That's My World Tuesday #10: Downtown Live

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"This is the thin part of the crowd?"
Raleigh, NC - August 2008 (Click to embiggen)

"Streetscape - S. Blount Street"
Raleigh, NC - August 2008 (Click to embiggen)

"Yes, I am looking down your shirt..."
Raleigh, NC - August 2008 (Click to embiggen)

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During the summer one of the local radio stations along with a few other corporate sponsors put on a free concert series called "Downtown Live". Each show is essentially a mini music festival with the opening acts beginning at around 2 PM. The headliners start in the early evening and play until local noise ordinances say they have to stop (11 PM).

The acts are varied, but are mainly geared toward the college-aged crowd, which makes little sense to me since all of the area colleges are out for the summer. And despite the fact that this has been going on for several years now, this summer was the first time I had attended one of these events. The first show I went to featured Blind Melon as one of the headliners. I went with a group of friends who were all big fans, even though I could only name one song they'd ever done (and even that I couldn't name by title). But once I'd been to one I wondered why I hadn't been taking advantage of this before.

The second show I went to was different though. Different bands, yes, but a much bigger crowd as well. It was the last show of the season and topping the bill were Saving Abel, Eve 6 and Puddle of Mudd. That by itself wouldn't explain the increase in attendance though. That was largely explained by the return of the students at nearby NC State University. Move-in for the resident students had been going on all week, and by Saturday night they were all settled in their dorms and ready for one last blast before classes started the following Monday.

It was a crush the likes of which I haven't seen in a very long time. I have no idea what the official head count might have been, but Moore Square is a city block on each side and at least three quarters of it was nigh unto impassable.

Just a week or so before the show, I got into a discussion with a couple of other area bloggers and among us we decided that this would make an excellent opportunity to meet other area bloggers. So on each of our blogs we started promoting an improvised event known as "Bloggin' the Square '08". We got roughly the turnout we expected (which was the three of us) but it was still a great way to get together. We spent a good bit of the late afternoon and early evening in the shade of one of the live oak trees in the park, not far from a bench where three of the park's "permanent residents" were waiting for the party to be over.

Realizing that we were throwing a really loud party in what was essentially someone's living room put a bit of a damper on the mood. And it made me think a bit about the reasons we were in the park (fun and entertainment) as opposed to the reasons they were in the park (survival and no place else to go). So in addition to some good music, good company and overpriced food I also got a little lesson in perspective.

Whether it's the venue (doubtful) or the sponsors (probable) that were responsible, the "No Detachable Lens" rule is in effect for these events, so unless I wanted to try slipping it by security (which I don't think would have been difficult) I couldn't bring my camera inside (I really need to get a point-and-shoot backup for situations like this). I first encountered this brand of photographic prejudice at the RBC Center in 2001. For reasons that were called "security concerns" but (I'm sure) were more like "dollar concerns" cameras with interchangeable lenses were prohibited inside the arena. Which always rubbed me the wrong way. If you're going to ban cameras, either do it or don't but don't penalize only the people with one type of camera. And now I'll stop before I get into soap box mode.

Anyway outside the park was fair game, so I was able to snap off a few shots of the mostly orderly mob from afar. Had I been adventurous enough to do it, I probably could have gotten some decent long-lens shots from outside. But I wasn't sure my 200mm f/2.8 was long enough and I knew my 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 wasn't nearly fast enough, and I didn't yet have my 1.4x extender for the 200 (which would have still slowed me down to f/4.0 -- which is pushing it at best). So I passed on the opportunity. Perhaps some day I'll have the cake to afford better glass in the 300 or 400mm range. Yeah. Sure.

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