Festival’s revamped logistics get mixed reviews

For rock fans, Tuesday night at Bluesfest was all about the show that would be put on by the massively popular Foo Fighters.

For organizers, however, the night focused on logistics: how do you get tens of thousands of people into the park, manage them while they’re there and then get them out again?

Leading up to Tuesday’s show, organizers had predicted Dave Grohl and his bandmates would draw the biggest crowds of the two- week festival and that was surely cause for some concern. During the festival’s first weekend, attendees had complained about long lines, problems with ticketing and security and trouble getting home.

Organizers were confident going in that these problems had been alleviated, if not remedied entirely, and they could handle the crowd of upward of 30,000 people.

“This is a huge night for sure,” said Chris, a volunteer with the festival. “Like Snoop Dogg levels of big.”

There were mixed reviews when it came to how well the festival prepared for and handled those increased numbers. One woman and her group of friends, shortly after clearing security, said they had “breezed through” and lines were “much better than last year.”

Others were less impressed. While taking a break in a nearby tent stage, a woman named Jada said she still saw problems. Asked if the organizers were handling the crowds well enough, she said, “Reactively? Yes. Proactively? No.” When she got to the grounds, she said, organizers still seemed to be moving fences around rather than having them ready for early crowds.

But she didn’t let it ruin her time. “As a concertgoer, you have to expect it,” she said.

In the end, the crowds came out for a rock concert and a rock concert they did receive.

“I know this is a blues fest,” said Grohl, the Foo Fighters’ lead singer, who evidently has not looked at the variety in Bluesfest lineups for the last couple years, “but I’m here to play some f ***ing rock ’n’ roll.”