So now it is basically Bunbury in OTR in September....

So now it is basically Bunbury in OTR in September....

 

...in a parking lot.

taestell[/member] - what's the venue for that last photo you posted?

^I don't want to speak for taestell[/member], but I believe that's the basement of The Phoenix.

I'm not buying the excuse that the old format wasn't sustainable. It sustained itself for 15 years. I think these changes are a cash grab and nothing else. They took an event that was very popular, generated enough revenue to cover expenses, but didn't rake in profits, and turned it into something that could line pockets. I'd be extremely surprised if one of the key goals for MEMI wasn't to figure out how to make MPMF as profitable as possible.

Yeah this is definitely a bummer. My favorite part of MPMF was how packed OTR would get the weekend of the festival. For a weekend in September, OTR turned into a mini Brooklyn, and it was awesome to see so many people out hopping from venue to venue. That said, my favorite shows at the festival have been at the stages set up in parking lots/vacant lots. Last year it was the stage by Moerlein, and before that they used to have the stage and tent at Grammers. Those shows just always felt more like a true festival vibe than any of the smaller shows at the indoor venues. If the trade off of having the festival confined to 4 stages means that they get to pull in larger acts, then perhaps I won't mind this move so much. OTR will still be bumping that weekend. We shall see.

^I don't want to speak for taestell[/member], but I believe that's the basement of The Phoenix.

 

The venue was called the "Cincinnati Club" and was in the basement of the Phoenix. Entrance was off of Garfield.

What's also cool about the multi-venue format is that a lot of them had full bars. That's good for someone like me who would rather have a whiskey or two rather than having to guzzle Budweisers like an '80s autoworker. A lot of times out in fields or lots they only sell Bud products, PBRs and "good beers". I don't like most "good beers" and don't like paying for them either.

The new format takes away the charm and the magic. Some of my best memories are biking from one part of the basin to another on a crisp early fall night, dog-eared schedule with various acts circled hanging out of my back pocket. Losing friends and then finding them all again at the midnight show.

 

That is not midpoint anymore. I always presumed that I would end up digging some of the random bands so any perceived upgrade to the lineup this year doesn't carry much weight with me. Maybe some of the bars will find a way to capitalize, hold supplemental shows and keep things going late night. The new format isn't bad, it just isn't the same. You can argue the positives of the new format, but I'll miss the old.

I like showing up to a place and not moving for 5-8 hours.  If you want to explore a city that has a music event, do it on your own time. 

 

They don't do it anymore but for about 20 years Bogart's had the high school band challenge in the fall and the Rumble during the summer.  You watched 5-7 local bands play 20 or 30 minute sets with a 15-20 minute break between them.  Everyone saw all of the same bands because there weren't other stages.  Nobody was screwing around with their phones because nobody had them.  There was nowhere to escape from the music.  You went there and you watched the bands. 

 

That's not what Midpoint or any of these festivals are.  They're mostly events to be seen at.  Part of seeing an act is seeing them with their crowd.  Seeing a band at a festival doesn't really count as having seen them.   

What a load of horse crap that last part of your statement is. Pretty on par from what I'd expect from you on the topic, but still a load of horse crap.

MOTR's response:

 

Well, I've only been to a few hundred concerts in a few dozen cities, along with having played in a half dozen bands. 

 

I had this exact conversation about the lameness of multi-stage festivals with two random people in the past two weeks.  There are plenty of people out there who think the same way I do, esp people who were "there" back before the internet and phones ruined DIY culture. 

You're just bitter about culture and the world though. Your viewpoint is so exceptionally biased towards an excruciatingly tiresome romanticized view of the past that you've convinced yourself that the period in which you grew up was by far the pinnacle of everything you enjoy and therefore everything now is garbage and ruined. Read your posts one day with an objective view and tell me I'm wrong.

I wish I was older so I could have really experienced music when it reached its peak in 1996. All of your posts make me jealous you got to live in the golden age of music, Jake.

Well, I've only been to a few hundred concerts in a few dozen cities, along with having played in a half dozen bands. 

 

I had this exact conversation about the lameness of multi-stage festivals with two random people in the past two weeks.  There are plenty of people out there who think the same way I do, esp people who were "there" back before the internet and phones ruined DIY culture. 

 

It's just too hard to get people out to see 1-3 bands since people have a lot less free time these days. The other problem is that music was already getting very segmented by the '90s which then got overboosted by the internet.

Arnold's is upset too:

 

I absolutely loved walking down Main St. during Midpoint and hearing music streaming out of MOTR, Woodward, Mr. Pitifuls, Cincy by the Slice, Drinkery etc.. all at the same time. There was so much energy and life to that street during Midpoint weekend, you could step into to any of the venues and discover somebody new and possibly go into a bar or venue that you formerly wouldn't have gone in to. I will really miss that.

 

The one question I have is if they wanted to have all the venues together in one area why they didn't stay in Washington Park? If congregating in one area with less musical conflicts is what they are shooting for, then keep it an Washington Park set up two big stages in open area (which run in back-to-back time slots for no overlap), and put a smaller DJ tent in the trees, and have some local/smaller acts play on the gazebo. That would've at least still felt like it was in OTR... though I still would've been depressed by the change. The OTR Chamber should somehow step in, I mean this isn't some out of town promoter, it's the CSO right? I feel like we can't be the only ones pissed off about this.

Well, I've only been to a few hundred concerts in a few dozen cities, along with having played in a half dozen bands. 

 

I had this exact conversation about the lameness of multi-stage festivals with two random people in the past two weeks.  There are plenty of people out there who think the same way I do, esp people who were "there" back before the internet and phones ruined DIY culture.

 

It's all about perspective and how interested in a band you are. One year I literally ran from Christian Morelein to a bar on like 5th or 6th to catch a band I wanted to see and not miss it. Whenever I tell someone about that they look at me like I'm crazy, but I'm full of pride. Thats part of the spirit of midpoint for me, the journey is part of it. Also I can't believe they did this cuz it would have showcased the streetcar like mad, people packing in to get to Taft or Arnold's from Washington park or Morelein.

I do wonder if this is temporary though, maybe after music hall and memorial are done they'll focus in there and then have a couple stages in Washington park.

I wish I was older so I could have really experienced music when it reached its peak in 1996. All of your posts make me jealous you got to live in the golden age of music, Jake.

 

 

The same sort of newer, lesser-known bands that play Midpoint also play the Northside Rock Carnival, but it's not as well attended, despite being free.  People who say they really love seeing the lesser-known bands at Midpoint aren't being honest with themselves because they're not going to the effort to find these acts on a regular basis, or even attending similar music festival events in this city.  Things like Midpoint (and obviously SWSX, which was its model) allow people to buy into the music scene, and believe that they're a really active part of it, but they're just visiting.  It's a long way to the top if you wannarockunroll, be it as a performer or as a super fan. 

 

So if all of these same Midpoint bands were playing the Cheviot or Silverton bar strips, would self-declared music fans go?  No, they wouldn't.  Because it's about the scene for them, not the music. 

 

 

 

While I am a little wary of the format change, I am pretty impressed with the lineup, especially after seeing what PromoWest has done to Bunbury the past couple years.  People like Band of Horses, Tokyo Police Club, and Bob Mould are nice gets.

WCPO has a poll up and so far 78% of people say they don't like the format change.

 

http://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/local-a-e/midpoint-music-festival-sees-major-venue-changes-under-new-management

The one question I have is if they wanted to have all the venues together in one area why they didn't stay in Washington Park? If congregating in one area with less musical conflicts is what they are shooting for, then keep it an Washington Park set up two big stages in open area (which run in back-to-back time slots for no overlap), and put a smaller DJ tent in the trees, and have some local/smaller acts play on the gazebo. That would've at least still felt like it was in OTR... though I still would've been depressed by the change. The OTR Chamber should somehow step in, I mean this isn't some out of town promoter, it's the CSO right? I feel like we can't be the only ones pissed off about this.

 

Part of me thinks that they wanted to hold it in Washington Park but were unable to do so for some reason. Someone on Twitter found an old quote from when MEMI where they said, "We're planting our flag firmly in the center of Over-the-Rhine in Washington Park." (I searched for the article with that quote but was unable to find it.) Today, they said on Twitter, "Plans change! Sometimes because you want them to and other times because they have to."

[sarcasm]

 

Look at it this way:

 

We FINALLY found a good use for all those parking lots!

 

[/sarcasm]

Outdoor venues on grass versus asphalt have a different sound, with asphalt tending to have a better, livelier sound.  I've never heard an outdoor concert on a level grass field that sounded good.  There needs to be a slope toward the stage, at the very least.  But then again Riverbend's lawn sounds dead too (as do the lawns at similar indoor/outdoor summer venues), but LP Pavilion in Columbus sounds okay, from what I remember.

 

The year when The Breeders played Washington Park, they had to be off the stage at 9pm because the symphony was starting in Music Hall.  Lame.  But there would no doubt be complaints from well-healed area residents about using the lawn past midnight 3 nights in a row, and especially if they really cranked the PA.  Last year the casino absolutely cranked Judas Priest.  It was unbelievably loud 2+ miles away. 

 

 

With grass, to me when it's flat it sounds OK. Asphalt is certainly better. But grass at a shallow slope sounds like total crap. Polaris was like that. The wood fence and shallow slope fired the drums and vocals right back at you so you heard them twice in an extremely annoying manner. It certainly wasn't a controlled delay that sounds badass like when Metallica and Venom used to use vocal delay in the early '80s. At the LC or whatever it's called now, the steep slope and fence way above the stage fires that second wave out into space so that you don't hear them again. Also if an amphitheater is much larger then it can also sound good. Nissan Pavilion (not called that anymore either) outside DC holds a lot more people than Polaris did and Riverbend does. Since the distance between the stage and grass slope/back wood fence is much greater at "Nissan" the sound was much better than Polaris but still not as good as a properly shaped indoor venue. Polaris was pretty much the worst-sounding venue outside of a long skinny bar. There's no fixing a long skinny bar no matter how good the sound guy and equipment are.

The same sort of newer, lesser-known bands that play Midpoint also play the Northside Rock Carnival, but it's not as well attended, despite being free.  People who say they really love seeing the lesser-known bands at Midpoint aren't being honest with themselves because they're not going to the effort to find these acts on a regular basis, or even attending similar music festival events in this city.  Things like Midpoint (and obviously SWSX, which was its model) allow people to buy into the music scene, and believe that they're a really active part of it, but they're just visiting.  It's a long way to the top if you wannarockunroll, be it as a performer or as a super fan. 

 

So if all of these same Midpoint bands were playing the Cheviot or Silverton bar strips, would self-declared music fans go?  No, they wouldn't.  Because it's about the scene for them, not the music.

 

You can call it the "scene" if you want to make it sound superficial, but it's the atmosphere that everyone is lamenting. It was a unique experience that is now gone. It's different than Bunbury, different than Bonarroo, different than the Northside Rock n Roll Carnival. Having Midpoint in Cheviot or Silverton would not be the same as it was. I would be just as disappointed if they moved out there. If they moved it to Northside (assuming there were the same sized venues spread out over the neighborhood), I would be disappointed it leaves OTR since I couldn't walk to it, but I would still be excited for Midpoint.

 

Outdoor venues on grass versus asphalt have a different sound, with asphalt tending to have a better, livelier sound.  I've never heard an outdoor concert on a level grass field that sounded good.  There needs to be a slope toward the stage, at the very least.  But then again Riverbend's lawn sounds dead too (as do the lawns at similar indoor/outdoor summer venues), but LP Pavilion in Columbus sounds okay, from what I remember.

 

The year when The Breeders played Washington Park, they had to be off the stage at 9pm because the symphony was starting in Music Hall.  Lame.  But there would no doubt be complaints from well-healed area residents about using the lawn past midnight 3 nights in a row, and especially if they really cranked the PA.  Last year the casino absolutely cranked Judas Priest.  It was unbelievably loud 2+ miles away. 

 

Also, one of my favorite aspects of Midpoint is that the headliners end at 9 or 10 pm and then you have another 3 or 4 sets of music scattered around the city to discover. It encourages people to find new music and not just go home after the headliner.

I absolutely loved walking down Main St. during Midpoint and hearing music streaming out of MOTR, Woodward, Mr. Pitifuls, Cincy by the Slice, Drinkery etc.. all at the same time. There was so much energy and life to that street during Midpoint weekend, you could step into to any of the venues and discover somebody new and possibly go into a bar or venue that you formerly wouldn't have gone in to. I will really miss that.

 

The one question I have is if they wanted to have all the venues together in one area why they didn't stay in Washington Park? If congregating in one area with less musical conflicts is what they are shooting for, then keep it an Washington Park set up two big stages in open area (which run in back-to-back time slots for no overlap), and put a smaller DJ tent in the trees, and have some local/smaller acts play on the gazebo. That would've at least still felt like it was in OTR... though I still would've been depressed by the change. The OTR Chamber should somehow step in, I mean this isn't some out of town promoter, it's the CSO right? I feel like we can't be the only ones pissed off about this.

 

My understanding is that that they wanted the entire park for the fest, and 3CDC was unwilling to do that.

I absolutely loved walking down Main St. during Midpoint and hearing music streaming out of MOTR, Woodward, Mr. Pitifuls, Cincy by the Slice, Drinkery etc.. all at the same time. There was so much energy and life to that street during Midpoint weekend, you could step into to any of the venues and discover somebody new and possibly go into a bar or venue that you formerly wouldn't have gone in to. I will really miss that.

 

The one question I have is if they wanted to have all the venues together in one area why they didn't stay in Washington Park? If congregating in one area with less musical conflicts is what they are shooting for, then keep it an Washington Park set up two big stages in open area (which run in back-to-back time slots for no overlap), and put a smaller DJ tent in the trees, and have some local/smaller acts play on the gazebo. That would've at least still felt like it was in OTR... though I still would've been depressed by the change. The OTR Chamber should somehow step in, I mean this isn't some out of town promoter, it's the CSO right? I feel like we can't be the only ones pissed off about this.

 

My understanding is that that they wanted the entire park for the fest, and 3CDC was unwilling to do that.

 

That would explain a lot. A representative for one of the bands playing the festival posted something about, "our contract still says we're playing in Washington Park." So I think MEMI was planning to do this four-stage setup in Washington Park but 3CDC wouldn't agree and MEMI's Plan B was parking lots.

With grass, to me when it's flat it sounds OK. Asphalt is certainly better. But grass at a shallow slope sounds like total crap. Polaris was like that. The wood fence and shallow slope fired the drums and vocals right back at you so you heard them twice in an extremely annoying manner. It certainly wasn't a controlled delay that sounds badass like when Metallica and Venom used to use vocal delay in the early '80s. At the LC or whatever it's called now, the steep slope and fence way above the stage fires that second wave out into space so that you don't hear them again. Also if an amphitheater is much larger then it can also sound good. Nissan Pavilion (not called that anymore either) outside DC holds a lot more people than Polaris did and Riverbend does. Since the distance between the stage and grass slope/back wood fence is much greater at "Nissan" the sound was much better than Polaris but still not as good as a properly shaped indoor venue. Polaris was pretty much the worst-sounding venue outside of a long skinny bar. There's no fixing a long skinny bar no matter how good the sound guy and equipment are.

 

Sound is really unpredictable.  It seems as though there is usually a larger "sweet spot" at indoor venues than at outdoor ones.  Also, touring bands who bring their own sound system, their own sound guy, and their own techs obviously tend to sound a lot better no matter the room.  Unfortunately a lot of bars let some hack do the sound and these guys tend to be pretty dumb guys who punish the audience with harsh, muddy sound. 

 

A lot of these festivals have a generic sound setup and a sound guy who runs the boards for all of the second-stage and opening acts.  The main act usually has their own guy.  This is another reason why seeing lesser-known bands at festivals doesn't really work -- you're hearing their sound mixed by some hack who knows less about the band than you do. 

 

Seeing a rock band with a backline of Marshall amps in a smaller venue that are actually firing (rather than just for show) is a treat.  Even rarer is a show powered by two or more of the giant Fender twins.  Sound guys don't like it because they don't get to play god and obviously there is a huge hassle associated with moving multiple Marshall stacks but he audience is the loser.  You can't get the stereo effects and you're hearing solid state through generic PA speakers rather than

Full stacks are really unfashionable right now though. It's "cool" to show minimal equipment or even no equipment on stage besides the actual instruments. People even put shrouds in front of their pedals so that you can't see them.

There is no need for a guitarists to play with a full stack unless you are playing US Bank Arena. Every guitarist in all the bands I've been in has used smaller amps so that they can turn up the volume and start to get natural tube distortion when playing at smaller venues like MOTR or Northside Tavern. With a bigger amp, you can't do that at a small venue.

Apparently I hit "post" before finishing that last post.  My bad.  In the early 90s stacks were uncool because of their association with hair metal.  Weezer was the first not-macho band that used the huge Marshall sound as their sound (no pedals, pretty much just straight through the amp) and made some point of flaunting the amps.  But Smashing Pumpkins really had that huge drone sound a few years earlier.  I saw an interview of Billy Corrigan where he talked about how a lot of people didn't take them seriously in Chicago when they were starting out because they showed up to shows with stacks and a heavy metal drummer.  They had a girl in the band though so I think that helped distract people from how loud they were. 

 

When I was in high school I went over and played twice at some guy's house on the east side of Cincinnati who had a Marshall half stack.  His mom bought it for him not even for Christmas or his birthday.  I had a crappy particle board drum set with cracked hi-hats.  The east side bands always had parents who bought them incredible equipment.  I tried out for one that played mostly Rage covers and took what they did completely seriously.  I didn't like that band but I tried out because they had a lot of girls at their shows even though I could tell the guys were a bunch of idiots.  That band had two Indian brothers and two white guys off the wrestling team.  I didn't lift weights and had crappy equipment so I was out.     

 

 

I played a full stack for a while because I was in one of those bands that winds up with three guitarists. It made sure that I could hear myself and since I wasn't the only guitar player my warm tube distortion was kind of lost in the mix anyway. One guitar player had a real acid-y solid state tone and the other one was a big Fuzz Face guy at the time.

I actually got a chance to talk to one of the original co-founders of MPMF over the weekend. He was not bitter about this year's changes at all. The way he explained it was that MPMF was founded at a time when OTR bars really needed some activity injected into them. Over the years, as OTR became more popular, many of these bars no longer wanted to participate in MPMF. So in a way, he see MPMF as having accomplished its goal.

I played a full stack for a while because I was in one of those bands that winds up with three guitarists. It made sure that I could hear myself and since I wasn't the only guitar player my warm tube distortion was kind of lost in the mix anyway. One guitar player had a real acid-y solid state tone and the other one was a big Fuzz Face guy at the time.

 

I had this conversation with someone over the weekend.  He added that when guitarists stopped using stacks and switched over to mic'ing small amps through the PA, guitarists were no longer able to control feedback by simply taking a half-step to the side.  When you see the old clips of Jimi Hendrix playing the festivals with stacks behind him, he stood at the exact threshold where the guitar started feeding back.  So if he stepped forward, the sound was clean.  But if he stepped right onto the edge of the hot zone, he got that tiny amount of feedback that he could quickly exaggerate simply by turning the guitar back toward the row of stacks.  When you play with a small 1x12 or 2x12 combo amp at a medium volume, you have to get relatively close to the amp to get it to feed back.  The "edge" of the feedback zone is very sensitive.  But with those giant old amps playing at 10 (11?), that edge was bigger and had more nuance to it. 

 

Obviously, the feedback from the giant amps was even more difficult to control in interior rooms.  The notoriously boomy student union hall at the University of Michigan is where it is claimed that in 1968 The Stooges first laid their guitars against the amps, left the stage, and subjected the crowd to 10 minutes of agonizing feedback.  They were also the first band to get feedback recorded on a major label.

 

FFWD to modern times and the last time I heard a band who knew what they were doing play with multiple unmic'd Marshall stacks was Jackyl in 2003 at Annie's in Cincinnati.  They had two guitarists with two stacks each, with each guitarist running through one of two stacks on each side of the stage.  The stereo effect was pretty incredible.  And separating the guitars from the PA cleans up the sound for the bass and drums. 

 

Just look at this weak setup The Beatles sported at their 1964 concert at the Cincinnati Gardens.  I guess the singing was over the arena's public address system. 

The Woodward has booked their space to compete with two nights of Midpoint:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2016/06/09/some-not-happy-midpoint-music-festival-changes/85652766/

 

 

Just got word that this year's Buckle Up Music Festival is being canceled due to poor ticket sales. The country music festival, scheduled August 5-6 at Summit Park in Blue Ash, was to return after a year’s absence. PromoWest Productions put the concert series on hiatus after purchasing both Buckle Up and the Bunbury Music Festival from Bill Donabedian in 2014. Buckle Up's inaugural festival was held in July 2014 at Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove.

 

The lineup was:

 

Randy Houser, Brooke Eden and Maggie Rose will join previously announced headliners Brad Paisley and Chase Rice, as well as singers Tyler Farr, Maddie & Tae, Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots, Jessie James Decker, Corey Smith, Mo Pitney, McGuffey Lane, Carter Winter, Christian Kaser, Billy Brown Band and Noah Smith.

 

 

 

Pendleton is getting screwed by this new MPMF layout. It's already hard to walk in Pendleton due to the extreme amount of construction happening there right now. (I usually have to walk in the middle of the street on my way to work because the sidewalks are closed alternately on both sides.) It's also a pain to drive since the only two east-west streets are one way, and they're often blocked due to construction equipment. Well, they're setting up for MPMF this morning and they have also closed Sycamore between 12th and 14th. So not only will MPMF attendees get a view of the scenic parking lots, they'll be hanging out in the Ziegler Park construction zone.

Also, people were speculating whether they'd be able to have multiple bands playing at once since the stages are so close together. It turns out they will. The "WNKU Stage" which faces east will have a band playing at the same time as the "Skyline Stage" / "Central Parkway YMCA Stage" which face west.

I walked down 12th last night and noticed that the WNKU stage is in a parking lot that is surrounded by barbed wire fence, it looks really odd walking by... Someone's gotta get a good picture of that when a show is going on, ha!

Also, people were speculating whether they'd be able to have multiple bands playing at once since the stages are so close together. It turns out they will. The "WNKU Stage" which faces east will have a band playing at the same time as the "Skyline Stage" / "Central Parkway YMCA Stage" which face west.

 

I bet that will sound great.

 

I might try to catch a show or two from the parking garage across Sycamore (the one with the subway in it). I was a little upset about the parking lot venue this year so I didn't buy tickets for the first time in close to a decade.

^^Like Jeff Buckley playing at the Double Deuce in Road House

Was really disappointed with format and lineup this year have gone last 4 yrs, not going this year.

Regardless of the pros and cons of the new venue/setup, I'm glad to see that it will be nice weather all weekend. Hopefully the festival will be a success for OTR and the City. I suspect we will see high ridership on the Streetcar this weekend.

If you don't want to go to MPMF (or even if you do), go to our adjacent Fiesta de la Zarigüeya: Music & Beer Festival in Pendleton. Basically we are in the pocket park uphill from the WNKU stage. Great sight lines despite the screen (because, well, uphill). $50 for three days gets you all the Rhinegeist you want. $25 for a night. Even if you do go to MPMF, it's cheaper to drink over here. And the park is way more pleasant. Right across from Cafe Urbana and Nation.

I'm a big fan of this years lineup, so I reluctantly got the three day pass, but man does this new setup suck. Standing on hard asphalt, no shade, the stages are too close and the bigger stage drowns out the wnku stage, the two main stages are at a higher elevation than the audience and the whole area slopes up which is the opposite of literally every other venue ever and gives terrible sight lines, and lastly concerts just don't sound as good or have the same energy in an outdoor venue as when they were spread throughout town in indoor spaces. It's awful, the bands are good and trying their best but you can see many getting frustrated with the setup as well because it makes sound checks and quieter moments nearly impossible. I really really hope they find a better location next year or this will be my last.

If you don't want to go to MPMF (or even if you do), go to our adjacent Fiesta de la Zarigüeya: Music & Beer Festival in Pendleton. Basically we are in the pocket park uphill from the WNKU stage. Great sight lines despite the screen (because, well, uphill). $50 for three days gets you all the Rhinegeist you want. $25 for a night. Even if you do go to MPMF, it's cheaper to drink over here. And the park is way more pleasant. Right across from Cafe Urbana and Nation.

 

Noel and Travis spotted at the Fiesta. We'll have three kegs of Rhinegheist today.

The new MPMF setup is not good. The two "main" stages that are right next to each other alternate, but their schedules do overlap with the WNKU stage in the next parking lot. It really takes you out of the moment when you're trying to listen to a band you were there to see and hear the band at the next stage over. I've been checking Twitter all weekend to see what people are saying about MPMF and the new format seems to be widely disliked. The official MPMF account did respond to a few people and say that they are "committed" to the new format, so don't expect it to change back to the bar format of previous years.