Planning A Trip, A Year in Advance

One of the many reasons Liz and I love Logan Square is all the great stuff that’s in the area – great restaurants and bars, the boulevards themselves, and there’s always things to do.

But the one event that we can’t seem to enjoy is the Boulevard Bash/Festival. When we saw the gates up along the boulevard on Friday, we both looked at each other and said Oh shit, this again.

I’m sure the event is fine and all, and seems like there’s a lot of beer and such available. But the problem for us is that we simply cannot escape the festival at all. Our apartment is located right at the edge of the area, and we’re maybe 100 feet away from the West Stage. I believe there’s another stage on the East side as well.

What results in our apartment is a constant cacophony of music and bass. With competing groups performing, it just sounds like ridiculously loud noise. Imagine 5 schizophrenic musicians, each in possession of several Marshall stacks, just going to town on their own song – different keys, different tempos. As I’m writing this, I can hear a guy doing a smooth jazz guitar solo and also what sounds like a 15 year old girl rapping in Spanish.

In our apartment, watching TV is pretty impossible unless we blast the volume – and even then, we have to try to ignore the constant music outside. Headphones work slightly, but the thudding bass still gets through. I think at one point earlier in the afternoon today, our windows were rattling.

Imagine a high school kid who just installed $2,000 worth of subwoofers in his car. Now imagine that guy parking at the end of your neighbor’s driveway. Now imagine he hangs out there from noon until 10PM, all weekend.

I’m sure it’s a fun neighborhood event, but Liz and I are soured because we simply can’t get away from it. The dining room and living room are both bad, as they face the boulevard; the bedroom and office is somewhat worse, as the sound echoes and amplifies within our courtyard.

So: I’ve set a reminder for myself to plan a trip next year, just so we can be out of town when this festival rolls around again. There’s no other way to get away, other than to get away.

//Edit: I am an old man, who is literally unhappy with the kids and their rock and roll music… and wish they’d get off my lawn. If I had a cane, I would be shaking it right now in protest.

Related:
Logan Square, Boulevard Bash