Came here for the Zoe Keating and Portland Cello Project concert. We were able to get a pair of tickets for the back row right before the show sold out. I was glad to score the tickets and my girlfriend was excited for date night. I'll do a quick run down of the concert and my experience with the Rialto :)
Got to the show about 15 minutes before it started. Wasn't much of a line outside and a lady told us to go in the side door since it was a little quicker generally. Got inside, the lady took our tickets and pointed towards the stairs and said someone upstairs would be able to help us find our seats. In the meantime, two of our friends offered to treat us to a drink. My girlfriend and I both went for a wine, thanks our friends and headed up the stairs.
At the top of the stairs, a nice lady showed us where we needed to go and we walked a few more stairs to our seats. And then we felt it! The heat. Wow, I knew it was cold out and this was kinda nice for about two seconds, but I also knew it was going to get really warm, really soon. No turning back now, so we took a seat and sipped on our wine. We noticed right away that the back curtain was more or less resting on our shoulders and the back of our heads. Kind of annoying. More annoying when the guy next to us moved and in turn, moved the curtain from side to side, which was still on us. So yeah, very annoying.
Well, the show started and it was awesome. Lighting was a little weak for the Portland Cello Project, but it was nice to see them all. Zoe Keating was amazing as well. Both groups has issues with the mic, not sure if that was in house or not.
I will say that by the time Zoe Keating was playing, my girlfriend and I both had sweat on our brows and the damn curtain behind us was driving us mad. Both of us more or less decided that leaning forward with our elbows on our knees was the only way to enjoy this show. Also, with it being so hot, everyone around us seemed to be to fidgety, waving papers in front of their faces or straight up leaving. VERY distracting!
In the future, I will skip a show before sitting in the back row. If they could at least fix the curtain, I might be okay, but both, not happening.
Overall, a decent experience outside of the two main gripes. Please work on the curtain.... read more