I'll be honest. I have never heard of this place and live a good hour away from Riverside, but it was the only show Amon Amarth were playing in California as a headliner before leaving the US. So, me and my son went to catch some viking rock. At least for this show, they offered general admission standing floor and balcony seats. I'm getting old, so we got seats.
It's a small auditorium, so the balcony seats were still great. I don't know what the drink prices are like because I didn't feel great and was driving so far home I didn't want to drink at all (a first for a concert). Surprisingly, there are not only tons of cheap little lots around, but tons of street parking. I parked right across the street in a spot that was a loading zone for a couple hours on a weekday. I couldn't believe my luck. We got on what seemed like a short line only to learn that was a VIP entrance and cost an extra $40 per person if you wanted to enter. Lame! Of course the end of the one regular line started right by this VIP entrance and then took forever to wind all the way around the block again. Of course the venue had workers soliciting people to pay the extra money to not wait on line. We finally got in, and then we had to go down to the basement for merch which was like two large flights of stairs. The one merch line was as long as the line to get in, so that also took forever. We almost gave up. Finally with our shirts, we headed back up what seemed like three or four flights to get to the balcony entrance. The opening band had already started, and we got there wicked early. So, if you are going leave a good amount of time to get in, get merch, and get any drinks you want. They have ushers but the woman ended up seating us in the wrong seats. So eventually, we had to move. They also had completely broken seats in the balcony. One couple in front of us sat down and the guy hit the floor. The seat was completely disconnected. I don't know where they sat him in the sold out venue. Sound was good. The audience was good. And all the seats are good. The bad? Besides the lines for everything is there was like seriously no air conditioning. My son was uncomfortable the entire time. I, myself, felt hot and dizzy a lot of the time from how stuffy and steamy this metal show had gotten with all the moshing below and a sold out crowd.
Anyway, not a bad space to see a show. Hope your seat isn't broken and arrive early. I doubt I'll be back, as it seemed like I was driving back home from a halfway point between Los Angeles and San Diego. With no traffic it was still over an hour home late at night. Plus, I'm sure anyone who does play here also generally plays somewhere closer to me. But, if you are local and go, just know it will be hot and get there significantly early to deal with the line waits. read more