Inspired by the recent thread "how many states have you seen concerts in". I thought I'd focus on venues that people have been to the most times . This is not about your favorite venues although your favorites could also be on your most attended list as well. For lack of other words your home venue(s) Here are my 5 most attended venues. All of the ones that make my top 5 are still active but I recognize that may not be the case for a lot of people. #1 Crystal Ballroom Portland, Oregon Sound A- Décor A Ambiance A/B+ Depends on setup Upkeep A to A+ Capacity 1500 History: Opened as Cotillion Hall in 1914. Renamed to Crystal Ballroom in the 1960s. Closed from 1970s through 1997. Reopened again as Crystal Ballroom in 1997 and still active. The Crystal Ballroom is on the third floor of the building it's in—has high ceilings, grand chandeliers, murals, and wide floor-to-ceiling arched windows. The Crystal Ballroom is basically a giant dancefloor with cool artwork all around the interior. There is a super small balcony as well. In relation to the overall size of the venue the balcony is truly tiny. There is limited seating at this venue and I have never seen the dancefloor with chairs or any other seating on it. Seating is limiting to benches around the perimeter of the dancefloor and in the super small balcony. Prepare to stand and dance at this venue which is a good thing imo. The dancefloor also has a little play in it so it can feel like the whole floor is moving at times and can make for some cool moments. The acoustics are usually pretty good but not what I would consider the best of the best. My major complaint about this venue (and this may only be since it reopened in 1997) is unless it is 21 and over they put this huge divider across the entire length of the dancefloor. I call it the parting of the Red Sea. On the left you can't have alcohol and on the right you can. The divider is alienating and a pain in the a.... Additionally the alcohol side is invariably packed and often times with heavily inebriated people you have deal with if you want a drink. When you get your drink you can't take it to the other side thus exasperating the lopsided problem because you have to stay until you finish your drink. The good part of this setup is if your not drinking (or between drinks) there is usually plenty of room to dance on the non alcohol side. There are no such issues for 21+ shows as they don't put the divider up and it is a much better venue when they don't. Sadly 21+ shows are few and far between. #2 Aladdin Theater Portland, Oregon Sound A+ Décor B Ambiance A+ Upkeep C Capacity 620 History: Opened as Geller's Theater in the late 1927. Theater name changed to Aladdin Theater in 1934. Operated as a Pornographic Theater for more than 30 years. Began hosting concerts Aladdin Theater 1991 and still active. I prefer this venue to the Crystal Ballroom as it is a bit smaller and the sound is also better imo. This venue almost invariably has Fantastic sound! There is a small dancefloor in front of the seats and a fairly large balcony with seats. Despite having a fairly small dance floor I have never seemed to not be able to go down and dance if I wanted to and when tired you can always head back to a seat of which there are plenty. Shows have always been general admission when I have gone. Occasionally they put chairs on the dancefloor (boo) too and in effect there is then no dancefloor for that show. #3 Cotillion Ballroom Wichita, Kansas Sound A- to B Decor D Ambiance B to B- Upkeep B to B+ Capacity 2000 History: Opened in 1960 and affectionately called the "Round Mound Of Sound" by the locals. Still Active. The Cotillion is a bit of a bizzare venue. Located on the west side of town behind a large 18 wheeler truck parking lot or something. (Never paid too close attention to what it actually was. I just know when you go there you have to drive past a shi.. ton of 18 wheelers to get there). The venue itself is shaped like an igloo and sound is generally decent although occasionally it can be stellar if the act gets the sound dialed in. There are 2 tiers in this round building. A large dancefloor and an encircling tier around the dancefloor with lunchroom tables for seating on the upper tier. There are also usually lunchroom tables at the back of the dancefloor. Yes thats right lunchroom tables! Occasionally they fill the entire dancefloor with lunchroom tables for to make for an all sit down show. Pretty rare I think I only saw this once. #4 Neptune Theater Seattle, Washington Sound A+ Decor A Ambiance A+ Upkeep B- Capacity 1000 History: Opened 1921. Renovated 2011 and started having concerts around that time. Still Active. Seattle's answer to the Aladdin Theater in Portland. I actually feel the sound is even better in the Neptune than the Aladdin and that is saying something! Sound is almost always excellent at the Aladdin. There is a dancefloor in the front but instead of seating on the main floor behind the dancefloor there is basically a giant bar area where you have to be 21 to enter. The majority of this area is under the balcony but not all of it. There are some great sightlines just behind the dancefloor in this area. There is a rather large balcony at this venue with the most notable thing being the isles are extremely uneven terrain and difficult to traverse. Beware if you are inebriated as you just might fall! Some pretty cool murals also adorn the walls. #5 Cuthbert Amphitheater Eugene, Oregon Sound A+ to A Décor A Ambiance A+ Upkeep A+ Capacity 5000 History: Has been open since at least 1991. Unsure of the rest. Great outdoor venue. This venue has a dancefloor up front followed by a tier of seating and then 2 tiers of lawn behind the seats. Sound is almost always great and a really pleasant place to see a show outdoors. I do have a complaint about their recent smoking policy. They seem to recently be intent that anyone who smokes do so only in a designated area. I come from the era of having your eyes burn at indoor shows due to both cigarettes and weed and I have begrudgingly accepted indoor venues have moved to this type of setup or no smoking at all in indoor venues since around 2010. (I still don't like it. It's a concert!) Seeing this happen at an outdoor venue is just too much over the top. I want to sit on my blanket and watch the show without having to worry about going to some obscure corner of the venue. I'm not really a smoker in general but whether I want to or not I don't like this type of restrictive behavior. What venues have you been to the most times?
Maui Arts & Culture Center Blaisdell Arena Honolulu Oakland Arena CA Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View/Palo Alto CA)
Hollywood Bowl LA Forum Glen Helen Amphitheatre Santa Barbara Bowl Universal Amphitheatre Out of all these the Santa Barbara Bowl is my favorite but really miss the Universal Amphitheatre. Don't see a lot of shows here in Bakersfield.
Perth Entertainment Centre Perth Western Australia Sound - not great decor - stadium-like ambiance - is all about the crowd upkeep - was always good, but it doesn't exist anymore capacity - 8200 Perth Concert Hall Perth Western Australia Sound - excellent decor - nice ambiance - is always about the crowd upkeep - really good capacity - 1729 The Generator Perth Western Australia Sound - like a pub decor - like a pub ambiance - like a pub upkeep - like a pub lol capacity - no idea Fedex Forum Memphis Tennessee Sound - average decor - stadium-like Ambiance - is all about the crowd upkeep - seems pretty decent capacity - 18,119 Simmons Bank Arena Little Rock Arkansas sound - average decor - stadium-like Ambiance - is all about the crowd upkeep - seems pretty good capacity 18,000 Raffles hotel Perth Western Australia sound - like a pub decor - like a pub ambiance - like a pub upkeep - like a pub capacity - no idea, but I looked it up, and it looks like they have swished the place up a bit Cloverdale Hotel, Belmont Hotel, Warwick Hotel, Paddington Alehouse, and lots of others ... same as the Generator and Raffles
Brixton Academy (c.4,000 capacity) probably. Off the top of my head I’ve seen there: Dinosaur Jr Manic Street Preachers Belle & Sebastian Morrissey Kings of Leon First Aid Kit Pulp
Probably Massey Hall in Toronto for me. (2,700) Great sound and ambience, but dependent upon where your seat is located. Sight lines can be tricky in certain spots. It's old, built in the 1890's. Around twenty years ago they spruced it up a little, built a lounge in the basement, and modernized "the facilities". Now it's undergoing a whole big scale renovation. It's going to be interesting to see and hear the new digs.
Ithaca State theater Third time in May, in fairness it's "only" my fifth show (okay, arguably sixth if a festival stage counts will multiple artists) gone to + I couldn't really bankroll any concerts until I was 20 (three years ago)
Definitely the Glasgow Barrowland. Best venue in the world. First gig I did away from home was there in 1989 to see the Wonder Stuff, since then I’ve seen the likes of The Charlatans, The Cult, Janes Addiction, Simple Minds, Big Country, BRMC, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Living Colour to name but a few. I’ll be back a couple of times later in the year for the Mary Chain again and Peter Hook.
Most Visited? The Forum / Town & Country - London. I've been to at least 60 shows here. O2 Forum Kentish Town - Wikipedia The sound is generally good but a bit boomy upstairs, decor is 1930's, lots of white and ornate stylings. Bar service is generally quick. One of the better venues that still exists. Brixton Academy - London. About 50 shows. O2 Brixton Academy - Wikipedia Capacity is around 4,000. Sound is very unpredictable. Styling is Italian Renaissance. I don't like it because the dance floor is sloped and has lots of bars to stop crushing, so it feels like several venues crammed into one. The bars are poorly organised and the queues for service are often rude and noisy. I rarely buy drinks here. Shepards Bush Empire - London. About 40 shows. Shepherd's Bush Empire - Wikipedia Capacity is about 2,000. I hate this venue. It's got three balconies as well as an appallingly designed ground floor standing area. There are three bars downstairs, but one divides the standing area into a mezzanine floor : if you're up there, you can't see anything or hear much apart from people ordering beer. The sound is wildly unpredictable. Everywhere you go it is crowded. Best venue? The now closed Leamington Assembly Halls. A nice big, Art Deco room, well designed with a balcony up back. well designed, plenty of space, and bars at the back that are long and wide. Shock as Leamington Assembly closes Of the open venues... it's The Barrowlands in Glasgow. Well designed, great crowd, long bars, good service, and a lovely interior. And possibly the largest neon sign in Britain. Barrowland Ballroom - Wikipedia The Paradiso in Amsterdam is a very close second. Paradiso (Amsterdam) - Wikipedia
Surprisingly , it turns out to be the Royal Albert Hall in London. Apparently I’ve seen 33 gigs there, and that’s not even counting any of the classical concerts and other events I’ve been to. Crikey!
The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD MCI/Verizon Center in DC Dallas Memorial Auditorium Reunion Arena in Dallas State Theater in Falls Church, VA
Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum El Paso Civic Center (gone) El Paso County Coliseum Reunion Arena, Dallas (gone) American Airlines Center, Dallas Lubbock City Coliseum (gone) Sneakers, Amarillo (gone) Frank Erwin Center, Austin
Another nod for The Barrowlands Ballroom. Still kept all my ticket stubs from over 30 years of gig going. Not sure how many were in there but the majority
The Knitting Factory in Boise, Idaho. About 50 shows, including the concerts before it was changed from The Big Easy to The Knitting Factory.
I've seen many shows there. An intimate and beautiful venue. Some notable shows include: Richard Thompson Band Steve Hackett Chick Corea Elektric Band Bruce Cockburn John Hiatt Jerry Douglas Dweezil Zappa
Capitol Centre in Landover Md. 9:30 Club 930 F St Wash. Dc Fed Ex Field in Landover Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Md. Nissan Pavilion in Bristow Va.
