Great venue. We just saw Motley Crue in concert. I bought the obstructed view seats right smack in the middle of the arena. There was a pretty big sound booth covering that was obstructing my view, but if I stood up on my feet, I could see the entire stage and everything. If I had to buy tickets again, I would probably not buy obstructed view seats but it did not really affect our good times! If obstructed view seats were the last seats available then I would buy them. Also, the obstruction really wasn't as big a deal to me as much as the visible stream of people walking back and forth in front of you. The obstructed view seats have you positioned right in front of a major flow lane of where people go to bathrooms and concession stands so that was the real obstruction was the never-ending stream of people walking back and forth all night. But we still had a great time.
About a year ago, I saw DMB in concert, I sat in the 100's which is in the front section of the area. Actually, I hated those seats. I had some dumb kid stand right in front of me on a chair, so my view was ruined. So, this time I bought the obstructed view seats and actually liked them better than the expensive 100 seats. Plus with the higher seats you can catch a pretty sweet view of the sky line and it's a great view when the sun is going down.
We accessed the general parking lot (free) via 119. The entrance was right by Holiday Inn on Highway 119. Free parking and there didn't seem to be any cops or security cracking down on the whole "no alcohol" rule. Oak mountain amphitheater website says in bold letters "no alcohol is permitted,etc..." but there was plenty of good ole boys cracking' cold ones right in broad daylight and nobody stopped them. We put our alcohol in cups so you couldn't tell what we were drinking, but it was not necessary. There seemed to be a good amount of tailgating going on. You can always booze it up at one of the restaurants nearby and walk to the concert, it's not far at all. There's a hooters, applebees, and a mexican restaurant within walking distance to the area.
Beers can cost between $9 and $13 each. It makes no sense to buy the cheaper beers when you can spend an extra 2 or 3 bucks and have the 20 oz beers. Beer was pretty generic (Bud, Bud light, Yuengling, Shock Top). I did see an IPA on the menu too. There's plenty of food options (overpriced) as well.
At the entrance, security did give me a pat down, but they barely even did anything to my wife. They told me to lift my shirt up, and then they checked my pockets (I think for a weapon). They also had me lift up my hat to reveal my bald head, but again I think they were checking for people bringing in drinks/food or weapons. Years ago there was a huge drug bust at Widespread panic concert at Oak Mountain, but there didn't seem to be any kind of activity like that going on when we arrived. I will say that one time I parked in the VIP parking lot and the pat down was a little more intense as opposed to the general parking pat down.
Unless you're a die hard fan of whoever it is that you're planning on seeing at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, I would definitely leave BEFORE the very end of the concert. Exiting the concert is as expected : crowded, people getting fussy and impatient, and it just downright takes a long time to get out of there. So, if you can leave at the very beginning of the last song, you'll be happier. Trust me. However if you stay to the end, I wouldn't leave my seat for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Just watch the crowd attempt to leave. They don't move much and you can just chill until the crowd dissipates.
Motley Crue and Alice Cooper were just good fun. They're older and at this point have nothing to lose so they just put on a really great show. Oak Mountain Amphitheatre is my absolute favorite concert venue, by far. It's beautiful and the outdoor concerts always seem to be the best to me. Also, the fans were a lot nicer at the Motley Crue show than the DMB show. I found the fans at the DMB concert to be annoying because they all knew every lyric to every song and felt the need to sing every single word. read more