From its sci-fi, dystopian-themed music to its 2007 pay-what-you-want Internet album release, Radiohead has always been a forward-thinking band. Still, it’s surprising to discover the English quintet commissioned a carbon footprint analysis of its previous two U.S. tours.
The conclusion: it is fans, not bands, that are killing Mother Earth. The report found concertgoers commuting to and from shows accounted for the majority of CO2 generated during each tour.
“We can recycle, we can convert every tour bus to biodiesel, but this is what we really have to tackle,” said Brian Allenby of Maine-based Reverb, an organization founded by Guster guitarist/vocalist Adam Gardner and wife Lauren Sullivan to help artists “green” their tours. “Seventy to 80 percent of the CO2 footprint of a show is fans driving to and from the show. Especially at rural venues like the Tweeter Center.”
Following the report’s recommendations, Radiohead is encouraging fans to take public transportation. But the band is playing Aug. 13 in Mansfield at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts, the Boston-area venue least accessible by mass transit.
There are other options. Reverb and PickupPal.com are working with the Dave Matthews Band (performing June 24 and 25 at Tweeter) on an online carpooling network. DMB fans can connect at concerts.pickuppal.com/DMB.
Reverb’s other Tweeter shows - John Mayer (July 12), Maroon 5/Counting Crows (Aug. 2) and Jack Johnson (Aug. 6) - will offer eco-villages selling carbon offsets for drivers and prizes for carpoolers.
Live Nation, which runs the Tweeter Center, knows the onus shouldn’t be entirely on fans and bands. As part of its “Green Nation” program, Tweeter has switched to reusable catering cutlery, bulk water, CFL lightbulbs and low-flow showerheads, and expanded its recycling and composting while moving from chemical pesticides and fertilizer to organic alternatives.
“We’re constantly updating and perfecting,” said Tweeter operations administrator Audrey Butler. “And we’ve brainstormed how to deal with the big problem of not being near mass transportation.”
Under consideration are more carpooling rewards - there’s already a special easy in-and-out lot for carpoolers - and a carbon offset customers can add to tickets purchased online.
Still, Saturday’s T-and-foot-accessible EarthFest trumps anything Live Nation, Radiohead or Reverb have cooked up. Radio 92.9-FM’s annual free rock ’n’ roll celebration of green at the Hatch Shell - this year featuring Cake, Cracker, the BoDeans and English Beat - has spent a decade-plus shrinking its carbon footprint creatively. A daytime show (which means a lot less electricity used), it has compost buckets, a bike valet program (you ride it, they park it) and biodiesel generators.
Now all we have to do is get the Radiohead guys to practice what they preach and play next year’s EarthFest. Or anywhere that’s T accessible. We’re not picky when it comes to free Radiohead shows.
