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I got up at the usual time this morning since I didn't get any messages from the Vermont crew as to what the plans were for today. When I checked my e-mail I got a message (which arrived at 7:15) that they were going to meet at CM's place at 7:45. *looks at clock* Ten o'clock.
Great.
Fortunately, since DE was working in the morning, I could hook up with him if I wasn't able to meet up with the rest of the group. After dinking around for a little while, I gave him a call and found out that he was just about to leave. Whew! Just in time!
Anyway, to make a long story short, I picked up him, we picked up some munchies and some cameras, and headed out to the subway station. This was actually my first time on the new subway and it seems pretty nice. The subway itself is obviously much shorter than the older lines, which makes me wonder how they'll handle higher traffic loads in the future, but in any case, until they extend the line, it won't be all that useful huh?
The ride was fairly uneventful, and the subway and shuttle bus weren't as packed as I had originally feared. There were a lot of people walking towards the concert grounds in the blazing sun, but the temperature was pretty good and there was a nice breeze. Most of the people that were going to watch seemed to be in their twenties or thirties. There were some older people too in their forties who also brought their children along. I wasn't sure why children would've been a good idea seeing as there wasn't any children's entertainment there per se.
We arrived at the east end of the grounds and the bus disgorged it's contents (us). We didn't know where the entry gate was (there were three, on one to the north, one on the east, and one to the south) so we wakled with the (ever growing) crowd.
There were a number of peddlers on the street selling their wares. Mostly people who were taking advantage of the hot weather by selling their ice cold water to the masses. There was one scalper I passed by, and a few others selling trinkets. Although we were near the eastern gate, the majority of the people were heading towards the north gate, and we followed them blindly. It wasn't a bad choice however, since by the time we reached the gate, there wasn't really much of a lineup. The field however was strewn with empty water bottles, bags, and other garbage that the previous people in line had left behind or thrown out. I guess that what happens when you've got several thousand people packed into a small area. One bad point with walking to the north gate was that we had to walk all the way back to the concert grounds. All that walking in the blazing sun was a recipe for disaster considering the sheer number of people who were present. Already there were revelers suffering from sunstroke, but that is to be expected isn't it?
There were huge lineups in front of everything. The food stands (which were selling hot dogs and hamburgers for six bucks a pop - what a rip!), the beer tent (which had just opened and you can only walk off with two cups at a time), and the portapotties (I wouldn't want to go in one unless I really had to).
We had contacted the rest of the group before entering the gates and had an idea of where they were (between poles 302 and 303). Unfortunately, when we got closer, we couldn't contact them again. My cell phone kept giving me a busy signal as did DE's. So we wandered into the sea of people looking for that proverbial needle. We stood around looking for several minutes. Everyone looked the same to me. So many bodies and.. *eyes young girl wearing a bikini top and jean shorts*
Uhh.. who were we looking for again? Oh yeah, eventually DE spotted the group and we joined their camp. We were approximately three hundred meters away from the stage, and a few meters away from one of the ice cream stands that dotted the grounds. It was probably a poor choice considering how much traffic flowed through our area. The ice cream stand that was near us quickly ran out of stock because the runners that were supposed to restock the stands couldn't make it through the crowd! Oops. I guess they'll have to work on their logistics next time.
The acts that were taking place weren't big names so I didn't really pay any attention to them. Most of my time was spent trying not to move much, drinking as little water as possible, and people watching. *wiggles eyebrows* Considering the number of people who were there, it was mighty slim pickings, but I'm not surprised from the average age of the group (in their thirties or up). It also probably depended on your location as well. Most of the younger crowd probably came early to get a good seat near the stage, while the older fogies (especially those that worked today) were further out. I'd be curious to see what the age breakdown was as well as a chronographical map.
Some people brought along balloons and beach balls and were throwing them about the crowd. As soon as a ball/balloon was falling down into one area, it would quickly be swatted away into another part of the crowd. With the prevailing winds, most of these flying objects were eventually moved towards the north-eastern end of the grounds.
The weather was amazingly good however. The organizers couldn't have asked for anything better really, and things were going without a hitch. My only major complaint was the fact that the bands needed time to set up in between sets, and this usually took longer than the sets themselves, which meant that there was a lot of down time throughout the day. This certainly gave us some time to go out and wander for a bit, but due to the size of the crowds (and the length of the sets), it was nigh impossible to get back to your seats without missing an act or two.
Friday, August 22, 2003 at 20:15:25 (UTC)
If you look closely, you'll see the the walls at either end of each station on the Sheppard line are dummies. The platforms were built to support six cars, but they've been temporarily shortened to support four until demand increases.
PRQ <e-mail>
Friday, August 22, 2003 at 21:01:56 (UTC)
Oh, that's cool. I guess the TTC didn't shoot themselves in the foot then.
Hey.. waitaminute! How did you find this site?!?
QYV
Saturday, August 23, 2003 at 04:33:27 (UTC)
Nah, they've got everything under control. Eventually the line -will- be extended, and the demand -will- be there. Don't listen to the naysayers; they're the same ones who said it made no sense to run a line up University, only two blocks off Yonge.
It's all in the magic of server logs, kid. Remember that: server logs.
PRQ <e-mail>