Things that piss you off...

I thought that too but it seems that a couple of other schools and Kindies around the Hutt have been targeted for the same stuff as well meaning they are either - opportunists, know that iPads have been delivered or are aware schools keep these items on site at most schools now.

One issue is that the police knew it had happened a couple of times before but didn't think to warn other schools in the area. Obviously, they can;t predict these things and the schools need to handle their own security but sometimes a reminder can go a long way.

Probably they figure early in a term will be when lots of new tech is around

Crap, got a Kindie near where I live that my boy goes to. Sentry duty coming me thinks. This whole thing sucks and I hope they catch the pricks. They might get a serious sentence like keep the Ipads and do 20 hours community service - at a Kindie.

Still This!

Wellington,  The James Cabaret and Mogwai's management

Went to see Mogwai last night. The venue The James, (never been before), is another piss poor music venue in Wellington which is too small, cramped and only has one bar. 

It was Mogwai FFS of course it was going to sell out. The venue was heaving and I'd hate to think what would happen should a fire alarm go off. 

The main issue was the volume. It was ear-splitting. I have tinnitus and hearing loss after almost destroying my hearing going to gigs. The band's PA system was sat above the croud so there was nothing to absorb the sound. I looked around to see people putting their fingers in their ears.

We lasted two and a half numbers. We also watched other people leave the gig. I asked another couple why they were leaving and they said it was because of the volume of the sound. 

The gig cost $75 a ticket each and we where in there about 20 minutes and about 10 minutes of that was  the band was playing. 

In this day and age no public event should be inflicting that much sound on an audience. Sure it used to happen but in those days none of us realized the effects of hearing loss.

When will Wellington build a decent venue? For a capital city it is a joke.

The Town Hall - good sound but only one bar.

ASB - Terrible sound, poorly designed for safety and bouncy floors.

"Jimmies" - Rubbish seating and soulless.

The Opera House - rubbish seating and gets way too hot in the gods. 

SF Bath House  and Bodega - good venues but too small for a lot of bands.

http://myspiltmilk.com/last-night-mogwai-threatens-organ-integrity - interesting will email the band.

Fortean, can you email me that stuff to [email protected] please.

I wouldn't say Bodega is a good venue - there's giant pillars in the way

Wellington weather.  If game had been played today, we would have had over 9k I reckon.  

I've always enjoyed James Cabaret and San Fran gigs.

Haven't been to James Cabaret since it's been James Cabaret but saw the Black Keys there about 7 years ago when it was the Front Room, and it was an awesome venue then (and a great gig)

Edit: Well, I went into James Cabaret last weekend for the Greek food festival but I don't think that counts

Drifted very far away from things that piss me off, but the Wellington muso scene has actually responded really well to an undersupply of appropriate venues with the Old Hall gigs and Secret House Party series. Gets a bit repetitive here in Dunedin with most good gigs going to Chicks which is great but far away, as well as Robbie Burns, Taste Merchants and Re:Fuel which have shark to average sound. Sammy's is awesome but usually too big.

The fudgeing X Factor absolute horse shark! Cant believe people watch such a fake and clearly scripted show!

I emailed the venue:

As a long time fan of Mogwai I was pretty pleased to see that they were coming to to NZ and Wellington and I was happy to pay the $75 each for me and my wife. I had never been to The James before but have been to most other venues in Wellington. On arrival I found that obviously, (for a Mogwai gig), it had sold out which resulted in a venue bursting at the seams. I have some experience in Health and Safety and was a little alarmed at the croud numbers to be honest and wondered at venues/staff ability to get everybody out in case of fire. To be fair with only one tiny bar, your bar staff are very good and the women who was running the bar knew what she was doing. My main issue was the sound level of Mogwai's PA system. As soon as the band started it's set I noticed people putting their fingers in their ears. I've damaged my hearing by attending many, many gigs around the world when I was younger and was shocked by the PA noise level in this day and age. Noise level and hearing loss is well established today there is no excuse in allowing it Myself and my wife lasted around 10 minutes before having to leave. We spoke to your staff who admitted it was too loud. I spoke to another young couple who left at the same time as us and they left because of the volume of the sound. I understand that Mogwai are pushing the limits when it comes to level of noise on this tour and will email the band as it's irresponsible without warning people. However the venue management should have discussed what the band intended to do before accepting them. As I have some experience of booking bands I wonder why this conversation never took place? For $150 it was a complete waste of money and I doubt very much I'll be attending your venue again.


His (owner's) response:

Hi Rob

Thanks for your email.

I'll just take your issues point by point:

- our capacity has been set by an equation that involves toilets & egress. It also involves an evacuation plan that requires trained security & appointed wardens that thankfully we don't have to see in action unless an alarm or emergency occurs. These capacities have been tested with the New Zealand Festival of the Arts & over 80 shows in the last 18 months;

- the James Cabaret is one of the oldest venues in Wellington - an iconic establishment that we reopened 18 months ago. I have 35 years experience in international touring bands & event production; the James Cabaret is one of my favorite venues worldwide & we are pleased to have it open again;

- there are 2 small bars at the James Cabaret. One is upstairs... I will mention to Emily our bar manager that you commend her work. As the critic Simon Sweetman has said of the James Cabaret that the music comes first & "Drinking is secondary. This is not a bar hoping to house a few acts on the side" (http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/blogs/blog-on-the-tracks/9669047/I-love-you-James-Cabaret);

- the sound levels: we meter the audio & taste ("it was too loud") is the issue here... with your experience in noise issues you would know that distorted audio is what damages hearing. I still have a complete frequency range of hearing after 35 years of intensive touring including some of the loudest bands in the world (ACDC, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Black Crows & many, many others). I can only say is what the band management said after the event - "this is what we do";

Your last paragraph poses a strange question to me... "As I have some experience of booking bands I wonder why this conversation never took place?" I too have some experience in booking bands & would expect you would know the venue is a resource that is used by Agents & Promoters to present bands. We are simply a venue for hire & we are hired by the promoter. We were also very aware that Mogwai were a loud band.

"As a long time fan of Mogwai" - why did you not know what to expect?

I'm sorry that your experience at our venue was not great. It's a shame you won't return.

Thank you again for your email...

J

My response:

Being a long term fan of Mogwai doesn't mean I follow them on social media. Also having lived in New Zealand for 18 years this was my first opportunity to see them live so I had no idea how loud they were going to be. After the gig having googled "Mogwai" and "sound levels" I came across several reviews about how loud Mogwai are. One that noted "Mogwai threatens organ integrity", http://myspiltmilk.com/last-night-mogwai-threatens-organ-integrity and other reviews described them as causing "rectal bleeding" and akin to listening to jet airplane taking off. I've seen all those bands you mention and Motorhead when they were officially the loudest band on the planet. Due to that, (I was always an active participant in the mosh pit rather than nursing a pint at the back like some people), I have hearing loss and Tinnitus. I would not wish Tinnitus on anyone. It is constant and exhausting. Many responsible venues acknowledge this. We went to the Queens of the Stone Age/Smashing Pumpkins gig at the ASB a number of years back and although both bands were nowhere near as loud as Mogwai the venue provided FREE earplugs because they acted responsibly and that was in 2008. I paid $150 for two tickets and would have appreciated some warning about how loud it was going to be. My wife who has perfect hearing stated afterwards how sore her ears were. We spoke to people leaving the gig after only a couple of songs because of how loud it was. Your own staff stated it was "too loud' and sadly they had no ear protection and had to endure it all night. I'll just say it again several people left the gig because it was too loud.

Rather than be defensive and critical of my email, you may want to actually take on board what I have said to improve the experience of James Cabaret in future. It's called customer relations. "R"

His (charming) response:

Hi Rob

first: I don't feel I was being defensive.

second: I also worked with Motorhead.

third: I escaped without a speed or alcohol habit.

forth: "public relations" is for someone selling something. We offer great shows, awesome production & fantastic value. Promoters sell the shows.

five: I was being facetious when I said it was a shame you wouldn't return.

Thanks. tosser.

J

My response:

Thanks J, much appreciated.My wife just showed me Simon Sweetman's review of the gig, which talked a lot about the 'excessively loud' gig, including the para:'Well, I didn't have earplugs. Whether I should have or not is irrelevant - they shouldn't be required at a gig, they should be a choice. And if they should be required then the promoter/venue/artist should have them on offer"

That was the point I was trying to make. Having paid $150 and being able to stay only 15 minutes was extremely disappointing.I would ask that you take my points into consideration for the future.

I then got an email from the gig promoter (with the whole email string attached, including the one where he called me a tosser)

Rob,

I am the Promoter of the Mogwai show. My business partner Mark is on cc.

I got your email from the venue owner.

I would like to personally apologise for the noise at Mogwai's Wellington show. We also had to endure their sound levels in Auckland! I did discuss this with Mogwai's Tour Manager and he just reiterated what he must have to reiterate the world over . . . "The band like it loud!".

I agree that they were too loud. But this was a Mogwai decision and not a Promoter decision. However you did buy a ticket to my show and so I am sorry you did not get the experience you hoped for.

As for the venue. We sold it to the legal fire rated capacity of 650 pax. At no time did I feel like there was any danger to punters. But I do appreciate your concern.

I am happy to discuss any of this with you should you want to go over it further. I am available on XXXX.

Regards,

Joshua Mossman

Robin Fernando

Jeez, that is awful from James Cabaret.  I've had a run-in (in an entirely unrelated context)  with a guy who used to be involved with management there but isn't anymore and that's the exact sort of response I would have expected from him. Seems like being a prick is part of their "organisational culture".

Glenn Maxwell.

Glenn Maxwell.

an interesting contrast in attitudes there FT. The promoter was very good in taking your complaint on board, the other guy was defensive, condescending and then a tosser. 

I've experienced pretty rubbish service from Robin Fernando over the last year, but better form from them in that e-mail. I'm surprised PAX is only 650.

TranzMetro:

It appears this year they have put in place the Jet Star rule: If a service is more than 15 mins late, just Cancel it, as then it doesn't count as a delayed service, then use that plane/train to run the next service, it's like Magic 90% of trains that actually arrive are on time.

This rule is also applied to the Valley buses. Just don't show and wait for the next bus...

or 3 of them turn up at once. 

The realtime departures are also horse shark.  If you bus says due, but the bus is running late, it will disappear from the screen as if it actually turned up.   WTF.  

The train is never on time.  They should just change the schedules.

On the Hutt Valley Line, they run express trains after stop all station trains. Invariably the express train catches up and has to crawl along .

That one is hilarious... at least on the Kapiti line the express ones go before the non-express ones most of the time. 

I wonder quite often whether the people running the timetables etc have half a brain between them.

Fortean are you going to try and get your money back from the promoter? Thanks for sharing this - crosses St James Cabaret off my list of places to go. These idiots always underestimate the power of the Internet. Negative publicity can snowball!

Dont talk to me about valley buses and sharkn trains.Havnt had to deal with it this season but have in the past where you catch the last train to Waterloo but the last bloody bus to Wainui will pull out just before the train arrives.

And that is a fact!

And then there are the fudgewit on the train that seem to think everyone  on the train should hear their entire conversation. 

Not really sure, still waiting on a reply from the promoter.

Fortean you gonna flick me ghat email? Damn I wish we had a pm on here! PATRICK !!

Once again I am the sole beneficiary of an Estate in Africa of approximately 7.5m USD.

The legal system in Togo is horrendous. It is so time consuming and costly to claim what is rightfully mine.

too late pal. I claimed it last week.

i got one this morning claiming ird owed me 11,000 odd dollars if i hit the link, decided not too click but hell i could do with 11 grand right now.

The fudgeing Hallensteins Brothers advertisements on TV.

Remembering youve cut your finger nails and then needing to have a good scoop around your nostrils

Remembering youve cut your finger nails and then needing to have a good scoop around your nostrils