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| - The Van Buren is cool because it's sitting at the crossroads of bringing in good acts, and having excellent audio/visual presentation. I've been to a couple of shows here, and a few of the dance party nights and I can wholeheartedly recommend this place as worth your time.
The first thing that stands out about this venue is how beautifully designed the space is. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the space used to be a garage or car dealership that was renovated to become a rather large performance space. The interior has a great sense of space and scale, and the stage itself looks and sounds excellent. Also really clean bathroom for a music venue, so they definitely take care of the place.
Be reminded that this is a concert venue, and drinks and food are expensive here. They have draft margaritas that were $10 a pop, and while that's not horrible for this kind of place the sugar levels of those are off the charts. You get one drop on your hands and now you have a super glue like bond to the glass it's in. Luckily they have a full bar to accommodate all your alcohol based needs. Also bonus points for their groovy patio, which has enough space and tables to accommodate a large crowd. Nice to have that option in between sets.
Ultimately, this may be the best concert venue in the state for this level of acts. It's not getting huge stadium shows, but it's definitely getting popular touring acts. And a lot of the shows aren't selling out months before they actually play, so it's not a hassle to get a ticket. A venue will live and die by what kind of acts it can bring in and I foresee this place being a staple of the Phoenix music scene. Next time you want to catch a band play, keep The Van Buren in mind.
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