What Is Your Favorite Arena/Concert Venue?
 

So, of all of the countless great venues, which stands out to you??

For me, favorite I think is the former Startwood Ampitheater, in Nashville, Tennessee. It no longer exists, but I have a thing for amphitheaters.... I suppose the Verizon Wireless AMP in Alpharetta is nice too!

Fave venues I've never been to: Red Rocks, and Jones Beach!

Well, Unleashed was my first ever concert :o
So, I would have to say Rod Laver at the moment, because of the beautiful memories I have.
I can still remember the moment I stepped in to huge arena - the lights, color and sound (although the opening act were playing). But what really made me happy was the flock of people entering the stadium, I knew for once that they were here for the same reason I was :D

Favs I've been to-

Sydney Opera House
Wembley Stadium
The O2 Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
Madison Square Garden
The Joint (Las Vegas)

I can't speak much to this, as I haven't been to that many except for Jones Beach, Nassau Colleseum, Madison Square Garden and an arena in Buffalo whose name I forget. But I absolutely LOVE the Jones Beach ampitheatre! (and I strongly suspect Stevie does as well.)
It's RIGHT on the water and it's an outdoor arena, so when the weather's good it's THE BEST place for a Stevie Concert!!! :)

When the weather's bad? NNNNNOT so much! ;)


P.S. - Yes, I WILL learn how to spell "Colleseum" some day, I promise! :p

Pretty much the same for me except the Buffalo arena, and I would add Giants Stadium. Jones Beach is cool, but many of the concerts that I have seen at the Garden in a 25 year span have been magical. So I would say Madison Square Garden.

I love Blossom Music Center in Ohio. I've never been up close for a show there, but the lawn and park feel of the entire venue makes it great for tailgating and then relaxing with friends and good music.

oh man, i've been to a bazillion shows there. i've been way in the back of the lawn (mostly for cleveland orchestra) and in the pit (for sixx am). it's a nice venue, but parking and getting there are absolute nightmares. rt 8 is the most direct way to get there and it's basically a dirt path. :lol: ok, not that bad, but it is not built for the kind of traffic blossom attracts. and once you get off rt 8 it's 2-lane back roads to get there. ugh.

In New Jersey:Atlantic City Borgata, also Boardwalk Hall.
PNC arts center in Holmdel.
In New York:Jones Beach, all the wacky weather,from high tides and near freezing cold,to monsoon rain showers,to freaking suana heat.
you got to love it.
Here in Connecticut the Mohegan Sun Arena is ok. but security is a pain in the a$$.
the others like Bridgeport Harbour yard is good,Hartford Civic Center {now XL center } is ok.The Dodge,Now Comcast is ok.But I would die if Stevie comes the the Toyota Oakdale theatre here in my home town.
In Mass,Greatwoods,Tweeter center, I think now its Comcast center.
good.
Boston: Bank of America Pavilion,good
Penn;Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton.good

thats all i can think of now.

I really love The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY. It's not in any way big or glamourous but shows just seem better there. It's small, with a pit that only holds like six rows, there's a level for tables, space by the bar and a balcony and I love venues that have various levels for good sight lines. The sound is pretty great and the vibe just feels good.

I liked the House of Blues in Atlantic City a lot. It's not too huge and it's one of the few venues where I've had front row because it was so easy to wait inside the Showboat, on a carpet, with a restroom right across the hall.


I used to love the Nokia in NYC for their sight lines and sound but the past few shows I've been to there have been very odd as far as vibe. There is just like a void in the air, the energy doesn't fly as well as other venues (and this has happened for bands i have seen in other venues, so i know it's not just the band).

As far as arenas go, I like MSG the best of the ones I've been to. It's more intimate than you'd think and even though I always prefer being at smaller venues where you really can be very close, it's one of the best overall. Izod Center in New Jersey is pretty good as well, but not "circular" enough.

The Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Concerts are "in the round" so every seat is a great one. I saw Lindsey there as well as a gazillion other bands. Plus I worked there for 5 years.

My two favorites are the Fillmore in San Francisco (talk about historic) and Mountain Winery in Saratoga.

Fillmore:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/...a6cb3e002c.jpg





Mountain Winery: http://www.mountainwinery.com/concerts/

Well Ive been to a few and I'd have to say that my favorite is probably Deer Creek Music center now called Verizon Wireless Music center outside Indianapolis. Just a beautiful setting. Here are some others that I've really enjoyed over the years.



Red Rocks-Denver
Sprint Center-Kansas City
Wembley Arena-London
Xcel Center-St Paul
Madison Square Garden-New York City
Staples Center-Los Angeles
Coors Amphitheater-San Diego
House Of Blues-Los Angeles & Las Vegas
Marcus Amphitheater-Milwaukee
Air Canada Center-Toronto
TD Banknorth Garden-Boston
The Orange Peel-Asheville
DTE Energy Music Theater-Detroit
Ford Amphitheater-Tampa
BOK Center-Tulsa
Blossom Music Center-Cleveland
Bank Of America Pavilion-Boston

And others too.

Ah, I hate the MEN.

My favourite venue is Buxton Opera House in the High Peak (UK :) ) Because it's small enough for everyone to see the performance yet there's enough room to get up and jump about. Second to that is probably Sheffield Arena, because the staff are nicer :p

Edinburgh Castle Esplanade - I saw Blondie there and the atmosphere was incredible!

Really? I think that place is a dump. It needs to be remodeled. I think the Bradley Center in Milwaukee is a nice venue.

As far as the Chicago area goes, I can't name one good venue. It's rather shocking how bad the venues we have in such a major metropolitan area are.

That outdoor bowl thing in Santa Barbara is really nice, but I love outdoor places on the beach the best, like the place they used to hold Beachstock in Redondo Beach.

If you discount the hassle of their nightmarish parking, these would be my top four:

Greek Theatre (Los Angeles)
Pacific Amphitheatre (Costa Mesa, CA)
Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (nee: Irvine Meadows)

As far as INDOOR venues:

Carpenter Center (on the campus of CSU Long Beach) just went for the first time this past Saturday...great place, even the back row at the top is only about 30-40 feet from the stage (horizontally), it's pretty high up, though. (Ok, could be clouded by the fact that from where I live now, I can WALK there)

Wiltern Theatre (Los Angeles) An old converted 30's Art Deco movie theatre...great sound everywhere, great sightlines even from high up in balcony. Parking used to be a bit of a hassle, but since they've completed a 5 story parking structure adjacent to the theatre, it's a whole lot better. A sample of who I've seen there:

Lindsey Buckingham (OotC tour)
The Allman Bros Band
Lyle Lovett
Concrete Blone
The Church

Wilshire Theatre (Los Angeles) Another old converted movie theatre (saw the premiere of the Who's Tommy movie there back in the early '70s...been to a couple of concerts there in recent years. Like with the Wiltern, the addition of an adjacent parking structure improved the concert going experience there.

Gibson Amphitheatre (nee: Universal Amphitheatre) (Los Angeles)
I DID like it a whole lot better when it was an open-air amphitheatre...the "charm" was gone when they enclosed it, but it is still a good venue.
Sample of who I've seen there:

Eric Clapton
Fleetwood Mac
Bob Welch
Randy Meisner
Electric Light Orchestra
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band


Clubs:

The Golden Bear (Huntington Beach) RIP

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/...f00ce89fa6.jpg

Best oncert venue (to me, anyway, since I never got to go to either Fillmores)....directly across PCH from the HB Pier. Sadly, the HB city council caved to pressure from developers in the early 80s and granted permits for "property improvement" and the Golden Bear's lease was canceled and the building destroyed in the name of "progress". A SHORT LIST of acts I saw there:

Walter Egan
John Stewart
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (multiple times)
Rick Vito's Blue Moderne
BB King (multiple times)
Albert King (multiple times)
Muddy Waters
Albert Collins
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
Peter Tosh
Etta James
Koko Taylor

The Roxy (West Hollywood...on the Sunset Strip) Good sight & sound from anywhere in the room. Parking is a hassle, though. And, maybe I might be a bit biased, since I played there myself a few times back in the mid/late 80s.

House Of Blues (Downtown Disney, Anaheim)
Saw Peter Green Splinter Group there....stood behind the sound board for most of the show...no better spot to be. Was up in the balcony for the opening act and sound was good, but there were many "visual obstructions".

Walnut Room (Denver, CO)
A bit biased here...my son-in-law is the Production Manager for the place. But, that aside....you can't get more than 40 feet from the stage or you'd be out in the parking lot. The sound is great, the sightlines are awesome. The only downside: Depending on the act, seating could be a problem, though, since it's mainly standing room only (just a few cocktail tables w/ barstools...from what I hear pretty much like the Fillmore East & West of the 60's), so if you can't stand for long stretches of time, you probably wouldn't have a good time.


Arenas:

Long Beach Arena (Long Beach, CA)
Close to home and the acts I saw there are some of the greatest of all time, so I may be remembering the place from THAT standpoint rather than the quality of the venue itself. The city council banned concerts there in the mid 80s, relented for a couple of special occasions (Ozzy w/Black Sabbath & The Ramones....and the Beastie Boys, post-concert semi-riots occurred both times...so once again concerts were banned)
Some of who I've seen there:

Eric Clapton (three times)
Led Zeppelin
ZZ Top (pre-beards)
Fleetwood Mac (Heroes Are Hard To Find tour)
Paris (Bob Welch's post FMac band)
Little Feat
Ten Years After
Gary Wright (anyone remember "Dreamweaver")
Santana
Van Halen (prior to their first album)
Edgar Winter Group
Climax Blues Band
Slade
The Motels
X
Los Lobos
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Wishbone Ash


The Great Western Forum (Inglewood CA)
IF you have seats BELOW the walkway or on the floor, where the sound from the stage is impeccable; above the walkway and the sound from the stage degrades sharply the higher you get)

Honda Center (nee: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim CA)
Been to five or six shows there and had seats in various locations & heights...good sound everywhere (for a sports arena). Parking not TOO bad....it helped that I only lived 2.5 miles away (by streets...about a mile as a crow flies) from the place most of the times I went there.

Well, I like it partially because of the setting right on the lakefront, so that does factor into it for me.

I've always loved the Starlake in Pittsburgh. It's now called the "Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pavilion," but that does not sound near as good as "Starlake" does to me, so Starlake it is forever.

I've never had a bad concert experience there, and I've been there for a wide range of different types of shows.

I like the Detroit Opera House, as well, even though the acoustics aren't as great as they could be. I've seen Tori Amos there twice, and it's just a really lovely building. Last time I was there, my (now ex)boyfriend, during the day, was all, "You know, Detroit isn't that bad, I don't know why it gets such a bad rap" and I just goggled at him. He changed his tune when he insisted we stop to eat after the show, around midnight, at the IHOP just near the Opera House and we got patted down for weapons before we were allowed inside. :laugh:

His wide-eyed idealism was adorable, of course, but yeah...no. Detroit deserves every bad rap it gets and then some.

:xoxo: Hometown pride. Starlake (I still keep using the moniker, too) drives me a little crazy because of how far it actually is from Pittsburgh, but I've had some great experiences there.

Marcus Amphitheater is kinda dumpy, but its far better than the monstrosity that is whatever-they're-calling-it-now shed in Tinley Park. Bradley Center, eh... narrow seats, cramped.

wha wha wha?? I know I'm biased, but there's a great mix of all types/shapes/sizes! I love the Vic, the Riv(iera), the Aragon for rock shows... and for the theater shows, you can't beat the Auditorium/Chicago Theatres... the Civic Opera House, the Palace, the Oriental, etc. Even outdoor shows, which normally make my skin crawl, can be enjoyable at Ravinia or the Navy Pier/Northerly Island boutique sheds.

For larger scale venues, Allstate Arena is quite the dumpy barn, as is the hideous Rosemont Theatre (actually, all of Rosemont is a ****hole.. I can only think of one reason why I'd ever set foot in that town again) United Center has nice amenities, at least. Haven't been to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates yet, but I'm sure its nicer (as its smaller)

What Chicago venues are you thinking of?

Ahh, Pittsburgh. I love Mellon Arena. I've been looking for an excuse to see a show/game there before they tear that place down.. its a true original.

Yes. Rosemont sucks. Hard.

The Sears Centre is okay, but the acoustics are really bad. They did not do a good job designing that arena for multi-purpose use.

Maybe it was the performers I saw there more than the arena itself. :shrug:

no, ur not exaggerating.. the parking and traffic are horrible..

I will never forget the time I went to Mayhem Fest there and when Slipknot got on stage, Corey Taylor was all, "HELLOOOOOOO, BURGETTSTOWN!!!" and I was like, "Hee hee. He has no idea where he is, he just read that on the Ticketmaster thing before he got on stage."

The Electric Factory in Philadelphia is probably one of the coolest venues I've been to. Small, intimate, industrial feel to it.

And add me to the list of Blossom fans. Yeah, it's a pain to get to, but it always felt, to me, more like a park than a corporate-run concert facility (I'm looking at you, Post Gazette Pavilion, aka Starlake).

Sorry, I was referring to the big arenas and sheds. First Midwest Bank Amphitheater is the name of the shed in Tinley, at the moment. It is truly awful. I've played on the stage (graduation ceremonies when I was in high school), and everything bounces off the pillars so you can't hear anything but a muddled mess. For those in the crowd the first few rows are fine, but after that horrible sound. They keep saying they're going to sell the land and tear it down, but there haven't been any buyers...so the shows go on!

The United Center has nice amenities, as you mentioned, but crappy sound from the shows I've seen there (U2, the Rolling Stones). I don't think Allstate's sound is that bad, but it's in such bad shape. I haven't been to the Rosemont Theater. Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island didn't exactly blow me away with high quality sound, plus port-o-potties! Yuck! I also don't like the bleacher seating. I haven't been to the Sears Centre either, but it's already a negative for me because Hoffman Estates is a pain to get to from where I live.

I do like the Civic Opera House (was there for the Damnation of Faust on Friday night), the Auditorium, Chicago Theater, etc. But for the most part rock concerts aren't held in these venues with good reason, so I feel cheated! I'm not a big fan of the Aragon, Riviera, or the House of Blues. The first two are dirty (can't someone take a mop and clean, plus put up a fresh coat of paint to these places?), and the HOB just annoys me with their buy stuff so you can stand in line inside line, and their overly aggressive security.

I have a love/hate relationship with the HOB's policies about buying stuff. On one hand, I've done Pass the Line at shows and gotten front row, which was great but at the same time, I think it's kind of lame that anyone who wants to pay more on top of their ticket price can buy a shot at a better spot, but it still doesn't guarantee you anything. My friend and I are going to the Chicago HOB next week for a show and we're thinking about eating in there. I've only seen it on concert DVDs but it seems like it's a pretty good size and you want to try and be toward the front, no?

Also, I heard a RIDICULOUS story from last year about their security and some drama regarding a fan taking a picture off the property and having the camera removed by force. Sooo, I won't be taking any pictures near any security guards?

^^
If you want to stand on the floor, then yes closer is better, although the stage is pretty high. If you want to sit in the balcony or opera boxes, you wouldn't need to do the pass the line.

Security is a beast there. They wand you and go through your purse. I still managed to get a camera in, however I don't use flash, so I was able to take pictures to my heart's content. If you do use flash, chances are they will catch you and may get nasty about it.

ooh,oops, I forgot to mention the late New Haven Coliseum in New Haven Connecticut. ,its no longer with us.but it was coozy place.
This place was the venue that I went to see our queen for the first time.

[QUOTE=Macfanforever;875922]ooh,oops, I forgot to mention the late New Haven Coliseum in New Haven Connecticut. ,its no longer with us.but it was coozy place.
This place was the venue that I went to see our queen for the first time.[/QUOTE]


Me too. Nov.10,1979.

Here are some more venues Ive been to that I enjoyed.

Riverbend Music Center- Cincinnati
Pepsi Center-Denver
Philips Arena-Atlanta
C.W. Mitchell Pavilion-Houston
Qwest Center-Omaha
Toyota Pavilion-Scranton-This place is in such a beautiful setting


Oh and attention Luke :) Ive always been fascinated at the thought of seeing a show at The Gorge in George Washington. Have you been there? also Clark County Amphitheater in Ridgefield Washington and White River Amphitheater near Seattle. Have u been to either of those as well and what do you think if you have?

Are you a hockey guy at all? If so, this has Penguins playoffs written all over it :wavey: I'm going to try to catch the March 20th game when I'm home over spring break.

:laugh: Can you imagine how happy the residents of Burgettstown were to finally get some recognition, though? Slipknot fans 4lyfe from that moment on.

Oh fo sho. We've finally been validated! Even if it was by a short guy with questionable fashion taste! Huzzah!

Hi David!

I've never been to the Gorge, but I've heard its beautiful. Its definitely out of the way... its often referred to as "Seattle", when its the same distance from Seattle from as Philadelphia is from New York City. Never been to White River, or even Clark County, which is 20 miles outside of Portland. I'm just not a fan of the outdoor concerts.. despise summer with a vengeance.

I am! I was glued to the TV all seven games vs. the Redwings last year. I'm going to try to make it out. Its hard to get out to PIT ever since US Airways bailed, but I think I'm going to have to make a special trip out this time. Do you sit in the Igloo seats? :)

The Ford Center
The BOK Arena
AAC in Dallas
The Ol' Lady on Brady (aka Brady Theater in Tulsa)
The Cabaret Theater (Tulsa)
The Expo Square Pavilion (Tulsa)
and finally the Muskogee Civic Center.

I like the Great Woods venue in MA as I’ve seen many Stevie shows there.

My only gripe is the ridiculous parking situation there. Instead of 5 minutes, it literally takes you over an hour to get out of the parking lot after each show. Because of that, most people just party in the lot and wait out the traffic.