Molson Canadian Amphitheater
Site Analysis
COMN 4729
210809069
Molson Canadian Amphitheater
909 Lake Shore Blvd W, Toronto, ON M6K 3L3
A city is a busy and lively place with so much going on and so much sounds to experience within space. Toronto is still a fairly new and small city compared to our neighbours in America with packed cities such as New York or Los Angeles. However this is not to discredit the musical atmosphere of Toronto, as the city is filled with musical venues and is still growing to this day. For this site analysis I have chosen to look at Molson Canadian Amphitheater. I personally have my own positive experiences with this venue which is why I would like to take a deeper look at the venue and other people’s experiences. What is interesting about Molson Canadian Amphitheater is the location of the venue as it is on the ground of Ontario Place. Due to this I would also like to look at the history and the debates over the future plans for the sites.
The Molson Canadian Amphitheater was built in 1995 on the Ontario Place grounds, and while Ontario Place has closed, the Molson Canadian Amphitheater is still up and running. The venue hosts many big name celebrities and one of the biggest moments for the Amphitheater was having Bryan Adams perform in 1995 for their grand opening. The venue is very spacious giving visitors the option to reserve seats for an event or purchase general admission, or also available is VIP box suites and club seats. The sound system at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre allows the music to be heard no matter where your seat location is, even if on the lawn. Not only is the sound far reaching, the visibility of the performance is also clear by having two large-screen video walls around the venue, this being a key part to the venue.
(www.canadianamphitheater.net)
Finally, the seating options of the Molson Canadian Amphitheater is the other defining factor of the venue. Visitors have so many choices when it comes to seating, as the venue fits up to 16, 000 people and has an outdoor configuration. The venue is covered by a high roof cover and under this section holds 5500 seats. 3500 seats are under the open sky and around 7000 seats on the grass bowl, also known as lawn seats. Furthermore, the venue holds 1000 seats on the floor, so no matter where a visitor wants to sit, they are able to choose the type of experience they want to have. Due to the outdoor aspect of the venue, it is only open from May to September and is shut down for the cold winter months.
(http://platinumviptickets.weebly.com/molson-canadian-amphitheater-toronto-ca.html via google images)
History
As I have mentioned before, I believe it is important to also discuss the history of Ontario Place as the Molson Canadian Amphitheater was built on these grounds. Ontario Place was first built to be a showcase for the Province of Ontario and was an iconic landmark for not only Ontario, but also the city of Toronto. Built on the shore of Lake Ontario, Ontario Place was opened on May 22nd, 1971 (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com). The park builders also added three artificially constructed landscaped islands (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com).
Ontario Place was built as a multiple use site and ownership was given to the Crown in Right of Ontario, and administered as an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com). Throughout the years many new things were built into the park such as water slides, the Cinesphere and before the Amphitheatre was created, the Forum was built which was a revolving outdoor stage concert venue (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com).
In the 90s, the park began to see a decline due to the lack of investment. The Forum was shut down and to replace it the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre was born. When the venue opened both the Amphitheatre and Atlantis signed long term agreements with the Ontario government, which is why the venue is still open today even though Ontario Place has shut down (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com). While the park was seeing some positive changes in the 2000s, on February 1st, 2012 the Liberal government suddenly shut down most of Ontario Place, and a committee was created to develop a plan for the park.
Some suggested revamping the park space to make it into a casino however the Ontario Public Service Employees Union fought against this in order to keep Ontario Place a public space. On June 4th, 2012 a Town Hall meeting was held to discuss the future of Ontario Place and the turnout was huge. The size of those who came shows how important this landmark attraction is for the people of Ontario and so, the future of Ontario Place is no longer to be a casino (www.rethinkingontarioplace.com). Rather people are able to express their ideas and what they want to see happen to the park. The results showed people want outdoor, innovative, cultural, and family spaces, and in my opinion this is important also to the future of the Amp. If Ontario Place undergoes massive changes perhaps the Amp will be threatened as well. However, if the park is changed to support what the people want and follows this outdoor theme I believe it will complement the Amphitheatre and its atmosphere around music.
On July 26th, 2012 “The Ontario Place Revitalization” report was given and outlines possible future developments for the park (www.mtc.gov.on.ca). When looking at the Ontario government website for Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport anyone is able to see the possible future plans. There are many key points in regards to recommendations but what stuck out at me is number 5. “Ontario Place should have a venue – like the original forum – for a range of cultural activities, from concerts and theatre, to performances, festivals and community events” (www.mtc.gov.on.ca). This makes me wonder, well what about the Amphitheater? Will they shut it down or expand it? What about the future of this musical venue which sits on the Ontario Place grounds. I think this is a big part of the Amphitheater’s future because for me it makes me wonder what will happen to this venue. In regards to history, the Molson Amphitheater has not gone under much changes however, with the future of Ontario Place up in the air, perhaps the future of the Amp is under questioning as well.
Site Analysis
When studying the Molson Amphitheater it is beneficial that I took an ethnographic approach. As Sara Cohen did in her study of the Jewish community in Liverpool, by using this type of research to study the Amphitheatre I am able to talk to people who go to this venue and understand their personal experience with it and with pop music. Unfortunately I was unable to go to the venue due to it not being open, however I have previously been a few times and so will recall on those experiences to describe the venue to me.
I find the venue to be very spacious and assessable for all. With large speakers and large videos visitors are always able to see and hear the performers with ease. Also, the layout of the venue is very nice as the chairs do not block anybody’s sight. Even if you are on the lawn seats, there is nothing to obscure your view of the stage or the video walls. I personally have seen 2 concerts at the venue, the first time at the back right before the lawn seats and the second time in the 100 level under the roof. I find the experience of the amp much better than the ACC because I feel closer to the performers in a sense. Also, I feel like the open space is very relaxing and enjoyable as opposed to the dark and hot closed venue.
To conduct more research on the venue I interviewed other people who have also seen shows at the Molson Amphitheater. The first person I spoke to is somebody who has been to the Molson Amp approximately 10 times, both many years ago and also more recently. What I first wanted to know was, compared to other musical venues how did they find their experience to be at the Amphitheater seeing as its structure and seating is very different than other venues. Is this venue more enjoyable? In her experience, “even though there are smaller venues I find it easy to be interactive and it’s comfortable. Seating is not too steep. I usually have seats however I have been in the lawn section and that is fun too because you can actually dance around, Gypsy Kings, so fun! The fact that it is outside is cool too. You don’t feel cooped up and closed in with so many people, you can breath.”
Another aspect of the musical experience I wanted to delve into is the relationship of the listener and the performance. I next asked, how she engaged with the venue in relation to music, and in regards to the venue when choosing seats for example. “When choosing seats at this venue I always get covered seats. Worked out well for the most recent show I went to in September because it rained. Covered is also good for shade from the sun if concert is an all-day thing. I like to sit in middle of 200 level or close to the middle as possible. If it’s mid-summer in hot wave who cares if it rains, then the lawn would be the better seats haha.”
After getting the interviewee to describe her experiences with the music and the venue I then asked, in terms of the location of Molson Amphitheater do you feel as though your musical experience is more closely related to you ties with the city of Toronto? To that, the answer was yes as the location is great for the city when shows come to town. Finally, what I wanted to know was if her experience at the venue is different thinking back to when she first went compared to more recently, or if it is still the same. “I find it is still the same. As I talk about this I realize that I had front row centre for REM, seats in various sections and lawns a few times. It was always fun. When there is great music and friends it’s always a great time. I have seen Depeche Mode many times, a couple times at larger venues and many times at Molson. I prefer Molson.”
When asking the second interviewee about Molson Amp, I received similar types of answers. The second interviewee did not go to Molson Amp when it was first opened, however has been recently so I focused on asking about her experience. Compared to other musical venues interviewee 2 said “I find Molson Amp more enjoyable because considering the amount I paid for my ticket and being in level 400s, I still felt like I was right near the stage. Comparing this to when I have been to the ACC and paid more there is a different feeling at the Amp.” When asking about the engagement with the venue and the music, interviewee 2 does not care where she sits, as mentioned before she feels like the Amp allows her to see the show no matter where she is located. Also, she felt like at the Amp, the light show and the sounds didn’t drain her, whereas at the ACC she feels as though the light shows are too much as it is in a dark space. In regards to the location of the venue and its links to the city of Toronto, interviewee 2 said “in a sense because it is close to the Lake Shore, which I feel like is a big aspect of Toronto.”
As we can see from the interviews, many tend to prefer the atmosphere that the Molson Amphitheater offers. The more I analyze the space it makes me think of what Cohen would describe as music being a social process (Cohen, p. 273). In my opinion, the Amp allows for people to enjoy the music in a certain type of atmosphere that is different than other venues. The Molson Amphitheater creates this musical space for people to engage with performances and the performers they love in a very special way.
With Ontario Place now closed the venue’s location makes it very exclusive to just concert viewers. There is this musical space created within and around the venue in my opinion, however what is also interesting to bring up is the commodification throughout the venue. As the name says, Molson Canadian, this brand of beer is everywhere. Furthermore, the venue has stands all around as well for people to buy merchandise related to the performers of the specific event. Also, when sitting in the venue waiting for the show to start, the video walls are constantly playing images, about upcoming shows. This in a sense is a type of commodification practice because perhaps one will see a performer is playing a show at the Amp that they were not aware of and as a result will go out to purchase tickets.
Through all these various factors all relating to the infrastructure of the amphitheater, one can see how music and space gets connected and a certain type of community is created during each show. By having a venue such as Molson Amp which is exclusive to music and musical performances, in my opinion, we can see how viewers are able to engage within the sounds and create a type of community through various musical practices of listening, dancing, or any type of engagement.
Bibliography
S. Cohen – “Sounding Out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place” from The Place of Music, Leyshon, A., Matless, D., and Revill, G. (eds), New York: The Guilford Press, 1998.
http://www.rethinkingontarioplace.com/history/. Accessed Sunday, November 24th, 2013.
http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/ontarioplace/ontarioplace.shtml. Accessed Sunday, November 24th, 2013.
www.canadianamphitheater.net Accessed Saturday, November 23rd, 2013.
http://plantinumviptickets.weebly.com/molson-canadian-amphitheater-toronto.ca.html Accessed Monday, November 25th, 2013.