer shows of course). may be rough, but that's life.

$30 too much for a show at this location? c'mon...have you been to any concerts recently and purchased tickets through ticketmaster or some similar source? the regular starting price before fees and the like is usually minimum $45. i don't see what I am getting at these shows that I am not getting in the park.

[new2hood]

And there was a large line of people buying tickets to last night's show as well. Thanks to everyone who did spend the $$ on these shows, as that's what makes all the free shows possible.

[OpossumQueen]

I don't really care about the fence--if I want to see a show there I'll pay. What upsets me is when they put it up for shows that sell out long before the date. It's not like anyone outside the fence is cheating them. Why bother for a sold out show? (sad I didn't get tickets to MGMT, which I think were sold out by the end of the first day on sale.)

[Drunken Revival]

[Daveon8th]

[squindar]

[kiteless]

Can we all agree that anytime you use the phrase "our tax dollars" you sound like a fool? I'm sure the venue took an appropriate cut of ticket sales to more than compensate for "maintenance" of the shell and the surrounding area. Why isn't anyone complaining about summerstage? Shouldn't that be free all the time? Wouldnt you rather ALL these concerts be paid affairs and then NONE of your tax dollars would go towards staging them?

Didn't think so.
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Your thin paper wings

[danc13]

The concerts that I really want to see, I have no problem paying for. But what I love so much about Celebrate Brooklyn (and Prospect Park in general) is that we don't have so many of the formalities that plague the rest of NYC. I can wander through unmarked grass areas without getting yelled at, I can have a beer without getting a ticket, and, if I happen to be strolling through the park at night when a band I'm not familiar with is playing, I can sit down for a bit and enjoy the show. And if I really like what I see, maybe I will go buy a ticket and get a little closer to the action. Black fences don't celebrate anything; they divide, regulate, enforce, and ultimately, push away. Not cool.

[embereye]

Aren't the black fences are only for pay-for-access benefit concerts? I really don't understand the issue with them. The fact is that these concerts are what allow the rest of the free shows to happen. If there is not some kind of barrier put up to make sure that there's a reason for people to buy a ticket, I'm pretty sure a lot of people would not buy tickets. We all like to think that we'd be philanthropic and supportive of the events and buy tickets even if we might get almost as good of a view from outside of the concert space, but in reality a lot of folks would just camp out outside the space and watch for free and save money.

Maybes just don't pay for the renting of the space from the city, the cost of cleanup after all the benefit and free concerts, the rental of that gigantic line of port-a-potties, etc. I feel like the fences are a small price especially since you can still hear the concert from outside and there are all the free concerts without fences. Am I wrong here? Would people rather not have any concerts at all under the stars (what little of them you can see that is)?