Springsteen

Springsteen

Did a "survey" in Dublin at the weekend. Dunno what all those other people were up to though. There was a tester in attendance. He mostly stayed at the opposite end of the stadium from me. We were barely able to communicate, but he seemed to be quite experienced at what he was doing. I managed to make observations based on his outputs.

Roofing: Cantilevered roof kept the weather off most, but those poor people on the ground must have been cold, judging by the amount of jumping up and down I witnessed.
Structure: The concrete framed structure was bouncing.  During coordinated stress testing the maximum tolerances of the designed bending moment in the seating tiers was tested close to destruction. The bouncing bodies continued to resonate for 3-5 minutes at a time, suggesting some form of ongoing stimulus.
Access for All: The lower levels of the stadium provided level access for some of those less mobile. For others, the climb to the near the back row was punishing. I have questions about the steepness of the stairs, and the number of steps in single flights. I recommend that more lifts be installed.
Drainage: There was a great deal of effort applied by the assembled testers to the testing of the capacity of the stadium's internal drainage systems. Whilst the conditions deteriorated over time, the reducing sensory capacity, caused by the copious oral lubrication consumed, meant that the ability to detect odours diminished at approximately the same rate as increase in splashing.
Acoustics: Some fellow toward the far end of the stadium growled into a microphone for nearly 3.5 hours. He attempted to vary the tone from quietly melodic to loudly aggressive, almost violent. I fear that he must have hurt himself at some points during his evening, based upon the angst apparent in his voice and the contortions visible on his face. I know that he is advancing in years, but I don't think that his pain was arthritic.
Resonance: The tester appeared to be determined to create the type of resonance which can often be the cause of collapse in rigid structure. The vibrations he applied affected observers during the duration of the performance, and were carried thereafter around the streets, pubs and taxis of Dublin. It was many hours later before the resonance dissipated. I gather though that a second resonance test 48 hours later has had an enduring impact on the test subjects. 
Conclusions: In total 160,000 test subjects in Dublin experienced many of the same results I describe above. Most had previously been affected by the same performer, so perceptible changes would be difficult to measure. For others, less experienced in absorption of the output from the performance tester are likely to be permanently affected. These affects tend to be chronic. Many people, including the author, were first directly exposed in Slane 31 years ago, with indirect influence commencing some years before that. The resultant condition is generally incurable, but thankfully the medicine offered during 7 hours of exposure on the two nights of the past weekend, is regularly available. For all those affected in 2016 we collectively request that the performer returns with more medication during the next short period of time.