Thoughts, observations, and opinions from the Fairgrounds about Jazz Fest 2015 from Web Editor Stephen Maloney.

It happens every year. Someone watching some band at some stage decides everyone in front of them just has to go.

This year, maybe I’ve been lucky. It took four and a half days of gloriously conflict-free Jazz Fest before the complaints and the complainers found me.

Now, Jazz Fest is an outdoor festival, and as far as outdoor festivals go, it is probably run better and more efficiently than just about any other outdoor festival in the world.

Except on the days when the Fairgrounds seems to be bursting at the seams with music lovers on a pilgrimage to see their favorite bands, you can always find an open bathroom and a short beer line pretty quickly.

None of the complaints I have with Jazz Fest ever really have to do with the festival itself or how it is organized and run.

Some of the people attending, on the other hand, can be terrible.

For some reason, any time anyone finds a way to sit down in a chair, and it could be any kind of chair in absolutely any corner of Jazz Fest, the seated person always seems to feel that they own every inch of Jazz Fest in front of them.

Like homesteaders on the wild and unsettled lands of the Midwest in the 1800s, these seated music fans have planted their flag, and anyone who has the gall to stand up and watch music within a 180 degree radius had better beware.

When I made my way over to the Lagniappe stage to see Maggie Koerner yesterday afternoon, I really thought the most uncomfortable thing I would encounter would be the fact that she sang with Galactic on the Gentilly Stage last year, and now she was singing on her own hours before they took the Acura Stage with a new singer this year.

Boy, was I wrong.

Koerner absolutely owned the stage, and she had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.

Her powerful lyrics and dynamic stage presence ruled the day, and had everyone paying close attention–everyone except the older gentleman seated to my right wearing a ventilated and sweat-wicking fishing shirt and a big floppy fishing hat.

That guy thought felony charges should be brought up against any and every person criminal enough to stand in the aisles to watch the show.

And he said as much. Loudly. For most of the set.

The college guys who happened to be standing in front of him politely responded to the fisherman’s angry demands by informing him that Jazz Fest is a general admission event and everyone attending has the right to stand wherever they choose.

Not good enough for the fisherman. (Isn’t there some kind of rule that you should only be able to wear fishing shirts on the days when you are actually fishing? Maybe there should be).

His complaints got more and more aggressive, and he eventually ended up standing up in the aisle himself to yell at the much younger kids face to face.

Eventually everyone sort of wandered away disgustedly, and I’m sure the angry fisherman thinks he scored a victory for the oppressed seated minority of Jazz Fest.

I just think we would have all been better served if everyone realized that they were a part of a crowd tens of thousands of people strong.

We all need to be kinder and more understanding, especially in a crowd that big.

After all, we all go to Jazz Fest for the same reason, right?

If someone stands in front of you, shift in your seat. If you want to sit down, be aware that most people at Jazz Fest stand up, and the odds of someone standing in front of you are probably pretty high.

There has to be a way for everyone to enjoy the show, seated and standing.

Yelling at each other when we should be dancing certainly isn’t it.