Bring The Noise - Handling Noise Complaints

Back in the early days of my venue management career, I had an stalker. Well, maybe not a stalker, per say...although I spoke with her often enough to recognize her telephone number when it came across my desk. Her name was Mary (or as I half-affectionately referred to her, Crazy Mary), and she lived in a neighborhood not far from our venue. I would receive at least one call from her during most concerts, although (thankfully) not with any amorous intentions. No, she’s call to complain. Loudly. About the noise. Never mind that the venue had been active for nearly a decade before the subdivision she lived in was even built...our horrible little outpost of sin and vice was destroying the purity of her sleepy Midwest suburbia, and she demanded that we tell those heathens on our stage turn it down. Tell that to Lemmy, ma’am.

When it comes to concert production, Abraham Lincoln was right - you can’t please everyone all of the time* . No matter how respectful of your surroundings you may be, sooner or later you will encounter a noise complaint (or several). When that fateful day does come, dealing with your disgruntled neighbors will require more than a half-hearted apology and filing away the complainants name. Dealing with such complaints and minimizing them in the future requires several proactive steps.

Anticipate issues before they arise- A sad reality about noise complaints - most people who complain about the volume level at your event are not really complaining about the volume at all. Whether they admit to it or not, most are actually complaining about the music itself, or the audience which the concert attracts. Volume is simply a convenient, socially “safe” excuse to express their displeasure with what is occurring on their doorstep.

One venue in which I worked was situated adjacent to a pricey yacht club....one of those sweater and boat-shoes type places you thought only existed in John Hughes movies. Despite the obvious culture clash between our two establishments, the relationship was remarkably friendly. Most nights, boaters were regularly seen lounging dockside, drinks in hand, soaking in the free sounds on a warm summer night. That is, until we hosted a nationally-promoted hip-hop tour at the venue. Although the exact number of noise complaints escapes me now, they numbered in the dozens, which was more than the venue had garnered during the entire season beforehand. Yet in terms of volume, the monitored sound level was no different than the hundreds of concerts produced previously. All that differed was the artist on stage, and the people in the audience.

I have no intention of arguing the social implications of this phenomena (although it IS tempting). Rather, I mention it to show that knowing what events are likely to raise complaints is the first step to proactively dealing with them. Research your venue’s complaint history, and make an effort to know the demographics of your area. These actions may not tell you exactly which shows you should worry about currently, but it may give you a partial snapshot so you can estimate your complaint level.

Plan ahead - By knowing what types of shows are likely to garner complaints (as mentioned previously), as well as the general area in which the noise complaints arise from (more on that in a moment), you can take additional steps to minimize any potential impact your noise levels may have. Adjusting your stage position and show/set times are just two ways in which you can help limit noise and minimize complaints.

Take complaints seriously - when a noise complaint does arise, by all means TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. Never, ever ignore their grievance or treat it with anything other than complete seriousness (which I’ll admit is often very difficult). There may be little that you can actually do at the current time, but a bit of understanding and compassion can go a long way in avoiding an escalation of the situation. Escalation usually involves the local police, who are usually much harder to appease once they've been called. Listen to their complaint, offer to do what you can, and be sure to get their name, address, and telephone number. This is important to identify what areas are being impacted by excessive noise, and so that you can....

Follow up with them - Based on their complaint, take whatever steps you feel prudent to prevent another complaint (structural changes, lower noise guidelines, bribery). Following the next event, reach out to those persons who previously complained, even if they didn’t do so this time. Inquire as to if there were any issues this time around, and casually mention the mitigation efforts you put in place based upon their initial complaint. This will send the signal that you are concerned with their well being, and will (hopefully) warm them to your cause enough to prevent additional complaints.

Unless, of course, you work near Crazy Mary.

* In actuality, Lincoln is generally quoted using the word “fool” in place of “pleased”. Who knows where this common substitution began, or who was actually responsible for it. But since Lincoln himself likely nicked the quote from Lydgate, Aesop, or one of the other 500 sources its attributed to, I figure he wouldn’t mind some (potentially) unfounded credit.