Driving range drives bass rather than balls

For the record, I love music. I love live music the best. I’m a concert goer. I also consider myself an amateur musician. That said I have to question how the Burlingame Golf Center became a live concert venue. I question it for several reasons. The first being that here it is the first night of the concert series on the bay front and I can listen to the concert from my house, which is clearly NOT on the bay front. The second question is that I have been involved in organizing concerts in another Peninsula city and I had to jump through hoops to gain the proper permits. The questions on the permits include what is the plan for safety, traffic and lighting but most importantly sound/noise/decibel level, etc. The concerts I refer to had to end at 8pm at the latest so as not to disturb residents or hotel guests in the area. I have to wonder how the hotels are feeling about live and loud concerts next to their hotels. Granted during this time of Covid, the guest count is most likely down, but that doesn’t change the fact that no guest likes to hear construction noise or thumping bass lines all night. The third question is how did they get permission to hold concerts on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for several weeks in a row? OK, a concert once in a while, perhaps once a week, but practically every night? More questions: I Googled the concert info and could not find any info on what time they are supposed to conclude. Again, it’s after 10pm and I still hear the concerts. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I think the process is flawed here. A quote from one of the artists as quoted in the SF Chron: “Phillippe is already planning to “make a song that allows the crowd to interact via honking their car horns.” Really?

Comments

[Sally Meakin]

Enjoyed this, Russ.

[Peter Garrison]

I enjoyed this to Joe. You’ll note that Cassandra the prophetess on another thread forecast the sound problem as soon as the article came out. And as soon as I read the article that the promoter saw the golf center as an amphitheater I thought well, maybe some Greek plays would be good there in that amphitheater but not loud music with the speakers facing out towards the city and the hotels.

My favorite comment on Nextdoor last night with someone who said: Millbrae to Burlingame – thanks for sharing.

I think the key is a 10 PM curfew at the latest. People can be patient knowing there is a secure and to the chaos. Even in rowdy Miami Beach the clubs have an early curfew and hotel guests are told about the curfew.

[HMB]

Hotbox presents... Gotta love the name of the promoter! So apropos

[Peter Garrison]

In a while the woke will be awakened and one of them will snark that this is why are called Boringame.

It takes a lot of growing up through effort and time and duty and character building to sit alone in a room with a loved one and quietly ask if they’d like another cup of coffee. I don’t consider this boring, I consider it being content. To have chaos visited upon that contentment is not what we’ve worked so hard for in Boringame.

Je suis très content, et vous?

[Jennifer Pfaff]

Moi aussi, je suis très contente, Pierre. Mais....putting my coffee cup down while staring affectionately at my cat, who simply needs a ray of sunshine on the couch to be in heaven, and who, unlike many a human, is not "selfish, angry or jealous", to quote HR on another thread...

....BUT who knew a concert clear across town would be so....comment dit-on??...Audible...and not in a good way. 'Just wondering, isn't the range is about 2.5 miles away from the extreme southend of town, maybe 1.5 as the crow flies? Thank you for explaining the source of the endless garbled noise last evening, much appreciated.

[Burlingame Betty]

Young people live here too and if we want to keep them around let's not get all cranky - It's good there is something for these trapped teens to go and do that doesn't take them miles away - That being said I think ending at 10pm on a week night is reasonable and a bit later on the weekend - I'm sure they won't make that mistake again - but let's not rule out something new in the 'new normal'

[Paloma Ave]

Burlingame Betty - With high housing prices in Burlingame, I don't think we will keep anyone young around.

So, let's P.O. everyone else.

[[email protected]]

Not true. I bet Dollars to Donuts that everyone "here" knows someone whose 40 year old Son/Daughter still living at "Home."
In Burlingame, CA. 40 is the New 19 years old.
Stay Home until the House burns down.

[Heaven Sent]

City of Burlingame
City of Burlingame • 20 hr ago
Concert noise follow-up. Once again, the City would like to apologize for the noise that disturbed you and your families last night. City staff has spent the day working with the Golf Center operator and concert promoter HUSHconcerts to ensure that nothing like this happens again. Here is what we’ve learned, and a game plan going forward:

Explanation: According to the HUSHconcerts CEO, the company tested their sound system in advance in order to ensure the sound hit the audience and nowhere else. Due to a variety of factors (the slope, ground composition, and air last night), that sound bounced off the ground and went far further than intended. Their sound team was monitoring the hotels areas (which were fine) as they did not foresee that the sound would bounce to the residential areas to the west. This is not an excuse, only an explanation.

Resolution: HUSHconcerts will cut their PA system completely for the remainder of this run. That means the main speakers and subwoofers (which are aimed at the cars) will not be used at all. All attendees will enjoy the show completely on FM stereo in their cars for the remainder of the run, including tonight’s show, which is slated to stop at 10:30.

Moving forward: There will be some small monitor speakers on the stage itself for the musicians to hear one another. This is less than what the Parks and Recreation Department used for our concert event on October 2. HUSHconcerts will be tuning that system this afternoon in the company of Parks and Recreation Department representatives to ensure that even this small amount of sound does not become an issue. Should this not work, then City staff will work with the Golf Center operator to shut down the remaining shows.

The CEO of HUSHconcerts is Robbie Kowal. He can be reached at [email protected] if you have any further questions or concerns. Feel free to copy [email protected] on your email so that the City Council and City staff are also aware of your concerns.

Again, please accept our deepest apologies.

Posted to Subscribers of City of Burlingame

[Bruce Dickinson]

Guys, in addition to making gold-plated records, Bruce Dickinson also produced numerous live performances, working with the sound board engineers and doing post recording work at the mixing desk. So I know a thing or two about acoustics in various performance spaces.

A concert doesn't have to be that loud in order to enjoy. It sounds like they were running their instruments and amps through another PA system which was probably turned up excessively loud by inexperienced technicians. It's a problem if you can hear it from 1-2 miles away! Granted, Bruce Dickinson lives in Burlingame Park, and I can't say that I heard anything but I'm no spring-chicken so my hearing from my advanced age and given my decades of music production work has done some damage.

Whatever the case may be, I'll bet that none of the bands prominently featured the cowbell in their percussion section!

[Bruce Dickinson]

Also, from the posters above comments, it makes sense that the bass and drums were too loud as those are common areas where mistakes are made. Bass because is non-directional should be run through separated speakers with good sub woofers and don't need to be loud. Drums themselves are already acoustically loud, so when mic'd they really need to be turned down while running through the PA system, especially the cymbals, kick and snare. The toms should be mic'd a little louder, and if playing cowbell, you've definitely gotta mic more of that, to the "elevens" if you will!

Bruce Dickinson could have probably gone down there and spend 10 minutes with the audio / PA crew, would have shown them how it's done-- after which they would have all been wearing gold-plated diapers! *wink*

[Paloma Ave]

Bruce - Where have you been?

[[email protected]]

"The Horror's" of living in Burlingame...
-Who cares about "Those People" on the other side of the Tracks anyway?
-Does El Camino Real divide our City into a "Caste System?
-West Burlingame = Trump.
-East Burlingame = Biden/Harris
What do you believe?

[MBGA]

I'm having a heard time conceptualizing what was/is going on over there... is the audience actually in their cars (four to a car I presume)? Considering you don't see very many convertibles these days are you supposed to hear the concert through the rolled down windows? It doesn't take a rock and roll expert to tell you that makes no f'n sense.

[Paloma Ave]

MBGA - The sound is supposed to be broadcast through a FM radio in your vehicle.

[MBGA]

OK, through your FM radio, like the evolution of driveins as they phased out those clunky molded aluminum speakers we used to hang on the window.
Wow, you can even keep the windows closed and not get cold.

Pathetic attempts to neutralize the economic suicide the world is committing for the build back better economic reset that is coming if things go bad in November.

[Cathy Baylock]

Funny! Drive to Burlingame to hear a concert broadcast through your car radio. I'm old, but unclear on the concept!

[Winnie]

Your post was spot on, how was this deal done? No word of it anywhere until we are slap bang in the middle of a concert then the mea cupla from the city....

[Friday Night Lights-KRN]

FYI- Years of Panther Football on Friday Nights in the Fall.

No Sound Complaints

Silence on the Ave as the Press Box announced the Panthers nearing the Goal Line and then, a touchdown! and the "sound" of the crowd came across lower Burlingame and the Ave.

The kids driving up and down the Ave after winning the Little Big Game-

Proper noise.

Remember why we moved here... and then stayed.