4.5 stars.
Overall,…read morethis is a really great place to see a show.
I came to see Flawed Mangoes and for the most part it was a great time. The venue is like a really clean dive bar that hosts live music. The staff were all very polite and incredibly welcoming.
To be situated at the Wharf, the food and beverages were surprisingly affordable... at least by DC standards.
The general admission tickets are for standing only. I paid for premium seating and got, well... an actual seat. Unfortunately, this is where I ran into issues.
I really wish that Union Stage would offer more smaller tables (1-2 tops) because I had the unfortunate experience of being forced to involuntarily third-wheel some random couple's date night.
As someone who frequently attends concerts alone, I hate communal seating. If I'm paying extra for a seat, I don't want to spend the evening sharing a table with strangers. In this case, the couple who joined me at my table spent much of the show carrying on conversations, using flash photography despite it being prohibited, and generally making themselves unwelcome part of my concert experience. It was distracting, annoying, and made it difficult to fully enjoy the performance.
Adding more 1-2 top tables for solo concertgoers or couples would significantly improve the premium seating experience by giving people the option to enjoy the show uninterrupted and with the company they actually chose (and paid!) to spend the evening with.
It's also worth noting that there is no wait staff to serve you at the tables. So if you grab a seat at a table, make sure you have something to put on the table to indicate that it is occupied. There are QR codes on the table where you can order and pay, but you still have to go to the floor to pick up your food.
I got a half cheese pizza and an Aperol Spritz. The pizza was good by dive bar standards. Nothing special about it, but it hit the spot. The Aperol Spritz was also surprisingly good.
The sound system is great. However, we need to talk about the lighting situation. I'm not sure if this is how Union Stage typically operates or if this is something that can be attributed to the artist, but the lighting choices for this concert were overwhelming. I've been to dozens of concerts over the course of my life, but I've never had spotlights that repeatedly point directly into the audience, but that was my experience throughout this entire show. I had to put on my sunglasses in this dark venue to keep myself from being quite literally blinded by the light. The background lights and everything were fine, but repeatedly shining spotlights into the crowd was not a good choice.
The most expensive part of this night, by far, was the parking, which is not the fault of the venue. I paid $38 to park for 4 hours, but fortunately it was a very short walk to the venue. There are multiple parking garages as well as an extremely limited amount of street parking near this venue. The garage was the only feasible option that evening since so many people were out for the concert, viewing the World Cup, as well as attending events at other bars and restaurants in the general area.
All told, I had a really great time at Union Stage. While I hate traveling into DC and I'm not keen on spending $40 on parking, if there's another artist performing at this venue that I want to see, I would definitely come back.