WTF *is* crowd control, anyway?

Last night several different groups of Indyishers and friends all set out individually to see Bran Van 3000 at the Jazz Fest. A simple plan, seemingly: cheer on our friends and enjoy a fun Canada Day with some good music. But if it was so simple, why did each group individually give up? Due to the ridiculous crowd? Ah, there’s a thought!

As our mini-groups merged into a collective on a nearby patio, where we had a decent view of the Jazz Fest site entrance/exit on Jeanne-Mance, we launched into a discussion of the Jazz Fest, festivals in general, and the state of so-called “crowd control” in Montreal. Yes, the city is supposedly all for it, but what is crowd control and who is it really helping? As a stark contrast to the fenced-in site we’re experiencing now, several of us remembered Jazz Festivals in years past where we could walk through the entire festival freely, at will, without being directed by security guard after security guard through the underground city and around the circumference of the site five times before being “let in” to a closed-off area that normally acts as public space.

Those of us who grew up in Montreal remembered walking through the Jazz Fest as children, enjoying the music surrounded by family, friends, and strangers. If I had a young child, would I have brought her to the show last night? Sure, if we had a safe spot on a rooftop that was still close enough to hear the band! I don’t think I’d voluntarily bring a child into any crowd situation like last night’s.

The problem wasn’t the size of the crowd itself. Seriously, what better way to celebrate Canada Day or finish up birthday celebrations than with a big downtown festival concert with a great homegrown band? You have to expect big numbers at events like this. Other “big music events” do crowd control just fine — take our own Osheaga as an example. Last year, we had four stages, all far enough away from each other to allow ample open space for people to wander but with clearly marked signs and maps and obvious entrances. No concession or merch stands ever got in the way of crowd movement. There were thousands of people there, but I never felt crowded. But by the time I escaped the tunnel-crowd last night, I was about ready to start taking hostages.

The festival site planners created narrow, slow-moving corridors of people on streets with no exit routes save for intersections. If there was a panic in the middle of the crowd, no one would be able to get out fast or get help in. This was the kind of crowd where you had to make a decision upon entering the site: either stay a block or two away and have room to breathe, or accept that once inside the crowd you will never leave. And you might pass out — from what we heard from friends who passed by our patio as their made their escapes, people were certainly doing that last night.

So either the planners were idiots and didn’t anticipate a large crowd for Bran Van 3000 on Canada Day, or they did but didn’t care. Guys, if you’re going to have an event that will draw a huge crowd, make sure your event site can handle it.

By the way, where was any sort of official enforcement on this? Who greenlighted this? Who didn’t notice the obvious hazards of the Jazz Fest’s crowd control but lectures the Fringe Festival on having music equipment — like speakers at the outdoor site — that could catch on fire? Really, well, doesn’t the Jazz Fest also have speakers chilling outdoors?

By the time we were on Vinyl’s patio, able to hear ’90s classic “Drinking in L.A.” from Bran Van’s set in the background, we’d had enough of staring at the crowd down Jeanne-Mance in awe and horror. But the question still lingers: who is “crowd control” helping, really?