When's the show start?

It's not really clear where the problem started, but it's here.

In my business, it's not uncommon for a concert or play to start a few minutes late.
Sometimes the band was late because of weather delays, sometimes there's a technical problem with some important piece of gear, or it could be a number of other reasons.

Regardless, it annoys me when a show can't start on time.
(Or when the artists think is no big deal to play an extra 15 minutes)

Most of the times that I've observed, it's the audiences' fault.
They decide to be 'fashionable' and be late, or right at the last minute, or perhaps they just can't grasp the concept of 'two chimes means two minutes, sit the Hell down so we can start'.

But is it really their fault?

A few years ago, the community dinner theatre in Topeka renovated an old school to become their new home.
They've been around for about 70 years and have had a number of homes in the past.
Prior to their current (and probably permanent) home, they were in an old warehouse by the Kansas River, affectionately called 'The Warehouse On The Levee'.
In order to get to the theatre, everyone had to cross a set of railroad tracks, which were more or less bane of the theater.
Patrons were instructed to arrive at least 15 minutes early to hopefully avoid the trains and the delays they caused.
They had a pretty strict policy about getting beverages from the bar before a show.
If you arrived less than 10 minutes before curtain time, you could only order drinks for intermission.
For the most part, everyone was early, and enforcing the rule was not usually necessary, and when it was, the reasoning was generally understood by the patrons.

When they moved to their new theatre, they increased seating capacity by about 60%, from about 170 to about 280.
They obviously had to have an few extra wait staff to cover the extra seats.
The bar policy was not changed.

Since they were in a more central location in town with multiple routes and no rail crossings, the patrons realized they wouldn't have to be as early to shows anymore.

So they stopped coming early.

Well, not all of them, just enough to make a difference.

Of course, the Theatre wants to have happy patrons, so the policy was bent a bit, though signage and programs remind everyone about the policy and to be early.

Apparently, they just don't care.

So now, shows almost always start 10 minutes late.
And intermissions are usually 5 minutes (or more) longer than the intended 10-15 minutes.

Since the Theatre holds the curtain for the bar (i.e. latecomers), people feel that they don't need to show up early because the shows always start late.

A vicious circle.

A few touring shows have a very strict policy about when the show starts and seating patrons after the show has started.
Generally, that policy is once the show proper has started (after the overture or entr'acte is over and the curtain is up) no one is allowed to be seated until the first scene or song is over.
Obviously that can cause some irritation to the patrons.

But you know what happens?
Those people generally don't show up late again.

I love this policy.

Here's an angle that most people don't think about.
Someone has to set up those shows that everyone loves to see.
Actually, frequently, it's a lot of someones.
Crew calls can be anywhere between 2 or 3 up to 70 people depending on the show.
The load-in time can vary between 5am and 1pm.
Generally, the larger the show, the more people required, the earlier the call time, and the longer it takes to set up.
Some of us will be working during the show, and some will be cut in the early to mid afternoon.
Either way, we have to take it all back down and put it back into however many car trunks or semis it came in, which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to 8 hours.
So some of us will be working up to 16 hours a day.
As I say, it varies with every show, and generally, the shows that go through Topeka don't sit, meaning stay for more than one performance, so in some ways we have it worse than others.
It depends on the show and the scheduling, but frequently the road crew has to load-in again the next day, meaning the earlier they finish, the more sleep they get before working again.
The local crew can also have this issue. One 'week' several years ago, we had 8 shows in 9 days.
I ended up working about 100 hours that week.
But that's poor booking by the venue, and a different subject.

So the show starts 10 minutes late and the intermission lasts an extra 10 minutes.
The show now takes 20 minutes longer than it should to be finished for the night.
20 minutes by itself isn't such a huge deal, but add that up several times a week and you start looking at a significant amount of time.

Where I'm working currently, shows are generally on a smaller scale.
2-4 of us, along with the band, bring in the gear and set it up in an hour or two.
Generally, the club opens at 8pm with shows billed to start at either 9pm or 10pm depending on what day of the week it is.

For some reason, people in Aspen seem to be more into that 'fashionable' thing and everyone seems to show up about 30 minutes after the billed start time.

The management notices this trend, and hold the opening act(s) for 20-60 minutes.
Those that do actually show up on time have to wait for the show to start.

I think part of the reason so many show up later is because they don't know or care about the opening act, so they just don't show up to see them.
Obviously, the opening act(s) aren't the headliner, and sometimes it's a crap-shoot if the opener will be any good or not.

So why should people who want to see the openers have to wait for those that don't?

What usually happens (that I've seen) is those that showed up before the billed time end up leaving before the headliner is finished.
Maybe because they've got to work the next day, maybe they worked a long day and are just too tired*, they think the drinks are too expensive and go somewhere else, who knows, but they are essentially cheated out of seeing what they paid to see.
(* You wouldn't think that people could be tired at a concert, but believe me, I've slept at the mix position during shows, sometimes during bands I like, or was enjoying even though I'd never seen them before)

So next time, those that showed up early this time, will show up later, and the cycle is renewed.
Or perhaps they are more hesitant to see the next show because they don't feel they get their monies worth.

This cycle hurts the venue's profits.

The kitchen is open from 8pm-11pm, and if people don't show up until 10:30 because they know the show won't start until then, they will get their dinner or snacks elsewhere.
$8 per burger and pizza, $3 for a basket of fries, $6 for wings.
That adds up.

The bar loses sales because people will either start the evening somewhere else, or end up somewhere else.
They will usually spend about the same amount of cash, but maybe get one less drink if they spent the entire night at the venue, but it ends up being more money for the venue because drinks are slightly more expensive.
Let's say the venue averages $6 a drink, and the other place averages $5 per drink.
The guy that starts elsewhere has two drinks, so that's $12 the venue doesn't get.
Not because that guy really needs the $2, but because either some people just watch their money more closely (locals) and it adds up, or they don't want to be at a club where there's nothing going on.
Capacity at the venue is about 450, so lets say that 50% start somewhere else for 2 drinks before they head over to see the show.
That's $2700 in lost sales for the venue.
If it's only 25%, that's $1350 lost.
Those are both huge numbers for the production business where margins can be very slim and $100 is the difference between breaking even and taking a loss on a show.

Bottom line here is just show up 15 minutes before the advertised curtain time.
Sit the hell down (or jump up and mosh, whichever is appropriate).
Start your events on time regardless of who is or isn't there, excepting the artist.

The crowd has a good time.
The venue gets a better profit margin.
Everyone that works to bring these events has an easier day.

As far as I can see, there are no losers here.