PNE Forum bans electronic music concerts after noise complaints

In a small victory for Sharbo and other Hastings-Sunrise dwellers, the Pacific National Exhibition, the entity that manages the park on behalf of the City of Vancouver, will no longer allow “electronica” concerts at the Forum.

Kate Huffman, manager of community relations for the PNE, brought the news to the neighbourhood in a letter dated April 24.

“The PNE hired an acoustics consultant to perform noise tests in early March to further analyze sound propagation from the Forum during this type of concert,” Huffman wrote. “This comprehensive testing yielded results that led to the PNE’s decision to discontinue electronica concerts in the Forum.”

Wikipedia defines “electronica” as follows:

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities. Unlike electronic dance music, which is sub-genre in the category, all examples of electronica are not necessarily made for dancing. Genres such as techno, drum and bass, downtempo, and ambient are among those encompassed by the umbrella term, entering the American mainstream from “alternative” or “underground” venues during the late 1990s.

However, according to Huffman, there is one more “contracted” electronica concert, scheduled for August 11 at the Forum. That show is a stop on Kaskade’s Freaks of Nature Tour.

But Huffman also informed residents that “efforts are being made to relocate this show to the Pacific Coliseum, a venue that has increased sound insulation”.

The PNE representative added: “Following this, the PNE will no longer book any further electronica concerts into the Forum.”