I had a decent experience here from the only show I have ever experienced. I went with the husband and we parked for free on the street (always a plus in my book) and within walking distance. We got there early so we wandered the area and it is right near Shattuck and tons of places to grab a drink or a bite. As for the show (we saw Primus), I had no complaints. Our seats were good, we were up front in the first section of seats after general admission. I didn't even book the tickets right when they went on sale and we still lucked out with great seats. I found my seat comfortable, enough leg room for what you would expect. They did not allow photos, no one really does anymore though. We didn't try to eat or drink at the theater so their rules were not an issue for us. read more

I is be a smart people. We had excellent tickets to see Flight of the Conchords... never been to this theater, I was clever enough to read yelps. This one worried me: Jess s. 11/23/2008 'This venue is falling apart! Heres what I got to experience for a $50 ticket to a show here: 5 minute wait for the only ladies bathroom (5 working stalls), plus the entire bathroom was flooded with toilet water!' Before the show, all of the women's rooms were packed with lines of about 40+ squeezing their knees together or doing the pee pee dance. Being the ballsy girl that I am, I stomped over to the men's room. In and out... I was so proud of myself, I wanted to shake my imaginary penis. Halfway through the show, I need to go again. Guess what? The bathroom floor was flooded with ... you know.... toilet water, tinted with a nice shade of yellow and some floaters. Nice, huh? Leaving the show was a nightmare. The first show ran late, because it started late.... so the line for the next show was a mob of angry people. And the first show goers (me) just wanted out. I would prefer not to return to this theater. Unless it was someone totally awesome. Also.... the air circulation is poor. They did have the doors open to help... which with the bay breeze, made it nice... but there is no way in hell I would ever go to a show in the summer time. read more

As far as venues in the bay area go the Berkeley Community Theatre is definitely middle of the pack for me. The good include a fairly intimate setting, reserved seating with good sightlines (I've sat everywhere from front row to back of the balcony) decent acoustics and close to BART. The bad? -The bathroom lines are out of control (even for the guys) -No food allowed inside -No drinking at a concert? Are you kidding me? I know it's a high school auditorium but it's not like school's in session! read more

Saw the Keane Concert 27-Jan-2007. Parking --- Street parking available if you get there early enough. There are a few garages in the area too. Venue --- Small/Medium sized venue with great headliners. Sound --- The sound was clean and good. Food --- none --- chips and water was about it. The Berkeley Community Theater is a great place for a concert. The intimate atmosphere, phenomenal sound quality, and walking distance from Shattuck to pre and post concert libations makes this place a winner. read more

Maybe the Oakland Paramount's, long lost, less flashy sibling. The seating and space layout are almost identical, it's just not nearly as ornate. However, it is no less acoustically fantastic. The last I was here Tool had previewed Lateralus on force. Cut to years later and the Foo Fighters are doing an acoustic set. I had seen them at Bridge School in the same fashion but always felt they were at their best rocking out. From the power of "In Your Honor" to the slow burn and buildup of "February Stars" I was blown away by how well the re-composition of songs sounded in this space. Every nuance in Dave's voice to the singularity of each instrument. Phenomenal. read more

I had a great time seeing Cheech and Chong at the Berkeley Community Theatre. In the 28 years if you would of told me that I was gonna see Cheech and Chong perform I would have never believed it. Well it happened and it was a blast! I had seats in the lower balcony and I thought was the perfect area to enjoy the show. The only bad thing is the numbering of the seats. Its very confusing and even the staff had trouble looking for the seats -1 star. During the show a circuit breaker blew so we sat in the dark for 15min -1. This totally cut right through Chong's bit and killed it. -1 star for the audience talking and yelling while the Theater staff was trying to explain the situation. +1 star for Chong trying to get the crowed settled down and meditating. -1 star for waiting 10min for the crowed to dwindle down only to get stuck at the exit to the street. Finding yourself moving like a herd of cattle. Only to find out its due to the people selling merchandise are right smack in the middle of the moving crowed and creating traffic. +1 for seeing the girl who killed cookie monster, which made a good laugh (maybe an inside joke). So in total I don't recall how many stars we have because I'm sorta high from all the smoke in the theatre. ROCK ON!! Cheech and Chong! read more

Berkeley Community Theater - Kind of blurry but main stage for Cheech and Chong Lite Up America" - Performing Arts Near Me - Berkeley, California

For a high school theatre, this is an amazing space. I was three rows back in the pit for the acoustic Foo Fighters show so my seats were great, but the venue is small enough that I can't imagine that the balcony seats are at all bad. Because of the proximity to BART and the nice sized venue, I'll definitely be checking out their calender for upcoming shows. read more

This place blows. HOWEVER, Ryan Adams did what he could with it as did I. 5 stars for one of the best shows of 2007. 1 star for one of the worst venues to see a show of 2007 (the sound is great, but that doesn't make up for the rest) A Kiss Before I Go Please do not let me go Goodnight Rose Peaceful Valley Two Easy Plateau Beautiful Sorta Mockingbird Happy Birthday (Summer Rae Brown) When Stars Go Blue I Taught Myself How To Grow Old Everybody Knows Let it Ride Blue Hotel Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part Dear Chicago Wildflowers What Sin Replaces Love Cold Roses Shakedown On 9th Street I See Monsters read more

For a show that ran over three hours, this venue couldn't make time go by any faster. I can see how this venue would be favorable among performers, but I'm writing for the 99% that is the audience. The only upside I see to having events here is the large stage and seating capacity. Everything else is a bust. It's great that the venue can seat over 3,000 people, but how they utilize and care for the space is beyond me. There's no surround speaker system, only one central source front and center. The air was stale and smelled like old farts, the bathroom was flooded and just as gross, and I could feel the springs in my seat! And to put a damper on the entire show, the manager made her grand debut on stage after intermission and had to lecture a whole crowd of college students to clear the aisles. Way to kill the buzz and make it feel like back-to-school night... read more

I will always remember one of the best times of my teenage life was at the Berkeley Community Theatre - Live 105's Green Xmas in 1995. Friends had to lie to their parents to be able to go to a venue so far from home and I remember seeing The Rentals, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, and Oasis. We had to leave for BART before Oasis was done because the last train was coming. That was such a bummer! In college I heard Salman Rushdie speak here, which was awesome - he was very entertaining and funny. I've also seen Modest Mouse, Keane, and a few others. Though going here as someone in my late 20s I always feel old, because it seems like the last few shows have been full of teenagers and college students (the theater is on the Berkeley High campus). The sound is only OK and the seats are pretty uncomfortable. Plus, just sitting the whole time isn't that fun. Unfortunately, I think the chances of me seeing a great show here are lessening as I get older. read more

This venue is falling apart! Heres what I got to experience for a $50 ticket to a show here: 5 minute wait for the only ladies bathroom (5 working stalls), plus the entire bathroom was flooded with toilet water! They do not have the rows labeled and I had to wait another 5 minutes for the 1 of 2 ushers for the entire balcony (understaffed). The seats were made for 7 year olds! I was shoulder to shoulder for 2 hours and knee to knee with the people next to me, & virtually no padding on the seats. The main breaker failed and all the power went out for about 10 minutes. Sitting at the top row, it started to get extremely hot without ac. And they do not have emergency lighting, not even on the stairs. Trying to leave was herendous, from the balcony all the way to the street it was like a moving in a herd of cattle, it took 20 minutes! 1 star because this place is so old and decrepit that when the lights went out I started to have thoughts about how I would probably die trying to get out if there was an earthquake or some kind of disaster. read more

Seriously, my high school theater did not look like this. Good place and in walking distance to quick cheap restuarants and public transportation....for when the concert is over and its time to get the hell out of dodge. Keane concert was amazing. I had third row seats, but there was this security guard that stood directly in my eyeline and blocked off half of the stage. I bitched, I complained, and then she bothered me no more. 1 star off for the bathrooms. 10 stalls, 1 broken, 3500 people! WTF. read more

Bad venue! Bad! Go lie down, venue! - The numbering for the seating is completely nonsensical... expect to beg an usher for help (well, some of the ushers can't even find their way around) - Ran out of food/water/etc. before the show even started (and you're not allowed to bring in your own)... the only refreshments are these ghetto water fountains with no water pressure... prepare to lick the faucet if you want some refreshment. This wouldn't be so bad if not for... - HOT! If there is AC in here, there might as well not be. This is especially bad in the balcony area. - Located on school grounds (no alcohol) - Seats are somewhat uncomfortable for long shows read more

Recently reopened after some renovations and improvements. Good enough for the Dali Llama to come here at the end of Feb. I believe. There's a great event coming up here called Black History Celebration, on Feb 8th,2014 it's FREE and there are some good bands & food. I came here for Cheech & Chong some years ago and had a groovy time. Get your buzz on before you come here if that's what you want to party with. This is an excellent family venue where people can feel comfortable listening to some great tunes, eating some good food, checking out some vendors, without worrying about drunks. Easy parking. There have been some great headliners play here in years past. read more

just saw keane here this weekend and the venue is awesome in terms of seating and sound. sound was so great that i was actually able to call someone so that they could hear a song through my cell phone! although it's pretty big, it somehow still feels small enough to be intimate. some minor glitches to this venue: 1) the bathroom - if you don't know why they call short pants "floods" you will when you try to go to the bathroom here (i actually did roll up my pants before hitting the stalls) 2) they only serve bottled water and chips. best to eat and drink beforehand. 3) buying a tshirt was like trying to buy a drink at a crowded bar - chaos. they really need to get more employees behind those tables. other then that i will certainly be back when my next favortive band is in town! read more

I was fortunate enough to see Flight of the Conchords here last night. The show was amazing, unfortunately the venue was not. For starters...it's in Berkeley. It was beyond poorly managed. The line was literally around the block with another long line for will call. Once they started moving it was a complete cluster f**k. However, the will call people got to go in immediately after getting tickets which was nice. Inside there were no signs to tell us where to go, just some guy screaming and pointing. The ushers also did not direct us to our seats so we had to figure out which side of the theater we were supposed to go to. The acoustics were not great. Fortunately the place was pretty clean. It would have to be a pretty awesome act to get me to go back. read more

i felt old seeing a show here. no alcohol and just candy or chips for snacks. plus you sit in seats. seats! i know i now have a knee problem and all but i'm not ready to admit i'm getting old yet. maybe ryan adams played here because he just got clean and didn't want any temptation around him. he mentioned at the intermission we should go get some juice. so i guess he can still understand our frustration. did i mention that i love him? but back to this place. the bathrooms are pretty gross, water on the floor, roll up your jean legs. the sound quality is good, which it better be if you can't get a little drunk. i can't believe they don't serve booze. how can that even be allowed? read more

I almost gave it 4 stars because the 90-year old lady who frisked me at the door really seemed to enjoy her job. Went here a couple of days ago to catch the Foo Fighters Acoustic tour. Fellow Yelper Adam W. and I sat 7 rows back, and enjoyed an absolutely incredible show. I was surprised to see the venue itself is attached to Berkeley High School. I cerntainly did not go to a high school with this big of a theatre. I took in the show from various locations along the orchestra (floor) section, and the view was pretty good - even from the back row. I did not visit the balconies, so I can't vouch for the fact that there's "not a bad seat in the house", but certainly all floor seats are good. The sound was pretty good, but don't expect it to rival that of the somewhat better designed theatres. There was a little bit of reverb coming in closer to the balcony, but it was a minor issue. The decor is pretty bland, and overall I would say that the venue is "not bad". Nothing spectacular, but certainly worth visiting if a band you like is touring. read more

i would give this place 5 stars if it had food/booze AND more bathrooms! actually, i think you can buy a bag'o'chips (wah, waaaaaaaaah). that bathroom line, especially for chicks, is enough to make me want to run out da place and pee in the bushes and then beg the doorman to let me back in...i guess in retrospect it's good they don't serve beer or i'd be in that damn line the whole time! saw metallica w/ the symphony there, as well as keane, and i tell ya, the acoustics are great, seems like most seats are good too w/ good sight lines, and it's close to bart, so easy to get there and back to SF. going there tonight for ryan adams - you can be sure i'm going to pee a million times before i get there and drink NOTHING for a good 6 hours before the concert. it's worth dying of thirst to not deal w/ that line...maybe i'll just swish some water around in my mouth and then spit it out to trick my mind... so class, in summary: - minus one star for not having enough bathrooms - minus one star for no food/booze read more

Another intimate , if nondescript, concert venue, seating capacity ~3500. Nothing particularly fancy about this place, but great artists play there. No real concession stands (that I can recall), but hey - you're in Berkeley, I'm sure there's somewhere you grab a bite and drink pre-show! Street parking isn't too bad. read more

I've only seen one concert here but it was totally awesome even though we had really shitty seats. But really every seat is a pretty good seat, it's just sort of a bummer if you'd rather be running around drunkenly then sitting in a seat when you're watching Primus. But the sound system was great, so who cares. read more

ok my high school theater was a friggin gymnasium this place is soooo beautiful. i have seen many shows here but 2 really stand out for me. dave matthews with tim reynolds was a sweet acoustic performance. i had went with my ex gf and her sister whom had paid $500 for 2 sets in the 2nd row and i was able to get one 20 rows back or so for $50. well turns out i made out like a lil bandit for this night! right before they went on i went up to talk to the girls and as the lights dimmed i decided to squeeze into each of their seats with half a cheek on each of the seats!! the show was soooo remarkable from these seats and was even a vocal part of the show and was hooked up with a cd copy of the show who sat in front of me in the front row. well the show was one of my all time favs and i got a live cd with my voice on it to prove it. the other show i gotta say is in my top 1 or 2 spot for all time best show. i got tickets to the tool show here and what was cool was there was park right across the street and there was quite a pre tool show out here! well i had a small bottle of jager in the park then went into the show! the acoustics of this show were sooo good. the small size with such a huge powerful band like tool made my heart pound outside of my chest. all of the seats were good to hear and see the visual mind-f!! if u ever get the chance to see a live show here it's so worth it! read more

This is a high school theater? WTF?!? My high school had a small auditorium (ie. folding chairs) and for the big shin-digs, we were in the gym. This venue has aged beautifully, the acoustics and layout were perfect. Staff was extremely courteous. Parking is plentiful and free on the nearby neighborhood streets, and the theater is accessible by BART and the many I-80 exits (Ashby, University). Saw Keane perform here, and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to...I'm sure it had a lot to do with the group, but the venue added an extra plus. read more

Saw Flight of the Conchords here and had a pretty good time. The venue is right next to Berkeley High School, so there's no drinking. The staff here is like the best because I lost my wallet and they found it for me, which is like INCREDIBLY lucky, but yeah. They were also a bit unorganized because they had a problem with the fire alarms and they had been going off all afternoon... BUT overall, great experience. A very intimate venue. read more

5 stars for the show i saw here last night (cheech and chong). but only 3 stars for the actual venue. we were sitting in the orchestra section. that would have been cool if the numbering and organization of the seats wasn't so damn confusing. we couldn't find our seats and neither could the ushers. while it was comical to see a bunch of stoners confused and trying to figure things out, it did get annoying after awhile. a circuit also blew out during the show and we had to sit in complete darkness (until people started lighting up) for a good 10 minutes. you'd think that a place like this would have a backup generator. they do earn a star for the fact that they didn't hate on the people sparking up. despite the negative things, i'd still consider seeing a show here again. read more

We saw the Flight of the Conchords here last week. I was a little surprised they were going to be playing at a venue inside of a high school... but the place turned out to be really big and not like any ordinary high school auditorium. We actually got pretty good tickets 6 rows from the front and I enjoyed the show very much. My only complaints were that it was MISERABLE getting into the school to get to the auditorium... there was just big crowds and big lines and you had no idea which line was for what. When we bought tickets pre-sale, they did not allow you to have the tickets sent to you and printing them out was not an option so you had to get them from will-call. It took us forever just to find will-call. My friend really had to use the restroom and they wouldn't let her in without a ticket which we were in line at will call getting. It just felt like a mess, but once we were in everything was fine. read more

This past weekend my girlfriend and I were here for the Juanes concert. We had a blast! Of course, we are both huge fans. Located in the center of Berkeley High School (this explains why they don't serve alcohol), it is also very accessible via BART or AC Transit. Though I admit we had some great tickets, I really don't think there was a bad seat in the house. This was by far, one of the best concerts I've been to, performance-wise, that is. As for the venue, I'd give it a four. Come on, this is technically a high school after all. Depending on what performer comes to Berkeley, I will definitely make it a point to catch them here because I know that I will not be disappointed with the sound, lighting, or the seats. read more

i agree with one of the reviews below. it DOES resemble the Oakland Paramount theater...with the seats, balcony, and the bathrooms located below...and yes, a bit easy on the brass details and finished wood. their acoustics were great. a friend and i saw A Tribe Called Quest here. parking is horrible, get there early and hunt for street parking, or just cough up 5-6 bucks for a parking lot/garage (which isn't bad really). that or.....you can catch the BART and get out at Shattuck..head west on Allston and voila, there it is in Berkeley High. read more

as i walked in here for my dream theater concert, i felt like i was going to assembly in grade school. seriously, who ever thought of doing concerts here, especially hard rock/metal concerts, was seriously whacked! the place is an acoustics black hole and someone forgot to turn on the AC. this place sucks... read more