Fringe Foul: Don’t get between me and my beer!
Closing time is a simple concept. At 12:25 am, the bartender announces, “Last Call at 12:30!” As I select my beverage (from the Baldacchino Gypsy Tent bar’s refreshingly delectable beer menu), the bartender explains that Fringe’s alcohol permit extends only until 1 a.m., so I will have to finish my beverage before then. Perfectly understandable.
So please explain to me why the Fringe beer police start grabbing cups out of your hands at 12:40 a.m.! Last Saturday night, my friend got up from our table to make room in her bladder to finish her beer, and when she got back at 12:45, her beer had been confiscated—against our protestations. This Saturday night, after being harassed every 5 minutes by said beer police, the editor of this City Paper blog had his nearly full bottle swiped from under his nose at 12:48. We were informed that Alcohol Beverage Control has been cracking down (they don’t like ‘em theatre-types, I reckon).
Look, I’m not trying to get Fringe in trouble with the law, but I think I can finish my beer in 10 minutes. I mean, I made it through college. If Fringe is really concerned about the law, then change closing time at 12:45. Otherwise, let a guy drink his beer in peace.
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2:51 pm
While we’re making minor (Ok, to me beer and hotdogs are minor) complaints about the Gypsy tent:
I have worked at a restaurant, albeit briefly. But long enough that I do get that the kitchen gets behind. But the primary purpose is to feed people who are going to shows. So if it’s going to take fifteen minutes to get a hot dog with nothing on it, the person manning the counter should probably say “Hey, it’s going to be 15 minutes, is that ok?”
I had to yell “Cancel the order for Suzyn, you can keep the money” and jet off the other night. It’s not a big deal, but a warning that things were slow would have been nice.
4:48 pm
In their defense, they advised me against ordering a burger half an hour before a show at the tent, so some warnings are going out.
2:45 pm
Suzyn is right about the food orders at the tent taking too long. Lots of aspects of Fringe are very well organized (have you noticed how well the program is indexed?), but the food service needs remedial management. Maybe the answer is more staff, or maybe finding some bottleneck in the process and fixing it.
3:14 pm
The bar is just problematic in general, I think. Or maybe I’m just bitter about my experience seeing FREAKSHOW on Friday night. But I don’t get how anyone thought that you could have a bar area that wouldn’t get loud enough to disturb people on the other side of a canvas sheet no matter HOW MANY signs you put up asking people to be quiet.
As far as the food goes I dunno why they have anything that needs cooking beyond a microwave. Pre-wrapped sandwiches a la the grocery store deli seem like the way to go.
3:54 pm
Pre-wrapped sandwiches is a great idea for those with time constraints. However, once warned about the lag time, I did enjoy the grilled food and prefer it, if I have the time… (too bad they seem to have to harvest the foods themselves in the time it takes them to fill out an order).
But, while you wait, did I mention the fantastic beer menu. And it is a two-way curtain: barflies get to hear a show for free…
4:13 pm
Actually, with the way the acoustics seem to work in the tent, the sound travels up from the bar area, bounces off the roof of the tent, and lands smack dab in the middle of the stage. (The drapes do not go all the way to the ceiling.) Some of it also bounces off of the back wall/flat on the stage–making it sound like there’s a party in the back alleyway. Since my character never moves from her up-center perch, I’ve had a front-row seat, so to speak, for this phenomenon. It’s like doing a show with a loud crowd creeping up on you from behind. It’s been a very strange thing to get used to, ignoring the people laughing behind you *who don’t even exist!* Like having a haunted tent
The most frustrating noises–for me, anyway–have actually come from the bar staff, who have been nothing but nice in general, but who also don’t seem to realize just how loud it is on stage when they tap a keg or drag a bucket of ice around. I know they have jobs to do, and I’m thankful for the refreshments (and, dang!, those are some good hot dogs), but maybe they could do some of the louder tasks between shows?
I haven’t heard anyone say that they could hear us from the other side of the drape; on the contrary, I’ve only heard comments from audiences members who couldn’t hear us on stage, even when sitting in the front. Are the acoustics working strangely in both directions? I’m honestly curious about that.
Don, thanks for coming to see FREAKSHOW. I hope we were able to keep your attention over any distractions you may have had
6:02 pm
The “venue managers” have started warning people when they walk in the gate that a performance is going on, but obviously something needs to give. The bar & food area is understaffed, but providing more staff would mean more people would be ordering beer & food in the area outside the tent, and milling about with their beer & food, which would mean more noise.