Editorial: 5 ways Made Event can improve Governors Island for Summer 2012 (Update: Made Event responds!)
Photo is from Size Matters on Governors Island 2011. Notice the open tent.
This past weekend marked the opening of Governors Island for the summer, with Benny Benassi, Hardwell, Bingo Players, and Dallas K. Last year the island saw the likes of Avicii, Steve Angello, Bassnectar, and other artists who traveled to Pacha’s remote location, which proved to be a consistently awesome place to party. However, with Pacha opting to move their offerings elsewhere (or at least trying to), Made Event took over the island creating a different experience. I was upset to find that the venue wasn’t as I remembered, but it’s still very early in the summer and things can be improved. Here are is my list of 5 ways Made Event can improve Governors Island:
UPDATE: Made Event has responded to the problems and they said they are fixing everything we mentioned! Via: Facebook
5. Better crowd control: it shouldn’t take hours to get there
By the time I arrived there were already a few hundred people in line for the ferry, and the hour-long wait meant that I missed most of the Bingo Players’ set. The frustration was palpable, with others equally upset about the delay.
Once we finally got to the island, the ticket scanning procedure was a nightmare. The box office was in the way of the ticket line and it made for a very confusing flow of people. Using barriers to “funnel” the flow of people is not a viable solution to crowd control. A little bit more attention to detail here would make the process so much smoother. It’s okay that Made Event doesn’t control the ferries, but they can at least minimize time on either end.
4. Boxed water is awkward: give us real bottles (with caps)
I was surprised to see everyone drinking out of awkward white boxes, but was quickly informed that it wasn’t milk — but boxed water. To make matters worse, personnel confiscated the bottle caps, making reusing them difficult and conserving them nearly impossible. An EDM show isn’t like a sporting event where you have to worry about unruly fans throwing caps on the field — we just want to stay hydrated. For $5 a bottle a box, we deserve a cap.
3. Fix the bathroom situation: you can never have enough porta potties
I can’t speak for the ladies, but the bathroom situation for guys was downright shameful, at least for opening weekend. There were random pipes protruding from the walls of the real bathrooms and there were far too few porta-potties for the large Governors Island crowd.
After the experience waiting for the ferry, the last thing I wanted to do was waste time waiting for the bathroom. This is a simple fix, however: Simply add more porta potties and fix up the bathrooms: less time spent on line for a bathroom means more time spent enjoying music.
2. Make the most of the space: Bring back the picnic tables and ditch the tent
If you went to an event on Governors Island last year, you’ll remember the picnic tables at the opposite end of the beach and raised VIP areas along the sides. Well, those are gone this year — along with the massive steel structure — only to be replaced with a big white tent. To make matters worse, the bar was placed inside the tent, which caused even more chaos.
Part of the allure of Governors Island is the open-air venue and spectacular views of the city. Our suggestion is to bring back the old structure — or at least something similar. The bar should be placed in a less trafficked location, and it might actually lead to more drink sales instead of less. We will give Made Event credit for improving the lighting situation, but there is a way to make the most of the space and have an awesome production.
1. Fix the Speakers: Sound quality is not negotiable
The poor sound quality in the new space was probably my biggest complaint of the event, since the music is the real reason why everyone was there. Not only was the sound volume too low, the levels felt out of balance giving everything an overwhelming bass-heavy feel. There are no longer giant speaker towers facing the sand. Sure, the sound inside the center of the tent was great, but the closed tent kept the heat in and sometimes you need to take a break. The only speakers on the sand where individual speaker/sub combos that usually grace the sides of a PA system. Once you moved back towards the bathrooms the music was barely audible.
While changing the tent and some of our other solutions might not be possible this year, adding more speakers definitely is. Please bring back that monster sound, perfectly balanced which makes the artists sound better. Just adding two more speaker towers would make everything else forgivable.
The Bottom Line
Made Event is just beginning its summer with Governors Island, and with some adjustments it can become another hit. Electric Zoo is an awesome festival and we have no doubt they can repeat the experience outside Randalls Island (where Zoo takes place). The music was on point despite the circumstances: Hardwell played a killer set and Benny Benassi worked his magic to keep the crowd going all night. The artsist are really what matters at a dance show — and the talent was on point.
Governors Island is still one of the most scenic and awesome venues in NYC, and there’s a lot of summer left to fix these problems. Made Event will continue to hold down the outpost for Super You and Me with Laidback Luke on July 16th, before Pacha returns with Alesso in July. We’re sure that the island will get its mojo back, it just needs a little more time before it’s ready for a closeup.
Dylan Farella contributed to this article.
The crowd control was awful. I barely made it to my train at Grand Central, almost 2 hours after Benassi finished his set. They need more ferries
Well said! Sent an email direct to Made Event about some of these issues – no response.
Alesso’s event seems to be ran by Pacha- which i hope means that the setup will be similar to Steve Angello’s event because that placed bumped.
Getting in and leaving was the biggest cluster fuck i have ever experienced, and this event wasnt half the size of EDC or Ezoo. im going back this weekend to see Tommy Trash and Laidback Luke, and it sucks to know ill have to leave 3/4 the way thru Laidback’s set or else be forced to wait 2+ hours for a ferry back to NYC….. at least everyone will be dressed up as superheroes
Let’s see how it turns out lat laidback next week, I an a bit nervous because I’m going to the Dash Berlin show on the 30th and don’t want to deal with bs like that
il probably never attend another event hosted by “made events” .. i went to events last year hosted by pacha at govs island and it was SO MUCH BETTER… i feel bad for people going to laidback luke
Dancing Astronaut loses all credibility for terrible analysis of converts, tell me when does Hardwell play a set with promises by Nero and ghosts n’ stuff by deadmau5, and is on stage for an hour and plays only one of his songs. Stop trying to be PR reps and give actual analysis.
DallasK crushed it!!!!
No mention of the fact the the whole back end of the island wasn’t used I liked that other other section with less known DJs and the ferry line was retarded I waited longer last week then I did the 4 times I went to Govs last year put together let’s see if they fix anything for this weekend
Worst experience ever will never go back again I can hear my music somewhere else where I’m not treated like an animal getting squished to death just get on a ferry w no respect for the staff
Don’t forget about Dash Berlin june 30th
Such true calls, very good article. The sound quality at Benny & friends was almost insulting, way too bass heavy I couldn’t even identify some of the songs. Boxed water without a cap is the worst idea ever, they need to change that or I think its going to hurt them in the long run
couldn’t agree more, leaving the venue was a night mare as well, one or two ferries operating for that amount of people is ridiculous, im going back to see laid-back luke and tommy trash this weekend. Hopefully they can get their acts together this time and people won’t have to miss the first 1/2 of the show waiting for ferries/entering the concert venue. Also hope they fixed the sound issue!
I completely agree with everything written in this article. I planned on catching Bingo Players’ entire set last Saturday so I got on line for the ferry at 5p.m. thinking that would be plenty of time to get there. I couldn’t imagine the line taking more than an hour.
Boy, was I wrong. I didn’t get to Governor’s Island until after 7p.m. And I even got to cut the line when I found out a friend was ahead of me!
The ferry process was absurdly long. They seriously need extra boats or better yet, stop having shows on an island I can’t get to by myself! There are better venues for shows like this (Roseland? Terminal?). Having a show on an island doesn’t make it better. I wouldn’t even be going to Laidback Luke this weekend if I didn’t buy tickets for both events at the same time.
Thanks for defending us with this article Jesse. Luckily, you’re in a position where your complaints will be heard. Let’s hope something is actually done and we aren’t just written off like everyone else who ever complains about getting treated like farm animals at these events.
I have to agree. The bathrooms were the most disgusting thing I have ever seen at an event. Ever. Ever. Please bring back the steel structure from last year. This tent is just not cutting it. Not diggin it. Sure if it rains…its a lifesaver. But something about the open structure that’s just magical on Governors Island.
I have to disagree. An event at Governors Island is waaaay better than Roseland. In the summer…yes. A lot better.
Check Made Event’s Facebook! they’re fixing everything!. And I agree Eduardo there is just something about being on the island with unbelievable views of NYC that just make it amazing
what email address did you send it to?
Great vibe on that Island!
They “claim” to be fixing everything. We’ll find out this Saturday if that’s true.
And don’t get me wrong, I like Governor’s Island but when it takes 2 hours to get there and almost 2 hours to get off, the view doesn’t cancel out the frustration I’m feeling and the vibes are long gone at that point.
Electric Zoo (which I’m aware is also run by Made) is done way better because it’s on Randall’s Island. You can drive there, take a bus, take a ferry, or walk across the bridge. Having options divides the flow and getting there is a breeze. Governor’s Island doesn’t have all of those options, which to me, makes it unfit for any high volume event.
The reason why I say Roseland + Terminal 5 are better venues is because you walk right in and begin to party immediately. When I have to wait 2 hours on a line to get on the island and then 2 more hours to get off it, the benefits of being on an island are lost for me.
According to a post Made Event just made, the boxed water is here to stay (for now) and they’ll be giving out free tap water at the bars. Whether or not they’ll let us keep the caps this time is unclear. My main concern now is how disastrous the bar situation is going to be with the free water…It was already bad enough…They should have a bar, or some type of stand even, dedicated to giving out water.
Just got back from Laidback…looks like they read your article and listened…Great night…Congrats to Madeevent for actually following up with feedback.
Boxed water is much better than bottled water. For the hundreds of boxes/bottles everyone throws at their feet, I’d rather walk on top of a flattened piece of cardboard than a plastic bottle. And the whole Green Earth thing.