Exactly how curmudgeonly am I being?

[Deleted]

I mean, I know a little. But let's say on a scale from 1 to GET OFF MY LAWN?

I live uphill from a coffee shop that has outdoor live music one night per week. The coffee shop is not directly adjacent to any residences, but the music travels uphill. A LOT. I think the management has no clue how loud the music actually is up the hill. But whatever, it's a nice little community event even if it's not my preferred music, so I roll with it. Except last night it went until NINE THIRTY. Was I nuts for calling the shop this morning to discuss this with someone? I'm not asking that they never have the music, but am I moving into grandma territory for suggesting that 9pm should be their hard cutoff (while also maybe mentioning that 8:30 would be even awesomer because 7 to 8:30 seems like plenty of music). I am awaiting a return call from someone higher up the food chain with the shop.

This post brought to you by CRANKINESS.

[eclaires]

Sorry but I think 10 is a reasonable cut off on a week night...9:30 seems fine. I thought you were going to say midnight or something.

Don't hit me!!

[asdfjkl]

You are very curmudgeonly.  But also very right.  If I am inside my home with the windows shut, I don't want to hear anything for any sustained period of time coming from outside after about 8:00 p.m. (when my kids go to bed).  I can remember a handful of times in my neighborhood when someone was having an outdoor summer party.  And so, okay, once in a while.  But every. fucking. week.  Nope.  I would shut that shit down rightquick.

ETA:  Changed it from "night" to "week".  Does not change my analysis.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:37:07 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

You are very curmudgeonly.  But also very right.  If I am inside my home with the windows shut, I don't want to hear anything for any sustained period of time coming from outside after about 8:00 p.m. (when my kids go to bed).  I can remember a handful of times in my neighborhood when someone was having an outdoor summer party.  And so, okay, once in a while.  But every. fucking. night.  Nope.  I would shut that shit down rightquick.

We can't even do that because we don't have central AC.

But the one time we did close the windows, we could still hear it loud and clear.

[WanderingWinoZ]

can I get an actual distance from your house to the shop? are we talking 100' if so, I'd expect you could hear music..

FWIW, there is a very large church behind my neighborhood & we can def. hear them bumping & booming on Wednesday nights sometimes even wen I go to bed (which could be 9 if i got up/get up at 4).

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:35:59 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Sorry but I think 10 is a reasonable cut off on a week night...9:30 seems fine. I thought you were going to say midnight or something.

Don't hit me!!

Does it matter that it is a 1/3 mile walk away? Doesn't that seem like a long ways for music to travel in a residential area?

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:40:32 GMT -5 WanderingWinoZ said:

can I get an actual distance from your house to the shop? are we talking 100' if so, I'd expect you could hear music..

FWIW, there is a very large church behind my neighborhood & we can def. hear them bumping & booming on Wednesday nights sometimes even wen I go to bed (which could be 9 if i got up/get up at 4).

I just looked it up. 1/3 mile walking. It's probably more like 1/4 mile as the crow flies because of the way I have to walk to get down the hill.

[cookiemdough]

Is it because it is a week night? Would you feel differently on a weekend?

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:41:55 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Is it because it is a week night? Would you feel differently on a weekend?

I'd probably still be annoyed on a weekend but not enough to call them.

[ECB]

If nothing else, I'd start out with asking what THEIR timeframe is. And mention that usually it's done by 9 but last night it went to 9:30. What should you expect in the future? Then see what they say.

if they say "We tell the artists 9 but the one last night kept playing (for whatever reason). We're really sorry. We don't plan on this being a regular thing", I'd say "cool!" and let it go.

But if they say "Oh- we don't have an end time. Most of our artists seem to like to stop before 2 hours but the one last night kept going.", THEN I might be more likely to talk to them about the impact on the people who live nearby.

[jojoandleo]

Jun 24, 2016 8:35:59 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Sorry but I think 10 is a reasonable cut off on a week night...9:30 seems fine. I thought you were going to say midnight or something.

Don't hit me!!

Yeah, I am kind of here, but still get your annoyance. Hell, there is live music occasionally outside my office and it PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF when they start playing before five. SOME OF US ARE STILL WORKING WHILE YOU HAVE FUN, JACKASSES! But, I just internally bitch and moan.

[Vespasia]

Jun 24, 2016 8:35:59 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Sorry but I think 10 is a reasonable cut off on a week night...9:30 seems fine. I thought you were going to say midnight or something.

Don't hit me!!

I have to agree, 10pm is standard. However, it doesn't hurt to mention it to the owner if they are unaware of how far the sound carries like you said. 

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:43:18 GMT -5 ECB said:

If nothing else, I'd start out with asking what THEIR timeframe is. And mention that usually it's done by 9 but last night it went to 9:30. What should you expect in the future? Then see what they say.

This is essentially what I did, but alas, the person I got on the phone really didn't have any information. I am awaiting a call from someone who does.

[LoveTrains]

I would look into the local noise ordinance.

[vamoose]

Your town probably has sounds rules. I would look those up and only complain if they are not complying. I wouldn't like it, but 1/4 mile is not far IMO.

[WanderingWinoZ]

Jun 24, 2016 8:49:05 GMT -5 vamoose said:

Your town probably has sounds rules. I would look those up and only complain if they are not complying. I wouldn't like it, but 1/4 mile is not far IMO.

See, I feel like hte opposite. If I live 1/4 mile away, I shouldn't expect to hear any noise from you.  Are there other neighbors in between you that could also call & complain?

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:52:04 GMT -5 WanderingWinoZ said:

Jun 24, 2016 8:49:05 GMT -5 vamoose said:

Your town probably has sounds rules. I would look those up and only complain if they are not complying. I wouldn't like it, but 1/4 mile is not far IMO.

See, I feel like hte opposite. If I live 1/4 mile away, I shouldn't expect to hear any noise from you.  Are there other neighbors in between you that could also call & complain?

THANK YOU! If I went that distance in another direction, it would be 2-3 blocks. I certainly don't expect to hear music coming from 2-3 blocks away.

There are no neighbors between the shop and my building, but there are a lot of trees...I shudder to think how loud it would be without the trees. But there are other buildings all up and down the street that I am certain can hear it, too.

[ECB]

Jun 24, 2016 8:55:24 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Jun 24, 2016 8:52:04 GMT -5 WanderingWinoZ said:

See, I feel like hte opposite. If I live 1/4 mile away, I shouldn't expect to hear any noise from you.  Are there other neighbors in between you that could also call & complain?

THANK YOU! If I went that distance in another direction, it would be 2-3 blocks. I certainly don't expect to hear music coming from 2-3 blocks away.

 

Are they using speakers?  IDK - I used to live 2 miles from the stadiums in Baltimore and on a good night, I could hear the fans cheering.  From TWO miles away!  And nothing helping to project the noise. 

Or better yet, when bands performed at a downtown outdoor music venue - which was probably a mile as the crow flies - we absolutely heard the music loud and clear.

I realize that a small local artist playing at a coffee shop isn't exactly the same as a popular band.  BUT if they are amplified at all - a 1/4 mile means nothing!!

[isabel]

I think 9 is reasonable. Prior to that seems a tad curmudgeonly. But I think I'd start to get seriously annoyed after that.

Then again, if I hear anything loud after DS goes to bed at 7:30, I get irritated.

[asdfjkl]

What is this "as the crow flies" stuff going on in this thread?  Who talks like that?

[pixy0stix]

8:30 is way too early to ask them to cut it off. What time do they close?

[pixy0stix]

Jun 24, 2016 9:03:01 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

What is this "as the crow flies" stuff going on in this thread?  Who talks like that?

Old people.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 8:59:55 GMT -5 ECB said:

Jun 24, 2016 8:55:24 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

THANK YOU! If I went that distance in another direction, it would be 2-3 blocks. I certainly don't expect to hear music coming from 2-3 blocks away.

 

Are they using speakers?  IDK - I used to live 2 miles from the stadiums in Baltimore and on a good night, I could hear the fans cheering.  From TWO miles away!  And nothing helping to project the noise. 

Or better yet, when bands performed at a downtown outdoor music venue - which was probably a mile as the crow flies - we absolutely heard the music loud and clear.

I realize that a small local artist playing at a coffee shop isn't exactly the same as a popular band.  BUT if they are amplified at all - a 1/4 mile means nothing!!

They are absolutely amplified. And it might be as simple as getting the shop to turn the volume down. Like I said, I honestly think they have no idea just how loud it is. I think they assume the trees just block all the noise.

[andwhat]

Noise at night probably doesn't start until 10pm so they aren't doing anything illegal.

I think this is approaching get off my lawn territory.

[asdfjkl]

They don't have to cut it off, but if it's a coffee shop, why does it have to be so loud.  I'm picturing something that really shouldn't even have amplifiers.  

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 9:03:01 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

What is this "as the crow flies" stuff going on in this thread?  Who talks like that?

Well, I say that as a way of recognizing that the sound has less distance to travel than my feet do. So while it would take me 1/3 mile to walk there, the sound is not having to travel that far because the sidewalk zig zags a bit.

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 9:05:48 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

They don't have to cut it off, but if it's a coffee shop, why does it have to be so loud.  I'm picturing something that really shouldn't even have amplifiers.  

YOU ARE MY NEW FAVORITE.

[ECB]

Jun 24, 2016 9:04:27 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Jun 24, 2016 8:59:55 GMT -5 ECB said:

Are they using speakers?  IDK - I used to live 2 miles from the stadiums in Baltimore and on a good night, I could hear the fans cheering.  From TWO miles away!  And nothing helping to project the noise. 

Or better yet, when bands performed at a downtown outdoor music venue - which was probably a mile as the crow flies - we absolutely heard the music loud and clear.

I realize that a small local artist playing at a coffee shop isn't exactly the same as a popular band.  BUT if they are amplified at all - a 1/4 mile means nothing!!

They are absolutely amplified. And it might be as simple as getting the shop to turn the volume down. Like I said, I honestly think they have no idea just how loud it is. I think they assume the trees just block all the noise.

But I think you'll still hear it.  If I can hear people cheering from 2 miles away, you're going to hear amplified music from only a 1/4 mile. If you're really not expecting to hear it AT ALL, your expectations aren't reasonable.  

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2016 9:03:05 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

8:30 is way too early to ask them to cut it off. What time do they close?

This is why we're really angling for 9. They close at 10, but this is literally the only thing I can ever hear from there because well, it's a coffee shop, not a bar.

I think 9pm on a weeknight is when you should stop playing music that travels 2-3 blocks. Of course, there will occasionally be other noise that makes its way up here (hello, sirens), but I feel like they should be good neighbors and consider where their noise goes. Fingers crossed.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I think you were right. If i could hear the music in my home, it's too loud.