May 5, 2008
Radiohead Asks the Impossible of D.C. Fans
Today, Radiohead kicks off its In Rainbows world tour in West Palm Beach, Florida, which means that D.C.-area fans are mere days away from getting their fix.
The boys from Oxfordshire dispatched a press release today, announcing the launch of a new section on their website: The Most Gigantic Flying Mouth For Sometime. Die hards will undoubtedly note the allusion to the Hail to the Thief-era video series, but this particular announcement has far less to do with warped videos of marionettes and Thom Yorke talking about “petrol” in a pitch-shifted voice. Oh wait — maybe it does have something to do with petrol after all: it’s a website about what Radiohead is doing to help combat climate change while on tour.
According to the release, the band commissioned a report by carbon footprint analysts Best Foot Forward on the environmental impact of its two previous tours. Unsurprisingly, fans driving to the venues was found to account for the greatest amount of carbon generated.
“After the Radiohead commissioned report by Best Foot Forward was published, a lot of questions were asked about the way that we tour,” Radiohead tour production manager Richard Young wrote on the Flying Mouth blog. “The main issue is how the audience moves to and from the show. With the location and public transport links now a more significant factor when choosing venues, fans are being encouraged to think about alternative ways of traveling.” To further encourage fans to take public transit, the band has even launched a carbon calculator, which allows show goers to calculate the amount of carbon they will generate on the way to the show, depending on their chosen mode of transport.
This is all fairly ironic, however, if you consider the fact that there’s really no eco-friendly route to the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va. There's no Metrorail or Metrobus routes that go to the venue whatsoever, as far as we can tell. Driving is just about the only way to get to the Pavilion, which means that the band’s D.C. date is bound to generate a whole lot of carbon despite Yorke and Co’s urgings.
Just how much carbon, you ask? Well, considering that Nissan is just about 35 miles outside of D.C. proper, and assuming that the average showgoer rides with one other person and considering that there are 25,000 ticket holders for the sold-out gig, we arrive at a rough figure of 34.98 kg of carbon dioxide per person, according to Radiohead’s calculator. That’s an estimated 874,500 kg of CO2 that will be generated just by fans traveling to one show.
Admittedly, the band didn’t have a whole lot of choice in picking a D.C. venue. As we’ve noted before, Nissan is an odd choice for Radiohead. Yet, it’s hard to think of another venue in the area that could accommodate a band of Radiohead’s popularity. Merriweather only holds 16,500; Wolf Trap a mere 7,000. Even the gargantuan “Phone Booth” holds just over 20,000 at maximum capacity—and probably wouldn’t be an ideal place to see Radiohead anyway.
To the band’s credit, they’ve advocated that those who cannot travel via public transit make use of a “full car." Still, it seems like there must be some other way that Radiohead could make this show a little greener. Perhaps they could have lobbied Metro for a rainbow line out to Bristow, or at least, a special one-day-only bus route? Or have forgone one night at Nissan for a month-long residency at the 9:30? More realistically, the band could probably afford to donate a portion of the profit from each ticket to a carbon offset program or environmental organization. Got your own idea? Put on your thinking cap and let us know in the comments, we’re all ears. And feel free to organize those ride shares here in the comment section.
Radiohead photo by Colin Greenwood, courtesy of Nasty Little Man
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As a DC United season ticket holder, I'd have hated to see the field torn up, but, well, Radiohead could've sold out RFK (especially since it seats about 9,000 fewer folks than it used to, thanks to the baseball reconfiguration that remains even though the Nats are gone). Much smaller carbon footprint, and 20,000+ more tickets sold.
Oh well...
Nice bit of sanctimonious douchery, Radiohead. If you're really concerned about carbon emissions, don't schedule concerts in the least transit-accessible venue in the Western Hemisphere. Otherwise, STFU.
Also, isn't there a brand-new, 42,000-seat entertainment venue right in the District that sits empty for the vast majority of the year and a good portion of the summer?
I hate to admit that I bought my tickets through LiveNation, but did anyone else notice that EACH ticket includes a $6 parking fee (this was also the case with Ticketmaster)? I'm carpooling with three friends anyway but wtf?
I'm not defending Radiohead here, because I have been pissed off about this DC venue choice from the moment it was announced (and this is even after I snagged tickets, which I almost didn't try to do because it was at Nissan).
And I'm not too familiar with how concert tours work, but I think that Live Nation is doing their US tour, which probably was a factor in what venue they picked here. Nissan Pavilion, Nationals Park and RFK (good call, EdTheRed) seem to be the only DC area venues run by Live Nation that are large enough for the Radiohead crowd (here is a complete list of DC area venues. A Live Nation guy next to a venue name means it's run by them. Verizon Center and Merriweather are not LN venues).
I feel like RFK would have been a perfect option.
Also, I saw Jay-Z and MJB at the Phone Booth. I expected it to be terrible, thinking it would be like watching a concert in a gymnasium (like Bender Arena at American which is a gymnasium). But it was actually fantastic. One of the better venues I've ever been to for a large show like that.
RFK is a great place for a show like this. Super-accessible by mass transit and car alike, and a great atmosphere for a show, to boot. Somebody fucked up.
may i hitch a ride with someone to the venue from somewhere in DC or VA (union station or vienna metro respectively?)...i dont have a car and i bought tickets when there was supposedly a bus taking people from those two stops to the venue...apparently they had to cancel that service last minute :(
please contact me at nrmstealth@gmail.com
id be happy to split gas costs :)
-nik
also...for others in my situation...
maybe we can split a cab from vienna metro to the venue?
again pls contact me at nrmstealth@gmail.com
thanks!
-nik
agree with everyone who thinks this should have been at rfk. you fucked this one up, greenwood (you think thom had anything to do with this decision?)
i think that we have a full car (5 people) for the show, but let me check if there's an extra seat, nik...
like the band members themselves painstakingly looked at every venue on their tour... Isn't that kinda asking too much of the band? Aren't they just supposed to play good music and do rockstar things like try to save the world?
Is any local entertainment reporter going to interview the band when in town? It would be an interesting topic to bring up to them. Or maybe they'll get the idea as the tour bus drives out there and they wonder, "Where the heck is this arena?!"
desaparecido: hey, they're the ones who insisted on making the issue of a tour's carbon footprint a big thing. like it or not, they need to deal with the (valid) criticism now.
Yes, so IF you carpool, then you are paying $24 to park, whereas if you decide you're going to drive by your lonesome, you only pay $6...
Unless this parking is a carbon offset, it's kind of a bunch of crap.
I am surprised some right wing nuts haven't jumped all over these hippy-crites.
I am also looking for a carpool for two passengers from Union Station or any metro stop... when we bought the tickets the band's website had said something about a bus; now that service is no longer mentioned and we don't have a car. Or let me know if you'd like to split a taxi?
I'd be more than happy to help pay for gas, parking, etc.
Please let me know at kibblesandbits@gmail.com
Thanks!
I don't care if John Bonham comes back from the dead and Led Zeppelin plays a single reunion show at Nissan Pavilion, I will not go there ever again.
That place is the worst venue on the planet for a hundred reasons having nothing to do with lack of public transportation. The sound sucks, it takes three hours to get out of the parking lot after a show, the traffic management is horrible, security is obnoxious.
There's no excuse for anyone who gives a crap about their fans to play there. Play two nights at Merriweather, or play a big show at RFK, or come up with a creative solution like something on the mall. Anything. But I'd rather drive to f$&cking Philadelphia than see a show at Nissan Pavilion.
jamie: i fear what you're talking about, and i swore i'd never head that far into the virginia hinterlands to see a show, but it's radiohead. and, for the record, i would take a viking ship to greenland to see zombie john bonham play with the boys...
I'd gladly be chained up next to you at the oars in that viking ship. A few days of hard labor, salt tack and a bit o' whipping is still preferable to the hell that is Nissan.
::walks in out of breath with oars in hand:: Someone mentioned something about John Bonham and a Viking ship to Greenland?
voteprime: i think we just got the idea for the first annual dcist commenter bash.
@IMGoph: It will be awesome. Led Zeppelin will perform with a zombie John Bonham on the drums, video of State skits will be playing on a screen in the background, the Banana Colonics will flow like water, and then when it's done we'll all get on our computers and whine about what we should have done differently. I CANNOT WAIT!!!
The concert tees will be awesome! "Worst undead reunion show ever" on the front, and a map of Greenland on the back.
Dreamy
I'm sorry, did guest 33 just morph his/her avatar into a banana colonic?
Hello everyone. I'm dying to see Radiohead too, but as zillions above mentioned transportation is a huge issue. Can I and another friend hitch a ride with someone? Will pay for gas and parking... might even sing on the way there ; )... Pick up from any metro station.
kulaligil@gmail.com
Thanks Guys.
I too have sworn off this shitty venue. Instead I'm flying to Toronto on the second leg of the tour for a weekend of fun at America's hat. How's that for carbon impact?
What ever the plan was, it didn't work. Thousands of people were turned away from the Bristow, Virginia show. After thousands of cars waited in traffic for four hours, they were turned away because the concert was over by the time they got there. How's that for a carbon footprint? Wasted gas, wasted time, and very disappointed fans. Someone should do something about this...It's a lot of fun looking at unused tickets.
amen, misti.
a 6-hour burger king run.
that's what the trip to nissan turned into for me, my roommate, and his girlfriend. i can at least say, as a positive, that my first trip to a fast-food restaurant in 3 years led to the knowledge that burger king has veggie burgers...
anyone want to buy 3 unused radiohead tickets?
Led Zeppelin will perform with a zombie John Bonham on the drums, video of State skits will be playing on a screen in the background, the Banana Colonics will flow like water
My first nominee for the "Sounds Like Monkey" post of the week is . . .
After being stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours in what should have been a 45 minute drive, we made it there in time to see the last 20 minutes of the show. Then it took another 2 hours just to get out of the parking lot. Nissan Pavilion...never again.
Hey DCist, let's have a roundup today of how terrible this experience was for nearly everyone last night. All I could think of last night while sitting in a car for 8 hours was how much Live Nation and the conglomerated music promotion business in general actually despises its fans. To continually have concerts at a venue that was so terribly conceived and planned, just shows that they really hate us, because they know there's enough people who like "band X" enough to come back and try to endure the misery. Go and google Nissan Pavilion and any combination of "misery" "agony," and "hell on earth." I just did. It was enlightening.
The disconnect between Radiohead's desire to reduce emissions and playing at quite possibly the absolute worst place they could have played is alarming. Play two nights at Verizon or at RFK next time.
Radiohead again? Probably. Nissan Pavilion? never in a million years. Worst venue I've ever been to.
We spent 3 hours in traffic and I couldn't help remembering this post and bringing it up as a discussion topic—Old Town to RFK would have been easier, and we'd've been able to see the show. Arrived in Bristow at 7:30 and were turned away by the police at about 10:30. About an hour from DC, less than an hour back... and three hours in standstill on a five-mile detour due to an access road getting rained out. Nice one, I'm sure the contingency planners had no idea it could happen.
I thought the Patriot Center was bad, but I'm not going back to Bristow. No one else in the car had seen them before.
At least we can rely on the 9:30 tonight.