<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0c4rgX_1H3qril600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0c4rgX_1H3qril600" width="300" height="450" ><figcaption>Billy Fried of KXFM, ready to go live. (File photo) LBIndy file photo</figcaption></figure>I feel like I’ve been chanting this for so long I might as well be shouting “Attica, Attica.”So here we are, intoxicated and coming off a bender of great shows at the Irvine Bowl. Kudos to Coast for enduring the headwinds and showing us how much more wonderful life in Laguna is when we activate that wondrous, intimate amphitheater for more than eight weeks of the Pageant. But alas, this is a sober reminder that, once again, we are no further along in getting this place liberated for more shows than we were exactly a year ago, after the Jack Johnson shows. What happened? Or should I say, what didn’t? Well, sound studies were commissioned, RFPs were issued for a concert operator, and many Irvine Bowl Policy Committee meetings were scheduled. But then cancelled. With no sound policy was established. No solve for the expensive staging, lighting and sound that promoters must shoulder. And certainly, no allowance from the Festival of Arts to schedule concerts between April and September, also known in the outdoor concert world as “prime season.” Nope, it seems the only thing that transpired is more resistance to change. One of the principal hurdles has been appeasing the nearby neighbors, who don’t want the sound intrusion. I agree with them it’s loud. But we can use sound technology to mitigate it. And I’m told that these recent concerts did much of that, though to be fair the last two were acoustic. But to make it even more soundproof, we just need to look at how other amphitheaters in similar residential areas have dealt with it. And it just so happens that the New York Times recently published, “Living Near the Hollywood Bowl: Free Concerts and Pancake Breakfasts,” a playbook on how the Bowl has made it work for neighbors. First, consider this: There are some 5,000 residences in the neighborhoods that border the 88-acre property. Noise coming down the Bowl has been an issue for decades. And the Hollywood Bowl puts on 100-120 concerts a year from June – October. That’s nearly one every night. It seats 18,000. That’s 7 times bigger than our intimate little theater. So, neighbors are dealing with 7 times the impacts and much more noise.But the Bowl has gone to great lengths to mitigate what it calls ‘sound spillage.’ “It has installed four walls made of Pyrok — an acoustic plaster that is good at blocking mid-to-high frequencies — and, in 2026, it upgraded to a state-of-the-art L-Acoustics L-1 sound system able to direct sound via three-dimensional “pattern control” and divert it away from adjacent neighborhoods.” Whatever that is, can we get some? And some Pyrok too?Concerts can go no later than 11 p.m., and no later than 10:30 p.m. on Sundays. Seems reasonable but not Draconian. Has it worked? Well, Alexa Iles-Skarpelos, the president of the Hollywood Bowl Civic Association, said, “I would say the last couple of years, I personally haven’t received any complaints.” She gives the Bowl a lot of credit for figuring out how to do that.Making sure its neighbors feel heard and respected has been part of the Bowl’s mandate for decades. The venue invites representatives from neighborhood associations to join an advisory committee that holds regular meetings. It also gives each homeowners association concert tickets to distribute to residents and holds pancake breakfasts and neighborhood wine soirees to give homeowners an opportunity to meet Bowl operational staff and leadership.The playbook is in. There are just too many good reasons to liberate our beloved Bowl. And if the current FOA Board can’t figure out somewhere else to store their sets for the coming season (or simply cover them in the back of the stage), then they need to consult with people who can. Our current Council has spent an enormous amount of time listening to neighbors, some of whom even forfeited going to the recent shows to join them in their homes so they could experience the sound impacts for themselves. Any new candidates who accused the incumbents during the campaign of not listening to their constituents simply have no idea how much listening they did – and still do. And I will say that current Irvine Bowl Policy Committee members Sue Kempf and Alex Rounaghi are the right people to get this over the finish line. So I’m glad to see them re-elected. As Sam Goldstein suggested in this paper two weeks ago, we need to immediately form an “Irvine Bowl Advisory Committee” composed of all stakeholders – FOA, the Pageant, City officials, neighbors, promoters and performers – identify the barriers and come up with solutions. Everything should be on the table, including shortening the Pageant run to five days a week, and scheduling something else the other two. If we reach an impasse, then one of our Council people (or Council majority) must play the benevolent dictators and make the tough decisions. We are never going to appease everyone. But everyone should have a voice, and then leadership can establish best practices for seasonality, sound, lighting, frequency, curfews, staging, production and operations. And get that damn liquor license back! This civic treasure has been dormant long enough. Quit tantalizing us by dangling a weekend a year and let’s make everyone happy – residents, visitors, merchants, lodging, and even our city coiffeurs with a dynamic reimaging of our Bowl to live up to our benefactor James Irvine’s mandate that we use it for year-round entertainment. If you agree, please sign up at FreeTheIrvineBowl.com so we can keep you apprised and suggest ways to make your voice heard. We need places to gather in community and celebrate the gift of art during our brief time on earth – and here in heavenly Laguna. Billy is the Executive Director of the KXFM Radio, which has scheduled the “Laguna Roots Music &amp; Arts Festival” for next September 17-19 at the Festival of Arts. They are hoping to use the Irvine Bowl for performances. </div></body>

Block Source: lagunabeachindy.com

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I feel like I’ve been chanting this for so long I might as well be shouting “Attica, Attica.”. So here we are, intoxicated and coming off a bender of great shows at the Irvine Bowl. Kudos to Coast for enduring the headwinds and showing us how much more wonderful life in Laguna is when we activate that wondrous, intimate amphitheater for more than eight weeks of the Pageant.

Free the Irvine Bowl – Yet Again

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I feel like I’ve been chanting this for so long I might as well be shouting “Attica, Attica.”. So here we are, intoxicated and coming off a bender of great

Free the Irvine Bowl – Yet Again

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