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Review: The Hague Jazz 2011

(Mon 20 June 2011)

After the perfect start to The Hague Jazz Festival last Wednesday evening when Grace Jones wowed a sell out crowd, the main event began in full on Friday night. Here's the report from Neal and Helen McClimon.

The crowd numbered around 6000 people for the first evening of jazz entertainment. My first thoughts were how much fresher it was than at the hot overcrowded indoor venue of the World Forum from the previous years. As this was the first year for this event to take place at the Kyocera stadion there were always going to be a few teething problems and so it proved.

The major headache for people was the queues to get the food and drink tokens, most selling points were positioned in awkward places for ease of use, especially the one at the main stadium entrance. The queue stretched right across the main walkway between to the two biggest venues, causing a lot of pushing and shoving. I think it might have been better if they had placed four additional selling points outside the stadium before people entered the event, making for a lot less strain on customers.

Grace Jones

I also saw many people tripping over the guide ropes around the tents, luckily I saw nobody hurt, but I suspected that would change as the bigger crowds of Saturday and Sunday arrived. There were too many bolts sticking up, so adding some kind of fencing around these areas or some large plant or lamp to ensure people avoided tripping would make things safer.

A big improvement this year was that there seemed to be more refreshment vendors dotted around everywhere. There was plenty of choice of what to eat and drink and everyone seemed happy enough with their sustenance. There were also plenty of opportunities to buy music, posters and instruments around the stadium as well as sufficient toilet facilities that were kept immaculately clean throughout the festival.

OK, that was the venue sorted, now to the shows. Being a semi-outdoor event some of the atmosphere was lost compared to previous years, but I believe people were happier in the new location as there was more freedom to move and relax between bands.

Bobby Womack
There was a real eclectic mix of styles spread around the stages from cool soul to swing to acid jazz. The performing areas varied from the two large tents to the small cosier venues within the stadium walls. The highlights for me on the first night were, Waylon, a young Dutch guy who is growing in stature and doing well in the United States already. The big names of Soul legend Bobby Womack and the legendary Grace Jones went down fantastically with the crowds. Also impressed with Gareth Lockrane’s Grooveyard, simple music of Sax and flute, great to chill out too.

On Saturday night the crowds poured through the gates and then you could see where the new venue was struggling. It was no means the venue that was to blame but the organisation. I wanted to go and see Monsieur Dubois in “Nina’s Overnight” area. The doors were locked until fifteen minutes before the show. As this area was at the top of two flights of stairs people had to queue down the stairs, as start time approached it was packed solid.

People wanting to go downstairs had no chance whatsoever. When the doors did open, everybody flooded into the room which I estimate could hold around 350 people.

After five minutes I gave up and had to fight my way back out. There must have been at least 400 plus people in there and people were still trying to get in! Gareth Lockrane's Grooveyard

It was completely over-crowded and totally unsafe if anything had gone wrong The room got so hot that people were sweating profusely. Lots of others gave up too and followed me out, all with the same complaints.

That problem could easily have been rectified with limits on each room and someone to count people in and then shut the doors. Allowing blocked stairways was not good either. The other big problem was gaining entry in and out of the stadium reception area to gain access to the four stages inside the stadium. Small doors allowing those trying to get in to one concert after another just finished causing bottlenecks on both sides of the doors as lots of people indulged in a semi rugby scrum. Yet again this was a problem that could have easily been controlled. People entering the stadium should have gone in through main entrance, those leaving should have been directed into the inner stadium walkways which where always empty and led to a large gate for people to leave outside.

After only one hour there I had had enough and decided to leave. On the way out I did mange to catch the end of the show by Gino Vannelli who was great, backed by the full Metropole Orchestra: Big sound big performance.

Going back to the car I met several other groups of people who were leaving very early. When I asked them why? All came up with the same reasons I have mentioned earlier.

So in conclusion, with only 6000 people there are Friday night, the venue coped easily, but with the bigger turnout on the Saturday, it left a lot to be desired in terms of organisation. The Kyocera stadion as the host venue was and is a good choice. Hopefully this event will be held there again next year, all that is needed is a bit more thought on how to get people to the different stages easier and to limit numbers attending the smaller areas. A few booths outside the main stadium selling the food and beer tokens and all would be rectified easily and everybody would then be much happier.