The other week when me and my assosciate performed at a festival we were waiting for a crowd to gather for a solid 30 minutes only to lose them in a matter of seconds when someone with a PA and speaker set up just next to us and stole our crowd.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this issue or similar issues and has this ever happenned to anyone else.

I guess it depends on a few factors.
was this a street performers festival or some other type of festival where you would not be the primary entertainment (ie. a music festival)?

were specific locations and performance times booked, or was it a find your own spot and fend for yourself type of thing ?

I'm from edmonton, alberta, canada. Every year we have the Edmonton international street performers festival. It's a ten day event with over 1500 outdoor performers. it was the first of it's kind in north america, and also one of the biggest. At this festival, all performers are invited, and all showtimes and locations on the grounds are booked. If that is the festival model used where you were performing, then it's the fault of the organizers.

If it's a fend for yourself thing, then it's the other performers fault. They should have been professional enough to find their own space, and build their own crowd.

With that being said, I am not a street performer. I don't know what your perticuler code of ethics is. I don't know if it's a completely organised profession (in the festival setting), or if it's dog eat dog. As such, everything I have said so far, is just my opinion ( I only say that because some people like to jump all over posters for not making that clear). Either way, IMO you were kinda robbed of a good opportunity to entertain. That's really a shame.

I love the interactive nature of street performances, but some of the techniques for reeling in crowds can leave a sour taste in my mouth. Not to mention how some performers treat their audiences. Gazzo is one of the ones that I'm not too fond of. I know a lot of people really like him, but his style is not for me. Something about insulting the audience just strikes me as wrong.

Thanks for the input. greatly appreciated
I think it was a 'fend for yourself' type of thing, however it was probably down to common courtesy not to impose on someone else during performances.

I tend to be as respectful as I can to my audience because I want them to have as much fun as I do at performances and let them lead the show to some extent.
Anyway, thanks for commenting

What kind of act were they doing? the ones with a PA?

One of the major problems with "common courtesy" is that it so rarely is.

I remember a story in Asimov's magazine which told of a duel between a live musician and a computerized entertainment system which ran programs on a huge screen. The musician was winning hands down until the computerized system got the idea of project footage of the musician on its huge screen. He lost to himself.