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| - My all-time favorite band, The Smashing Pumpkins, played here last night. My 16 year old son and I had tickets and looked forward to this for months. He inherited my fabulous taste in music , so my favorite band, his first concert, it was a win win situation. We don't live in Charlotte, or North Carolina, for that matter. We drove about two hours for this. As we are unfamiliar with the area, we decided to drive to the venue first, then go grab a bite to eat. That was a major mistake. I know it's technically not the fault of the auditorium, but I need to warn other unassuming people trying to make smart decisions! We had to turn around on a very confusing bypass, and drive about 15-20 minutes back the way we had just come from. So be prepared. Stop for food prior; there's nothing nearby.
I felt $8 was a bit much for parking, but realized they had to somehow pay for the many parking attendants they had hired! There was one every three feet. However, the line for parking moved smoothly and quickly. There was a short walk to the entrance but nothing unreasonable.
The door attendants were friendly and helpful and the ushers helped us to our very tiny seats. I am a 5'7" woman, my son is 6'3", 200lbs. I was uncomfortable in the chair and my son's knees were almost hitting him in the chin. It's apparent that the seats haven't been updated since the 90s due to the fabric pattern. Ovens has stadium seating with a fairly steep incline. Moving while standing (dancing, clapping, etc.) is almost impossible, especially in any type of dress shoe.
There was an opening act. During, people were going in and out of the auditorium, finding their seats, and talking. I don't mean whispering; talking loudly. I was hopeful that this would cease when the main act began. It actually got worse as more people had arrived. This was intensified by Ovens having a full concession, including alcohol. I had expected most attendees to be my age or close-late 30's-40's, and up. If a younger crowd was there, great, if they were fans. There was a major portion of the ages I expected, but I was really surprised at the number of "millennials" and Gen Zs in attendance, but hey, they must have good taste in music.
I had read about this tour prior. Billy Corgan wanted to do a more intimate, personal set combining acoustic and electric acoustic versions. I was thinking MTV Unplugged. Not with these attendees. Drunk and/or on some type of drug, obnoxious, inconsiderate, and downright rude. They were yelling, not cheering, but having ear-splitting personal conversations, spilling beverages, climbing over seats, yelling out to the performers, and repeatedly going in and out of the auditorium during this supposed "intimate" type show. This, too, isn't the venue's fault; however, when they fail at every level to so much as discourage these interruptions, it becomes their fault! The distractions of hundreds of people Snap Chatting, posting to Facebook, and taking selfies and pictures with the flash on was ridiculous. An announcement of some general common sense courtesies at the start could have maybe helped, as well as discouraging trips to the bar. There was an intermission for these things. At one frustrating point, I had to lean over a row of people in front of me and tell an extremely intoxicated young man to shut up, I didn't pay $175 to hear him. Two rows of folks applauded me, but this was not my job. It was the job of the several attendants and security officers there, but no employees did a thing. When the performer makes repeated comments to and about the disrespectful conduct of the audience, that is a problem. Do something!
The two stars are for the artist, and possibly the few employees that were helpful. Unfortunately, my son's first concert, and most likely my last, was tainted by the lack of manners of the ticket holders and the absence of any kind of authority. This show was a hot mess and a disappointment, and sadly, it didn't have to be. Get it together, Ovens. You're too old to be acting like this!
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