Concert Venue Discussion Thread Tour • Page 3

Yeah the crowds are always crazy, but the sides of the barricades never get it too bad because of the layout. It’s a perfect mix.

 

21 Favorites (and my favorite show I saw there):
NJ
Tradewinds (RIP): Fountains of Wayne/OK Go
Birch Hill Nite Club (RIP): Flogging Molly
Club Krome (RIP): Saves the Day/Thursday
Borgata Events Center (NJ): No Doubt

Philly
TLA: Thursday
Trocadero: Carly Rae Jepsen
World Cafe Live: fun./Steel Train
The Fire: Ozma
First Unitarian Church: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
The Fillmore: Bush
North Star Bar: VHS or Beta/Ambulance LTD/Robbers on High Street

NY
Webster Hall (RIP): The Format/Piebald/Steel Train
Town Hall: Sufjan Stevens
Music Hall of Williamsburg: The Rapture
Radio City Music Hall: Spoon
Bowery Ballroom: Cold War Kids/Delta Spirit/Tokyo Police Club
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts: Gin Blossoms/Everclear/Sugar Ray
Madison Square Garden: LCD Soundsystem

DC
930 Club: Snow Patrol/Ed Sheeran

MD
Merriweather Post Pavilion: blink-182/Weezer/The Hold Steady

CT
The Ballroom at The Outer Space: John K. Samson

Worst:
Terminal 5 (NYC)
PNC Bank Arts Center (NJ)
Stone Pony Outdoors (NJ -- for a sellout only)
Starland (NJ -- for a sellout only; otherwise, it's fine)
The Pavilion @ Montage Mountain (Scranton, PA)
Jones Beach Theater (Wantage, NY -- during a lightning storm only)
Comcast Theater (Hartford, CT)

And a special shout-out to the Electric Factory. It's not a good venue, not in a great area, and parking is terrible, but I've seen some terrific shows there (New Found Glory, The Shins, Sum 41, Dashboard Confessional, Franz Ferdinand, etc.)

 

Penny Road is probably my least favorite venue in the whole area. Cenntial is cool, got to play a show there once was pretty dope.

 

I’ve never had a problem with parking at the Electric Factory. I always end up parking on Spring Garden St or the next block over on 6th St with no issues.

 

I don't think I've ever actually driven myself, but my friends have always insisted on parking in the lot. And then we're never able to get out, or at least that's my memory of it. I don't think I've been there in about ten years.

 

Every venue I've ever been to (I think - I'm sure I'm missing a few)

Cleveland Area:

Agora Theatre and Ballroom - This is probably my favorite indoor venue in the Cleveland area. It was a staple for most bands/artists to travel through when in town, until the House of Blues opened up. To me, Agora blows HOB out of the water. Even shows in the smaller Ballroom are great. I've seen NFG, JEW, The Used, TBS, Straylight Run, Bayside, Nas here and will be seeing Modest Mouse here in May. One downside to the Agora is parking is VERY hard to find and there is nothing to do before or after the shows unless you want to walk a good 15 minutes or so.

Beachland Ballroom - Another great indoor venue in Cleveland. This is actually about 15 miles east of downtown Cleveland with a 600 person cap. Have seen Bayside here twice, Manchester Orchestra, The Milk Carton kids.

Blossom Music Center (Cuyahoga Falls)- HATE, HATE, HATE this place. It's in the middle of nowhere and there is no major highway to get there. It's a two lane road that always has construction and terrible traffic. It's taken me up to 4-5 hours to even get in before and it's typically a 2-hour trek to get out of there. Have seen Weezer, Snoop, Dashboard, Linkin Park, Blink-182, Luke Bryan and a few others there.

Classic Park (Eastlake) - Saw Stone Temple Pilots here in 2011. It's a minor league baseball stadium that typically has one or two concerts in the summer.

House of Blues - Love the location, not the biggest fan of the venue. In the heart of downtown Cleveland so tons to do before and after shows. Sucks that it took away a ton of business from the Agora. This is where the majority of bands now play when coming to Cleveland. Have seen so, so many shows here. Bayside, Brand New, Manchester, Thrice, PATD!, AAR, Yellowcard, TEN, Fun., Twenty One Pilots, TBS, The Used, JEW, The Front Bottoms, Macklemore, Lupe, Thursday, Bright Eyes, and many, many others.

Mahall's (Lakewood) - This is actually a bowling alley, bar, concert venue. Love this place. Have seen John Nolan, Geoff Rickley, Front Bottoms, Early November here.

Musica (Akron) - Another cool dive venue. Probably a 200/250 person cap. Have seen Front Bottoms, Andy Hull, Early November, Anthony Raneri and Twenty One Pilots here. My favorite memory here is when Andy stayed after to just drink at the bar. I had a good 30 minute conversation with him. So down to earth and he even invited me to go to a sold out show the following night in Cincinnati - they were opening for Weezer. I had to turn him down due to work :(

Nautica (Jacob's Pavilion) - Love this venue. Outdoor and right on the river overlooking the city's skyline. Have seen Kendrick Lamar, Fun., TBS (twice), PATD!, Brand New and MO here.

The Odeon - Only saw one show here. It was The Used in 2002 for NINETY TWO cents. It was a radio promotion and before the band was big. It was awesome. I had also been here for a few high school rock offs in the early 2000s. This place closed down forever, and I'm not sure if it reopened or not (I think it might have?)

Pirate's Cove - Only been here once and knew (and still know) nothing about it. All I know is I hung out with Silverstein at the bar in 2003 for a good 2 hours before the show. They bought my friend and I beers and wings. My guess is there was less than 15 people at that show.

Rhythm Room - This place was bonkers. Only went once but the stage is downstairs with a pit, and then there is like a square balcony surrounding the entire downstairs on each side where people can look down below and watch the show. I saw Silverstein here in 2004. I'm fairly certain it's been closed for a long time now.

Quicken Loans Arena - Have been to a bazillion Cavs games here. Saw my first two concerts here ever when I was 10 - R.E.M. and John Mellencamp. Have also seen Kanye, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jay-Z here.

The Grog Shop (Cleveland Heights) - Love the Grog Shop, but hate that there is no easy way to get there. It's on Coventry Road, which is one of my favorite areas in all of Northeast Ohio. My only qualm with this venue is the ceiling is sooo low. It's like being in a small basement and there's not much of a stage, so if you're in the back, you have a really hard time of seeing the show. Have seen Bayside, Hawthorne Heights, Twenty One Pilots, Astronautalis, Andy Hull here.

Tower City Amphitheater - This place was OK. It closed down a few years back but they had some monster shows here. Outdoor venue that could jam in a ton of people. I saw a few festivals here (two warped tours, X fest) and STP and Brand New here.

Wolstein Center - College arena. They had a lot of shows here when I was younger, then it seemed like nothing for a decade but now they're getting a lot of acts again. Saw Family Values Tour here in 2001 (STP, Linkin Park, Staind), Weezer and JEW, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Brand New, Front Bottoms, PATD!, The Lumineers.

Bowling Green, OH

Anderson Arena - Only saw one show here and it was Dashboard Confessional in like, 2005.

Cincinnati

Bogart's - Really like this venue. Have only been there twice. The first time (2005) the surrounding area was scary as hell but then went back in 2013 and it felt like I was in a different city because everything had changed and just appeared nicer and cleaned up. Saw TBS there in 2005 and Brand New in 2013 (deja show). A lot of great bars/restaurants to visit before and after the show.

Columbus

LC Pavilion - Love this venue. It's both an indoor and outdoor venue and have been to both. My favorite shows here were Twenty One Pilots (a few times) which were at the time, the biggest shows the band had ever played. Also saw Brand New here.

Newport Music Hall - Another great Columbus venue. Have seen Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books, The Front Bottoms and Jimmy Eat World here.

New York

Nassau Coliseum - Saw Brand New play here in 2009 along with Thrice, Glassjaw, Manchester Orchestra and Kevin Devnie.

Pittsburgh

Club Zoo - Went once, in 2011 for Brand New. I remember the venue didn't sell alcohol (maybe it was just for the show), but upon finding that out, my friend and I begged the bouncer to let us leave and come back and we sprinted to a nearby bar to take some shots and pound one more beer (we had been drinking for hours before getting into the venue) and then ran back to the show. I just remember the venue being super narrow.

Stage AE - Pretty much a carbon copy of LC Pavilion in Columbus. Only been once but it was awesome and a great surrounding area too. Saw BN/MM tour here.

Toledo

Headliners - Only been there once, to see Bayside and Straylight Run, a show I'll never forget. The place just seemed to be a vacant factory or something. It was like being in a very, very large garage. Pretty cool.

 

Our feelings algin pretty closely on all of those.

-Agree on T5 being most loathed in the city. Good to see more mid-size indie acts going to Brooklyn Steel, even if it has its own issues.

-I miss The Downtown on Long Island. Saw so many amazing shows there growing up (My Chemical Romance opening for Coheed after Second Stage came out, etc).

-I WISH the Capitol Theater was in NYC proper. Best venue. Bars are perfectly laid out. More places need to do the sloped GA floor so everyone can see, AND the wall projections that are unique to each show are just another amazing bonus.

 

I don't get out there too much since it's a pain in the ass and I'm an old man living in Brooklyn. However, just wanted to ask, does anyone else find it hilarious that they have "Starland's Famous Pizza" which is, from what I gather, just pizza from a local place that they order in bulk and sell for $3 slice?

 

Love the Capitol Theater. Just announced Grizzly Bear/Spoon there (which is also playing Prospect Park). Bit of a ride to get to though, especially if you don't live close to Grand Central.

 

Eh, that pizza can be a lifesaver. It’s such a big piece for $3 and considering most venues have no food at all, I think it’s great.

 

I've pretty much only been to shows in NYC so:

Favorites: Irving Plaza, LPR, Playstation Theater, Bowery Ballroom, Highline Ballroom, Gramercy Theater, Forest Hills Stadium (basically the only large venue I can tolerate in the area)
Least favorites: All the arenas/stadiums, Terminal 5, the new amphitheater down on Coney Island (I can't remember the name)

 

I actually like this idea! To rattle off some favorite shows at venues real quick... (only counting ones I’ve been to multiple times)

SEATTLE

El Corazon: Anti-Flag/Stray from the Path - Recent, by Anti-Flag always put on such a positive show!

The Showbox: Say Anything/Saves the Day - My first time at this venue, getting to see one of my favorite albums no less!

Neumos: Say Anything - Also recent, but both nights of the In Defense tour they were on top form!

The Crocodile: hellogoodbye - super fun, funny, and probably best use of the space I’ve seen yet.

Marymoor Park: Barenaked Ladies - Not even my favorite set I’ve seen them do, but just one of the most pleasant summer evenings. A rare situation where I can say I preferred the lawn to proper seating!

PORTLAND

Analog Theater: Showbread - Their final show ever. Still a crappy venue, but at least I got to run up on stage and chant with the crowd at the end. Grateful I got to experience the close of a very strange chapter in music history.

LOS ANGELES

The Wiltern: Yellowcard/New Found Glory - First time seeing either of these bands. Yellowcard brought down the house, but hadn’t kept up with NFG at this point and was honestly amazed by their live show.

Belasco Theater: Motion City Soundtrack - On their farewell tour, pretty sure I bounced up and down the whole time.

The Novo: Yellowcard - Got to see them play Ocean Avenue in full... twice! Nothing will top seeing them play “Gifts and Curses” for the first time, tho.

Teragram Ballroom: Turnover - Opening for Citizen, but Turnover’s utter lack of stage presence was overcome by three skinny teenagers who kept stagediving the whole set. Close 2nd Place: This Will Destroy You’s magical Young Mountain & S/T show...

El Rey: Ninja Sex Party - Only saw 2 shows here, win by default as the most entertaining.

The Roxy: Alesana - Also win by default by way underselling the venue. For one beautiful night, I could see! (To their credit, they were also very fun!)

Troubadour: Busted - Show ended with the entire audience jumping up and down, got to talk to the guys afterwards. Great night!

Whiskey-a-Go-Go: Skindred/(hed) p.e. - Skindred put on a great show, but seeing 20 dudes lock arms and headband in unision to hed’s set will forever be one of my favorite concert going memories!

The Forum: blink-182 - Seeing blink live for the first time is maybe the most excited I’ve ever been for a concert. I felt 13 again. In a good way.

ORANGE COUNTY

Chain Reaction: Set Your Goals - Literally one of the most wild, unhinged crowd experiences I’ve ever had. Wouldn’t trade it for anything! Close 2nd: Vanna, where the smattering of fans who were there made up for it by stage diving into almost nothing and rushing the stage at the end.

House of Blues: Yellowcard (you may be sensing a pattern here) - Their Final Show. Need I say more?

The Observatory: New Found Glory - When the pit was overflowing with moshers, we moshed in the aisles, and when they closed, people launched themselves into the air. 2nd Place: letlive. Clearly I like it when a band undersells. Only time seeing them live, and only time I’ve ever felt comfortable in that venue.

 

That Coney Island ampitheater is awful. Takes for-fucking-EVER to get there (I live in the same borough and still takes an hour +). Only been there once but the sound was awful and the whole thing basically smells like a beach snack bar.

 

Reposting this here from the regular Tour thread. I'm located in NJ, FYI.
NJ
Starland Ballroom - I've been here a stupid amount of times in only a couple of years. Everything there is actually decently priced, but they pack people in and dry out the air so you spend more money on drinks. Also, pretty much no breathing room in the whole venue.

Gamechangerworld - I think this place got shut down? Anyway, the promoters that book this place are largely very sketchy. Shows always getting shut down. Also, the venue is very oddly structured. That being said, they have very good security. I was barricade when Four Year Strong played, guard got his tooth cracked and still kept doing his job the whole show.

Stone Pony - Never been to a show here, but it's a very nice venue. I was here to pick up The Maine's last CD which they distributed a limited edition of through this venue.

House of Independents - Haven't been, but everyone I know who's been there says it's the perfect alternative to Gamechanger. Very clean, good security, etc.

Dingbatz - Basically a bar, no idea how I got in unattended at 15. Anyway, absolutely disgusting venue but in a novel sense.

PNC Bank Arts Center - I've only been here for one actual concert, Blink-182 in 2016. Pretty nice as far as concerts go but security is the worst. They check your ticket at like 3 different points between the arena and the bathrooms. Also, at that show they shut down all of the men's bathrooms except for one, which was unfortunate. As far as Warped goes, they've set it up differently every year, but it's pretty well done. Full Sail was in an awkwardly small place for Knocked Loose's set, so people were falling to merch tents and stuff.

OceanFirst Bank Center - Went here when it was still MAC at Monmouth University, for All Time Low. Pretty average venue, basically just a basketball arena with a stage.

Vintage Vinyl Records - Not really a full venue but they have a stage for instores. All the staff there are great, and the owner Rob is a very nice guy.

PA
Sherman Theater - Only venue in PA I've been to, one of my favorite GA venues.

NYC
Irving Plaza - Hands down my favorite venue. Great staff, reasonable prices, great view from anywhere in the venue.

PlayStation Theater - Some security was pretty awful at this place, but some was really good. Guards yelling at kids to leave while waiting in the coat check line, shoving kids who came over the barricade. Other guards were really cool though, handing out water and stuff. Also, this is another venue where they dry out the air a lot. Facilities themselves are very nice though.

Central Park Summerstage - Was here for All Time Low last summer. Nice venue but security was horrible. Guards were more concerned with yelling at kids for "running" than they were with pulling kids out of the crowd who passed out. Also, instead of giving out water they would spray people with a hose on full blast. I didn't mind, but it was kind of obnoxious.

Madison Square Garden - Only ever been to the theater under it. Had assigned seats and came late, so I didn't get to experience the venue much. That being said, they upsold merch by like $5-10. Payed like $35 for a Neck Deep flag.

Barclays Center - this place is crazy. They have so many food places in the venue. Haven't been in about 5 years, though.

 

How'd I forget about these two? Both great venues.

 

Southern California with a few extra venues I've been to outside of the area

Chain Reaction - I'm sure everyone around here as heard of this one in some capacity. Legendary venue in Anaheim with around 300 cap. Shirts and stickers of bands all along the walls and some shitty bathrooms (although I believe they've improved those recently). A sold out show here will always be a good one and I have luckily been to plenty. Although I never Yellowcard play here every time they would play in the area Ryan would always mention that Chain was their first ever sold out show. Bands never forget playing here. It's a great venue for hardcore and punk bands. Some of my favorite shows here would be the countless STYG shows, Bane, Terror, Saosin, The Chariot, Senses Fail and the final Swellers NA show.

House of Blues Anaheim (Downtown Disney) - This was the original location of the House of Blues Anaheim. It was notably smaller than most of the House of Blues around the country with a sub 1000 cap. Floor was really compact and sold out shows here would always get hot and sweaty. You also had to deal with the hassle of parking inside Disney which sucked. This was the venue of my first concert (outside of Backstreet Boys in 1999) back in 2007 when I saw Hawthorne Heights, From First To Last (first or second tour without Sonny), Secondhand Serenade, and Powerspace. I met Hawthorne Heights after the show at the merch table and talked to Casey that night not knowing he would be dead 5 months later :/ Sad shit aside I saw a bunch of good shows here including 10 year anniversary shows for Ocean Avenue and Discovering the Waterfront.

House of Blues Anaheim (Garden Walk) - This is the new location and it is so much better. Not too far from the park in a shopping/entertainment center called Garden Walk inside a former Imax theater. Parking is so easy and validated which a is a great place. I saw Thrice play here with Manchester Orchestra the first week it opened in March of 2017. There's now a cap of 2,300 with a huge floor and enveloping balcony. Everything about it is an upgrade over the previous location. They also have the smaller room inside (which i believe most HOB have) called the Parish. Less than 400 cap room where I saw Shane from Silverstein play a solo set.

The Observatory (Santa Ana) - Never knew much about this place until everything started to get booked there at the end of 2013. It has one of those awful tiered floor layouts that makes everything compact and security seems to have always been a problem for heavier type shows. Trashcans were thrown around at a TSSF show after security kept lowering their shoulder into scrawny kids trying to stage dive. Parking is also a pain in the ass and when they triple book shows it can get incredibly annoying. It gets all sorts of good tours though: Yellowcard Ocean Avenue/one of the final YC shows, NFG 20, Thrice's final show before the hiatus and a couple of times since returning, Senses Fail, The Menzingers, and a lot more. Also has a smaller cap area called The Constellation Room that puts on some more intimate shows. I've recently seen Phoebe Bridgers and Code Orange play sold out shows in there. My favorite one to have been at was Dustin Kensrue's cover songs show, which became Thoughts That Float On A Different Blood.

Programme Skate & Sound (Fullerton) - This is a skate shop around the corner from the university I went to in Fullerton. They've been putting on small DIY shows in their shop for a couple years now. I think the shop is partially owned by one of the members of Death By Stereo as well. Lots of good hardcore and punk bands have played here. I saw Terror play here with Strife, Regulate, and Dare last December and that was one crazy gig.

The Glasshouse (Pomona) - This venue has been getting great shows for well over a decade now. Located in downtown Pomona getting there and parking has always been easy. Never a bad show here and I'll gladly drive out from Anaheim to be there. First show I saw there was ADTR's first headliner with Parkway Drive in 2009. Thrice's second comeback show and my first time ever seeing them will always be my favorite in 2015. The Menzingers, Tigers Jaw, Silverstein, Senses Fail, and the Chariot have all played some great sets here.

Teragram Ballroom (Los Angeles) - Teragram is now my favorite venue in Los Angeles after first coming here in fall of 2016. One of the few places in LA I can get to from Orange County without having to use maps on my phone to guide me there. I saw Russian Circles, Caspian and This Will Destroy You headline here over the course of a month and the shows were amazing each time. Neon blue vibe inside is cool and I've thought the sound has always been good.

The Mayan Theater (Los Angeles) - Been here once for a TSSF and Basement show and I thought the whole aesthetic of the theater was pretty cool. The theater has Mayan type architecture all around the inside with screens on different areas of the stage. TSSF had their artwork showing on those during the set which was a nice touch.

Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall (Los Angeles) - I've only been to the Expo Hall portion of the venue but damn is it nice. I've seen Thrice here twice on beginning and end of their touring cycle for TBEITBN. 5,000+/sold out each time. Very long floor with a balcony surrounding the entirety of the floor. Great sound and acoustics with very large ceiling.

Club Bahia (Los Angeles) - This is a venue Caspian played at on their first tour of the Dust and Disquiet cycle. What a weird show. It is basically a Latin club 98% of the time from my understanding so I'm not sure how they ended up getting booked there. Tables and booths everywhere with a small floor. Caspian sounded amazing that night.

Greek Theater (Los Angeles) - Lovely outdoor venue nestled into the hills below Griffith Observatory. I've been here twice for some amazing shows from The 1975 and Explosions in the Sky. Coincidentally these two shows have had the best production of any show I've gone to. The lights were meticulously thought out and synced with the songs and having that bounce off the hills was amazing.

The Roxy (Hollywood) - I've only been here once for a Deafheaven show and while it's not my favorite club I did enjoy the show. The layout of the venue in regards to where the stage was kinda weird, but Deafheaven sounded incredible so I'm not going to complain much.

The Troubadour (Hollywood)- Legendary venue in Hollywood where I saw a Beware of Safety/Caspian show. Definitely my favorite Hollywood venue and it's a place I wish I would go to more. Sound was great and the vibe was great. Not much more I could ask for.

Soma (San Diego) - I've been here once because the tour I wanted to see was already sold out at Chain Reaction and I was not going to let that deter me from going. I believe Soma was a two auditorium movie theater before it got re-purposed for a concert venue. I was in the smaller room and my only complaint was the sloping floor towards the stage.

Santa Barbara Bowl - Really beautiful outdoor venue (similar to Greek) that's nudged into a neighborhood of Santa Barbara. It would be actually pretty easy to miss. Trees surrounding the whole thing, awesome sound, near the beach, and Lana. A pretty good combination if you ask me.

Bonus

Marquee Theater (Tempe AZ) - Trekked out here for the Rebirth Tour with Underoath and Caspian because they didn't have an LA area announced at the time outside of Self Help and wasn't going to miss full album sets of Underoath and Caspian on the same bill. I really liked this venue! Pretty big floor that probably gets all the bigger shows in the Phoenix area. I would not be opposed to going back.

Huxley's Neue Welt (Berlin DE) - I studied aboard in Berlin during the summer of 2016 and got to see two shows of bands I loved while I was there. Big open concert hall similar to the Marquee Theater with great sound. I saw Explosions in the Sky play here on my second day in the city. They were amazing and featured the same production I mentioned at the Greek Theater show. I've always heard that crowds in Europe act differently than crowds back in the states and I experienced that at this show. The crowd seemed to never clap at the end of the song and when they did clap it was at a random point of a song.

Musik & Frieden (Berlin DE) - small little bar I saw Silverstein play to a packed room. Had the same vibe of being at the Roxy back home. I lost my watch at this show. It was a great time!

Sorry for writing so much. I may have gotten carried away.

 

No worries, dude! Glad to see all the input!

I've been meaning to tell you that I'm pretty sure I was at that same Caspian show at Club Bahia. Went there for Circle Takes the Square, but was really impressed by Caspian's set. But yeah... what a weird venue!

Also, insanely jealous you got to go to the Santa Barbara Bowl! Always wanted to hit it up but could never quite make the timing work...

 

Yeah that was the show! I enjoyed CTTS’s set.

Lana sold out Anaheim HOB instantly so had to venture further out, but glad because it was beautiful.

 

according to concertarchives i've seen shows in 75 different venues across the counrty (i've yet to see a show outside the states..gotta get on that). Starland 15 times is the most, 7 irving, 6 terminal 5.

idk if i have a favorite or least favorite venue. to me it rarely matters.

for the most part i like Starland though. It's consistent and the crowds are always great. They're always fun, rowdy, and cheer for IHOP.

 

I stopped updating my concertsrchives page but now I’m very curious about my venue count. It’s probably higher than I realize.

 

My favorite in Austin is Mohawk. I think it's consistently voted the best or one of the best in Austin as well.

Also, Moody Theatre; there isn't a bad seat in the house.

I'm going to see the Decemberists at Round Rocks and the Ryman and I figure those will be at the top of my list.

 

According to my Concert Archives, I've been to 66 different venues (actually 64 because 2 venues changed names) in 23 cities. The most is the Hawthorne Theatre with 84 times (wow I've been there a lot).

 

Portland venues have been covered for the most part so I won't post a list, but best venues are Wonder Ballroom, Crystal Ballroom and Revolution Hall in my opinion. Revolution Hall sounds amazing, has a huge balcony and super nice security. Analog is solid for smaller shows, but gets packed when it's sold out. The downstairs reminds me of backspace, which was an awesome smaller venue for Portland. Roseland is by far my least favorite due to their security, ticketing policies and the fact that it gets too hot. Only reedeming quality is the balcony. Hawthorne is alright and by far the venue I've been to the most throughout years, but is nothing special.

 

Where do you normally park for Chain Reaction? Do you get their early for their small parking lot or at the Target across? The times I've been there I was normally dropped off/picked up so never had to worry about parking.

 

They might tow at Target so I always avoid there. Loara Street/Mable Street east of Chain is always my go to. Lots of steet parking down there.

I’ve also parked on Lincoln Ave in front of the car dealership, but you might not be able to park there until after 7.

Edit: if you’re there early enough try the Chain parking lot of course