. "0"^^ . . . "2018-04-03T00:00:00"^^ . "0"^^ . "This was my first time at The Van Buren. A small venue but mostly SRO. There's elbow to elbow seating on the mezzanine as well as standing. I was on the mezz tonight for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It was my 4th time seeing them. The three previous times were in Philadelphia 30+ years ago. They were just as awesome tonight in their late 50's as they were in their late 20's. Up on the mezz there really isn't a bad view. The staff were all awesome folks, very pleasant and affable. Just make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes. Plenty of restrooms and at least one bar if you want to drink alcohol. A nice big outside seating area, too. The acoustics were great! Just a side note, the band GGOOLLDD (yeah, I never heard of them, either) opened for OMD. At one point the lead singer was swinging the mic over her head in a circle by the cord. I know, who uses corded mics these days? Anyhow, the mic itself separated from the cord and it went flying into the audience. I don't know if it hit anyone but considering how packed the place was I'm reasonably certain it did. If it did, I hope that person wasn't injured too badly. But I did LMAO at that for about five minutes! And that, boys and girls, is one reason why bands shouldn't use corded mics."^^ . "5"^^ . "0"^^ .