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| - Brand new, big stadium! And not a bad one at that. I went to see Above and Beyond, so my review is only for the music venue.
We arrived right as the music was starting and kind of concerned about long security lines. We shouldn't have been. It was still early enough that lines weren't long. There were several entrances, too, so thugs seemed to run pretty smoothly all night.
One slip-up was how the entrance flow was managed. It was very confusing to find the way to the GA floor, which we realized was downstairs. You needed a wrist band to get in and there were several places to get that, including lines right at the floor that ended up in a bottle-neck. Wrist bands definitely could have been more streamlined for easier access to the floor.
The GA area itself was a big, open area that gets a little slippery after a while since people were tossing their empty beers right on the ground. Kind of an oversight, in my opinion, that there weren't trash cans on the side of GA.
There was plenty of security in the venue and I didn't see anything get out of hand. Just lots of people having a good time!
In terms of the best tickets, I think it's go big or go home: if you don't get the floor tickets for an electronic music show, why are you even there?
For other shows, the decision is trickier. The acoustics were okay and the space was fantastic for a group that has great production, but the GA floor is so big, I don't know that seats on the opposite side would be very fun.
To get there - there's a drop-off area out front for taxis, as well as underground parking AT the venue and other parking options nearby. It's also two minutes to the nearest train station. Score!
However, if it's a big venue sometimes you have to wait for the train for a bit.
I considered giving Place Bell 3 stars because of the bad organization inside, but that's just temporary. AND - they serve hard liquor and some pretty decent snacks! They go for stadium prices, but that's worth a whole extra star in my book.
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