^^^^^^^
Certainly once I moved here we did. Started out going to shows in Wichita, then when I started spending summers in OKC I went to shows at LNC, etc., then moved in '86 and went to about every decent show for a couple of decades, plus traveled all over the country to see a few.

Regarding KISS, for whatever reason I didn't have the bug in 5th grade when I my friends caught it, and never saw them live until the (makeup-free) Assylum tour in '86 (Salina, KS). High point was Eric Carr (R.I.P.) playing a drum solo on a kit that included synthesized drums that made it sound like he was accompanying himself on guitar. I was in the first 10 rows on the floor, and I was pretty sure some of those flash pots singed my hair.

^^^^^^^
... I was in the first 10 rows on the floor, and I was pretty sure some of those flash pots singed my hair.

Heh, we were in 308, Row D in 1977 (no photographic memory, it's literally the first ticket in the stack that's sitting here in between my monitor and keyboard since I had to put a couple of others in the stack a few days ago), felt the heat from the flames there, crazy... Saw them again on their 10th anniversary tour and was on the floor for that one, but it was Vinnie and Eric instead of Peter and Ace, not as good...

I get the nostalgia for Peter and Ace, but Eric Carr had to have been the best actual musician in the history of that band, which even they admit wasn't long on musicianship.

^^^ Agreed. Went back and listened to their first few albums a few months back, amazed at how slow and basic some of it was, lol... And one more note on KISS - Ace's autobiography is *fantastic*, pulls no punches, lots of juicy details (Gene worked at Vogue as some kind of assistant to someone early on and used their supplies to promote KISS gigs), great reading.

We're forgetting the point here. These ticket broker companies are charging as much as $9 to mail you printed tickets. I guess it's just an "old fart" tax. BTW the venue and marque looks AWESOME from the I-235

pics

Have a box of ticket stubs as well. don't know what the first one is as they are not bundled but I usually get physical tickets but some I have printed at home.
I also have a big box of programs from bigger shows . Love them.. great memories.

Alice Cooper announced for August 19th.

Alice Cooper announced for August 19th.

I went to the Motley Crue show last year (because pyro) and AC opened up. I'm kind of indifferent to his music, but the show was entertaining. It's as much theater as it is rock show.

This venue reminds me a lot of the Orpheum here in downtown Madison. It pulls in a bunch of great shows and whenever concerts let out people just flood nearby businesses and bars.

The Criterion
‏@CriterionOKC
Our Box office will now be open from 12pm-5pm Monday through Friday. You will be able to purchase physical tickets and save some $ on fees.

^

Like!!

Just announced for June 29: Maxwell

The Criterion Maxwell (http://criterionokc.com/event/maxwell/)

Just announced for June 29: Maxwell

The Criterion Maxwell (http://criterionokc.com/event/maxwell/)

NICE.. I will definitely want to go to that one

12534

hmm, bud light??????

hmm, bud light??????

"We signed a five-year naming rights deal with Anheuser-Busch," Marsh said. "In the future, we'll be moving forward as The Criterion powered by Bud Light. That's going to be a really unique relationship. We're only the second venue in the nation that has an Anheuser-Busch naming title outside of Busch Stadium in St. Louis."

towards the bottom of this:
The Criterion impresses with debut concert, aims to improve before grand opening | News OK (http://newsok.com/article/5488460)

hmm, bud light??????

Surely you're familiar with naming rights deals..? Coca-Cola (Now Chevy) Bricktown Events Center, Chesapeake Arena, BOK Center...all have naming rights deals and pouring rights deals. If it helps The Criterion get more/better acts, I have zero problem with them having a few handles of swill. pretty sure they also have a few craft beers, and if they don't I don't mind drinking vodka (or even water) while watching bands that we otherwise might never see here.

The advertising space is actually pretty limited compared to other venues in the city (as urbanized mentioned)

This is 2016, if people will frequently look at something (buildings, scoreboards, internet videos, TV) it will have advertising on it.

I think the ads look fine. Really hope they do something more with the marquee some day, though. In honor of the Criterion, it could use a little more flair. I realize that it took a lot of money to get this off the ground, but if it continues to be a success maybe they can put a little back into the signage as a phase II. All-in-all it's pretty great, though.

^

The plan has always been to add neon to the marquee, they just haven't gotten to it yet.

They said they don't expect to be fully done with all the various work until late this year.

i wasn't questioning the ad itself for bud light (and yes - I work in Marketing and Operations so I am familiar with the concept of leases), but I was questioning the advertising signs on the building - which look horrible from the pics.

^^^^^^
I did the same since the first show I paid for; a Styx show in Wichita in 1981. I wish I had the stub from the first show I actual attended, which was Elvis Presley in 1976 when I was 9.

I still have many of my stubs going back to The Smashing Pumpkins at the Myriad in '97, which was my first real concert if we ignore the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming Out of Our Shells tour.

i wasn't questioning the ad itself for bud light (and yes - I work in Marketing and Operations so I am familiar with the concept of leases), but I was questioning the advertising signs on the building - which look horrible from the pics.

What about it looks so horrible? I think it looks pretty minimalist and doesn't take away from the building at all and when the marquee gets its neon it really won't be that noticeable. Honestly asking what do you think they should have done instead?

I still have many of my stubs going back to The Smashing Pumpkins at the Myriad in '97, which was my first real concert if we ignore the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Coming Out of Our Shells tour.

I saw the pumpkins open up for Guns N Roses in '91, I think. They were touring on Gish, which is till my favorite. They weren't well known yet and they got boo'd off the stage (Corgan even said "there's a lot of mooing out there on the prairie", lol). I always think of that with amusement though, because, without a doubt, more than half of those people that booed would end up owning a Smashing Pumpkins album within the following two years.

went to my morning jacket. great show. would've been even better if the sound had been more clear. loud, muddy, tinny... seemed to change throughout the show. not sure if it was mmj's soundguy who couldn't get it figured out? i heard more than a few people on the way out complaining about the sound too. i'm sure it was fine for some, though.

i liked the venue. felt spacious. the risers up top are great. i didn't get anything at the bar, but it looked like it backed up some at the area right behind the soundboard where there's not much room. not a fan of those tables right there that are roped off - is that a vip area?

^

Sound was great in my two trips (Ben Rector and Third Eye Blind) and for the first I was upstairs and the second I was on the floor about 1/4 of the way back from the stage.

How full was it last night?

it looked fairly full to me - i was on the floor. i went upstairs for the last of the encore, and some people upstairs had already left, but i'd guess it was at least 3/4 full.

and speaking of capacity - how can that place hold 4000 people? i could see 3000 for sure, but 4000 seems like a stretch.

^

Sound was great in my two trips (Ben Rector and Third Eye Blind) and for the first I was upstairs and the second I was on the floor about 1/4 of the way back from the stage.

How full was it last night?

It was not as full as Third Eye Blind and the bars were not nearly as backed up, but it was a good crowd. 3/4 is probably about right. I also went upstairs for the first time and there was a beer cart. I did wonder why it was upstairs when there are two bars up there serving less people than the one bar (albeit with more servers) downstairs. Either way, I had little to no wait the times when I went to the bar at this show and it was much easier to get back to your spot on the floor.

Here is the Prince tribute they did:

Here’s My Morning Jacket’s Prince Tribute from Their Tour Opener (https://www.relix.com/blogs/detail/heres_my_morning_jackets_prince_tribute_from_their _tour_opener)

^ I agree with Okie. Though I thought it was better for mmj than for The Barr Brothers. Thought the vocals were soft and muddy. I was in the middle of the crowd about halfway back from the stage. I was thinking the vocals may have been better upstairs as the speakers are up pretty high and off to the sides more than other venues of similar size that I've been to in the past (acknowledging full well that the sound engineers who worked on the Criterion know far more than I do), but it sounds like that may have not been the case. Overall, however, it was a great show.

Pete, I couldn't guess at the actual number but it was "full." I was impressed for a Wednesday show.

Also went to MMJ, first time I've been to the Criterion, and yeah, sound sucked badly (we were upstairs) - lots of echoey overtone harmonic bouncing around stuff (whatever the technical term for that is) going on, instruments and voices dropped in and out. Pretty cool place, though, nice setup with the standing bleachers upstairs (except for the douchebag that thought he could save spots - um, it's standing room, people move around, no assigned "standing spots") and security keeping folks off the railings (wife's short, so she has to be on the front row to see anything). Saw quite a few beer carts, but they weren't that busy (I don't drink that crap, so didn't really notice how many folks queued up during the sets, I was at the real bars), still nice that they had them. Also had a sign up pointing to the box office (which could be easy to miss - 3 1' x 2'-sized windows that don't even look open when they're open). Had plumbing problems, though - every single faucet we tried in every single restroom barely worked with the sensors, wife said she tried turning the little knob on the side, but that didn't work either, so she just wiped off the soap with towels, so they need serious recalibrating. Overall, a very nice addition to OKC, very glad we have it! Prince tribute was amazing - Sign O'The Times, Raspberry Beret, and Purple Rain.

went to my morning jacket. great show. would've been even better if the sound had been more clear. loud, muddy, tinny... seemed to change throughout the show. not sure if it was mmj's soundguy who couldn't get it figured out? i heard more than a few people on the way out complaining about the sound too. i'm sure it was fine for some, though.

i liked the venue. felt spacious. the risers up top are great. i didn't get anything at the bar, but it looked like it backed up some at the area right behind the soundboard where there's not much room. not a fan of those tables right there that are roped off - is that a vip area?

Apparently that is a VIP area, wife asked the security folks standing there if anybody could sit there and the response was an emphatic "No ma'am"

Regarding the sound, during the ULI tour of the facility Philip Randolph pointed out that all of the house sound had been struck at the request of MMJ, who was bringing its own equipment. So the bad sound - which was indeed terrible for the first half of the show until they got it dialed in pretty well for the second half - was 100% the band's fault, not the venue's. I also saw the Ben Rector show, utilizing house sound, and it was great. Hurts me to blame MMJ as I'm a big fan, but stuff like that happens and it WAS the first show of the tour, in their defense.

Regarding the VIP platform, you would have been a fan of it had you been standing/sitting on it, like I was. You also wouldn't want TheTravellers' wife crashing the party, because you - like me - would have spent a $40/ticket premium x 5 to have one of those tables. No offense, TT... :D

You too can have access to this platform (and a dedicated, protected VIP lane at the bar) for a premium, or if you opt for one of the season/premium ticketing upgrade packages. They start for as low as $1500 for a bank of tickets/upgrades to use at your discretion to a package of about $3K/ticket for every Live Nation show for the entire year.

^^^ Thought the sound might've been MMJ's problem - folks on the floor said they were screwing around with the keyboards and other stuff for a while, hence the looong intermission, and yeah, first few shows of any tour are always the working-it-out part, but they did a great job despite that, really liked how they tailored their light show to focus on the chandelier. No offense taken about the tables, we were just curious, I wouldn't want us crashing a VIP section either, lol, but I don't think there were signs up that said reserved or VIP (we coulda missed 'em), just Table #n-type of signs, so we had to ask. Knew about the whole VIP package, told the wife about it after she found out the tables were part of it and she agreed that was a crazy price to pay for that kind of thing, so we'll just be standing/lining up with the rest of the riffraff...

Regarding the sound, during the ULI tour of the facility Philip Randolph pointed out that all of the house sound had been struck at the request of MMJ, who was bringing its own equipment. So the bad sound - which was indeed terrible for the first half of the show until they got it dialed in pretty well for the second half - was 100% the band's fault, not the venue's. I also saw the Ben Rector show, utilizing house sound, and it was great. Hurts me to blame MMJ as I'm a big fan, but stuff like that happens and it WAS the first show of the tour, in their defense.

what defines house sound? speakers? soundboard? i can't defend mmj too much on this, even if it was their first show, because that's what the band's sound guys are paid to do - make the room sound good, whatever room it is.

The room was essential empty on the ULI tour. Not a speaker, monitor, board or cable anywhere in sight. The stage was pristine. I can only assume that MMJ supplied every aspect of the system. And I'm sure the band was just as unhappy with the sound situation as the crowd was.

The opening act sounded very good, so I assume it had something to do with the changeover. The intermission was very long and techs seemed to be hurriedly fiddling with a keyboard or other board of some type on the stage. The good news was that by about midway through the show the sound issues had been taken care of, and the two Prince covers, the encores and "One Big Holiday" sounded excellent.

Here's a simulation of what it was like to see MMJ play "One Big Holiday":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOXgGzDYmhU

Here are the Prince covers they did at the Criterion.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKnnLuLDxD4

The room was essential empty on the ULI tour. Not a speaker, monitor, board or cable anywhere in sight. The stage was pristine. I can only assume that MMJ supplied every aspect of the system. And I'm sure the band was just as unhappy with the sound situation as the crowd was.

The opening act sounded very good, so I assume it had something to do with the changeover. The intermission was very long and techs seemed to be hurriedly fiddling with a keyboard or other board of some type on the stage. The good news was that by about midway through the show the sound issues had been taken care of, and the two Prince covers, the encores and "One Big Holiday" sounded excellent....

I'm not a huge MMJ fan (like their stuff, just not quite as into them as the wife is), and I just basically stood there until around the Prince covers thinking "Hmmm, I just don't get it", and the bad sound might've been a part of it, because it did get better for me after that. And there were 3 Prince covers - "Sign O'The Times", "Raspberry Beret", and "Purple Rain". :)

I'm really looking forward to finally checking the venue out next week at Sturgill Simpson. He sold out Cain's last year...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/scene/offbeat/review-sturgill-simpson-stuns-sold-out-cain-s-ballroom-crowd/article_853168ce-e6eb-5e08-83eb-2fa0436a3845.html

The room was essential empty on the ULI tour. Not a speaker, monitor, board or cable anywhere in sight. The stage was pristine. I can only assume that MMJ supplied every aspect of the system. And I'm sure the band was just as unhappy with the sound situation as the crowd was.

just my unknowledgeable opinion, but wouldn't you expect a venue that had a 2-week gap between shows to take down speakers and put up the sound gear? i would guess the speakers are the criterion's, but think the bands could travel fairly easily with their own sound/mixing boards so they'll be very familiar with them.

just my unknowledgeable opinion, but wouldn't you expect a venue that had a 2-week gap between shows to take down speakers and put up the sound gear? i would guess the speakers are the criterion's, but think the bands could travel fairly easily with their own sound/mixing boards so they'll be very familiar with them.

Not at all. The contract specifies whether the venue provides the sound or the band does. In some venues where the house provides the sound the equipment is actually rented, so in those cases I would expect the sound to be struck and returned to whoever they rent from. But if there is nothing else booked before a show where the venue is providing sound and they OWN the equipment, why on earth would they remove it and then replace it, essentially doubling their workload? You wouldn't; you would throw a protective cover over the sound board and call it a day. In this case the band was providing all sound, so everything was struck and stored by the venue after the prior show. On the tour I took Philip specifically pointed out that everything was moved out in anticipation of MMJ bringing their own stuff.

BTW, he also mentioned that since the venue chose to own a sound system - rather than rent on a show-by-show basis as many do - it helped keep ticket prices down.

I'm not a huge MMJ fan (like their stuff, just not quite as into them as the wife is), and I just basically stood there until around the Prince covers thinking "Hmmm, I just don't get it", and the bad sound might've been a part of it, because it did get better for me after that. And there were 3 Prince covers - "Sign O'The Times", "Raspberry Beret", and "Purple Rain". :)

Aha! I was in the crapper during Sign O' The Times.

Not at all. The contract specifies whether the venue provides the sound or the band does. In some venues where the house provides the sound the equipment is actually rented, so in those cases I would expect the sound to be struck and returned to whoever they rent from. But if there is nothing else booked before a show where the venue is providing sound and they OWN the equipment, why on earth would they remove it and then replace it, essentially doubling their workload? You wouldn't; you would throw a protective cover over the sound board and call it a day. In this case the band was providing all sound, so everything was struck and stored by the venue after the prior show. On the tour I took Philip specifically pointed out that everything was moved out in anticipation of MMJ bringing their own stuff.

BTW, he also mentioned that since the venue chose to own a sound system - rather than rent on a show-by-show basis as many do - it helped keep ticket prices down.

ahh, i see. i was not aware the criterion owned all their sound equipment.

but think the bands could travel fairly easily with their own sound/mixing boards so they'll be very familiar with them.

Yeah, like Urbanized pointed out, they don't always travel with the whole PA, especially front of house stuff. They'll have their own amps and on stage processors, but a lot of times everything else is covered in the agreement with the promoter. It's basically addressed in the technical rider. Most people think about riders in terms of what color M&Ms the bands want or what kind of veggie burgers are their favorite, but a lot of it (most of it) is technical specs and what kind of equipment they need. It's often very specific, so most engineers will be familiar with whatever they ask for even if it isn't one specific board or processor that they carry with them all the time.

While I'm sure that they ran pink noise and had a sound check, the fact they brought everything may have limited their time they had before show due to a longer set up (which may have also led to the long intermission after the opener). I'm sure they had rehearsals with the gear leading up to the tour (most of which actually looks like festivals), so maybe they were kind of forced to start with the presets they got from those rehearsals which may have not been perfect for the room and adjusted on the fly. Total guess though. Sometimes it's just a case of how different the room can be once people fill it up. IMO, MMJs initial mix sounded more like it was tailored for a larger space or outdoors, but there's so many variables to consider it's impossible to really know without first hand knowledge of their approach. Some of it just comes down to taste and preferences, too. Comparing the Third Eye Blind with MMJ, I would have traded Stephen Jenkins's vocal mix for Jim James's initial level. Jenkins isn't really the strongest singer sometimes, and he was pretty upfront in the mix.

I will say though that the Criterion as it is now doesn't look like it would be a good sounding room. Looks can be very deceiving when it comes to acoustics, but there are still a lot of exposed hard flat surfaces, most notably the painted concrete floor. Even with people in the venue, that's going to cause some issues to address for any engineer. That being said, these things are addressed every day in most venues, so it can be and often is overcome. Interestingly, one of the best sounding arena shows I have ever been to was Stevie Wonder at Chesapeake, and that place is an acoustic nightmare. There were probably 40-50 people on that stage at some point, which means there were probably at least as many open mics, and it sounded great.

I'm thinking that the Sturgill Simpson show will better reveal what the room's inherent acoustic characteristics are. His stuff is typically "warmer" with less processing, less distortion, and more acoustic instrumentation, which often makes it much easier to identify how the room is affecting the sound.

Went to see Disclosure here on Friday. I think this is easily the best venue I've been to in the state. Sound, visuals, everything was great. I'm not sure why, but they didn't open the second floor until right before Disclosure was going on so it was really crowded and hot at first. The bar was a mess but it looks like they are working on 2 bars on the upper level, so I think that will get worked out once those are open.

They may not have their liquor license yet, which means they have to bring everything in before a show then take it completely out again.

I was also at Disclosure. Drink situation was the same as when I was here for Third Eye Blind. Beer carts would do wonders...

Also the set seemed awfully short for them coming on so late. But oh well, this venue is amazing - once they figure out the drinks and the temperature, will be 10/10.

I'm curious about Disclosure....

Since they use a variety of featured artists for vocals on all their tracks, how did they deal with this live?

Did they have one singer that sang all the songs or multiple vocalists?

One of the two guys sings in most of the songs, but they definitely were just playing the track vocals for their popular songs that have featured artists.

I posted this last week but it apparently got lost in the clean up.

Had coworker go to Sturgill Simpson at Criterion. He was really looking forward to a good show but said it was just awful. He said it was just a big box of concrete and metal which was not conducive to good sound at all. He said that on the first floor the sound was so muddy you couldn't pick a guitar out from a piano or any of the other mess of sound. He said it was even worse on the second floor. He couldn't believe that someone would build a music venue from the ground up with so little thought to acoustics nor could he believe that they didn't have a sound designer on staff there. He also mentioned that the doors opened late and there was a large crowd of people trying to get in through a small space. He said he wouldn't go back unless major changes were made. He felt like he wasted his money and time.

Drink situation was the same as when I was here for Third Eye Blind. Beer carts would do wonders...



There were quite a few (cash only) beer carts scattered throughout the venue for MMJ and Sturgill Simpson and, perhaps unsurprisingly, lines weren't bad for either show. Interesting that the Criterion isn't having carts for every show - I'm sure there's a reason but it seems that it is a no-brainer to have them.

I'm curious about Disclosure....

Since they use a variety of featured artists for vocals on all their tracks, how did they deal with this live?

Did they have one singer that sang all the songs or multiple vocalists?

I was in town and at the show as well.

They play the audio track of whomever was singing and both brothers have little booth things where they do the mixing and play the instrumentals. I should note that this past album, they did quite a bit of their own vocals.

They had teased all night that there was going to a be a "special guest," we were all hoping it would have been Alunageorge or Sam Smith, but the singer they did bring (Bredan Riley) is pretty legit. I probably would have lost my collective s*** if Sam Smith came.

One comment on the drink situation. Yeah, the lines were stupid long, but at the Bomb Factory, a very similar venue in Dallas, there are 2 bars and I can't really say the lines are any shorter. I agree with the beer cart idea. All in all, it was an amazing show, probably THE best I have ever been to. Maybe a bit shorter than I would have liked. The Criterion is a great facility and something OKC has really needed. I think they'll continue to kill it.

I posted this last week but it apparently got lost in the clean up.

Had coworker go to Sturgill Simpson at Criterion. He was really looking forward to a good show but said it was just awful. He said it was just a big box of concrete and metal which was not conducive to good sound at all. He said that on the first floor the sound was so muddy you couldn't pick a guitar out from a piano or any of the other mess of sound. He said it was even worse on the second floor. He couldn't believe that someone would build a music venue from the ground up with so little thought to acoustics nor could he believe that they didn't have a sound designer on staff there. He also mentioned that the doors opened late and there was a large crowd of people trying to get in through a small space. He said he wouldn't go back unless major changes were made. He felt like he wasted his money and time.

I was at Sturgill. There were some small issues (you can tell they are still working on some kinks) but I can't believe anyone could have gone to that show and came away with that opinion. There were some sound issues for the first couple of songs but it sounded great where I was after that. It was honestly one of the best concerts I've been too. Everyone I was with was extremely impressed. No offense but that sounds like someone who wanted to be disappointed by their experience.

I was in town and at the show as well.

They play the audio track of whomever was singing and both brothers have little booth things where they do the mixing and play the instrumentals. I should note that this past album, they did quite a bit of their own vocals.

They had teased all night that there was going to a be a "special guest," we were all hoping it would have been Alunageorge or Sam Smith, but the singer they did bring (Bredan Riley) is pretty legit. I probably would have lost my collective s*** if Sam Smith came.

One comment on the drink situation. Yeah, the lines were stupid long, but at the Bomb Factory, a very similar venue in Dallas, there are 2 bars and I can't really say the lines are any shorter. I agree with the beer cart idea. All in all, it was an amazing show, probably THE best I have ever been to. Maybe a bit shorter than I would have liked. The Criterion is a great facility and something OKC has really needed. I think they'll continue to kill it.

This was my second show (first was Ben Rector) at The Criterion. I love this venue. There were no sound issues during this show like there were for MMJ or Sturgill. Disclosure was fantastic and Brendan Reilly blew the roof off the place. The energy was INSANE. I can still feel the bass and music in my body. My friends and I were drenched in sweat from all the dancing. I started out down on the floor and made my way up to the balcony, which was closed up until just after Honey Dijon finished. When I came in, an OKCPD officer told me they wouldn't be opening it at all. I'm guessing walk-up sales exceeded their expectations because the floor filled up pretty quickly. The balcony was maybe 50% full.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFX8hHdMHEd/?taken-by=disclosure

I went to disclosure as well and the venue is great. Funny someone would say the acoustics are bad because we all were complimenting how well it was done and that with the amount of sound disclosure was pumping out it was very clear without distortion. It was a perfect venue for that size of show and light show. Disclosure had a huge load in with all that lighting and sound.

I was at Sturgill. There were some small issues (you can tell they are still working on some kinks) but I can't believe anyone could have gone to that show and came away with that opinion. There were some sound issues for the first couple of songs but it sounded great where I was after that. It was honestly one of the best concerts I've been too. Everyone I was with was extremely impressed. No offense but that sounds like someone who wanted to be disappointed by their experience.
I'm not sure why he would want to be disappointed after spending the money, getting a babysitter, and spending the time to go to the show. He said he went to several different areas in the building trying to find a place where the sound was good but he couldn't find one. He told me he was approaching it from a fan's viewpoint rather than a tech geek or sound geek.

I'm not sure why he would want to be disappointed after spending the money, getting a babysitter, and spending the time to go to the show. He said he went to several different areas in the building trying to find a place where the sound was good but he couldn't find one. He told me he was approaching it from a fan's viewpoint rather than a tech geek or sound geek.

Not sure where my post went but I'm happy to corroborate what your friend said. The sound was the worst setup I've been around in decades of concert going. They have miles to go. I also moved around to various locations to see if there were any decent listening spots, but if there were, it was where the first few hundred were standing (couldn't get up there - not a complaint just stating why I didn't listen from 10 feet away).

If you are going to build a facility that holds 3,500 and charge decent money to enter, set the place up for a decent listening experience for 3,500.

I also went to MMJ and, despite the shortcomings there, it was an A compared to Sturgill's setup. I'm not sure what's going on there bc Sturgill and his band are world class. This was the coor light tent at the county fair quality sound, not decent money at a venue billed at top notch quality. Hell, the 10 minutes I spent upstairs I spent 5 of those wondering if the house speakers were on. It sounded like only the amplifiers and monitors were working with no instruments miked up at all. Big head scratcher. This was the first concert I've ever left thinking I'd rather had stayed home and pressed play - 100% due to sound quality.

The place has potential, but has a lot of ground to make up before it can be considered a high quality mid size venue.

I went to Sturgill Simpson and have now been to 3 shows there (Rector, MMJ and SS). I will also be at Gregg Allman tomorrow night. I'll address a couple of things recently mentioned upthread:


Regarding drinks/beer cart, there WERE satellite beer bars set up for Sturgill Simpson. They are obviously bringing things like that online.
Regarding sound, it is COMPLETELY dependent upon where you are in the hall. It is possible for people to have different sound experiences based on being in a different place in the room, and I'm sure this is something they continue to work on.

The MMJ show was an outlier, since I know for a fact that all of the sound system for that was the band's. The sound issues for that show fall squarely on MMJ, which pains me to say, because I love that band.

I'm not sure how much most people walk around venues to check out the sound, but I do it all of the time, and especially have been doing it at this new venue to familiarize myself with sonic sweet spots, so that those are the places where I can go to immediately when I see favorite bands. Here is the breakdown of the building's sound based on the shows I have been to:


The open floor area is tough to beat. If you are in this area you are guaranteed to have fantastic sound, barring an issue like MMJ's.
In the balcony risers ON THE SIDES you will also have great sound (and a great view)
On the balcony risers IN THE BACK the sound QUALITY is good, but the volume tends to be low. A little too much crowd conversation can creep in. Nevertheless, this offers the best view of the show short of the first few rows on the floor. It feels surprisingly intimate up there.
Under the overhangs the sound is way less forgiving. Unless there is plenty of volume - which I understand 3rd Eye Blind fans enjoyed - there is quite a bit of reverb and WAY too much conversation noise. Like, you'll be really mad at people if you are there for the music more than you are to see and be seen.

All in all, I think the sound issues are minimal and can/will be fixed with a little bit of fine-tuning. I'd love to see some repeaters installed under the overhang to drown out conversation and reinforce the sound from the main audio, and would also like to see some in the rafters directed at the back risers. I think that would solve 99% of the sound challenges. It really has very little to do with the room itself; things just need to be dialed in, as expected.

These guys are doing a great job of figuring things out of the fly if you ask me. SS was the first show I had been to where they opened side doors and scanned tickets through those to alleviate the crush at the main entrance. People need to remember that they originally proposed a different design that reversed the room and put entrances along the side instead of on the corner. The corner entrance was forced upon them by BUDC, and if you ask them today, the Criterion guys themselves will admit that the required design changes made for a better building in many ways. At the same time, it poses some crowd control challenges before the show, and they are working through those and getting better at each show. I trust that they will have all of these things figured out very soon.

one thing i noticed at sturgill but not mmj - after your ticket got scanned, you still had to go through the line to get either get a 21+ wristband or an "x" marked on your hand if you weren't drinking. that seemed to hold up the line. not sure why you couldn't just breeze through that part if you weren't drinking, or at least have another spot inside to do this business.

Sturgill was my first show at the Criterion and overall had a great experience. I agree with OkieHornet that the holdup with the line was mainly from the wristbands, not getting your ticket scanned. The line moved much faster once they opened up the side door, but that wasn't done until around 8:00 pm. Although we waited in line for 30+ minutes, I don't think many (or anyone) people missed any of the show. The drink line went extremely fast... I never waited more than 5 minutes.

I will echo what Urbanized said about the sound underneath the balcony being the least forgiving. Since we weren't able to get there until right around the start, the open floor was packed. We started off underneath the balcony and the combination of the echo/reverberation and loud conversation was really distracting/frustrating. We eventually moved out from under the balcony to the open floor and the sound was night and day better. Going forward I will make sure to get there early enough to get a spot in the open floor, or try the balcony.