I'd heard so much raving about Wooly's, I was excited to see a show there. It was a serious…read moredisappointment. With all the great venues and shows that come through Des Moines I am not in a rush to return. The crowd was extremely rude, talking over the opener. She was a talented songwriter with a gorgeous voice, but it was hard to make out all of her lyrics due to the patrons shouting over her. The place is dirty and staff was less than pleasant. The restrooms cinched the deal for me. They are in a creepy basement and are filthy. I'll pass next time!

Wooly's is a rad music venue living in the East Village. It's a more intimate venue (just under 700…read morepeople fit) with limited seating (you can get a booth reserved for a fee), a plethora of bars and a diverse calendar of bands/shows. Reasons why Wooly's is rad. -The staff was friendly. -Air circulation -- they have massive fans which are a godsend. -Cool shows come here. -Pricing is on point-- honestly my bar tab was less than I thought! -Tons of food/drink options nearby to grab a bite before or after the show. -Not a bad seat in the house... unless you're stuck behind a giant. Reasons why you may not think Wooly's is rad. -Holy gross bathroom, Batman. -- I mean, this is par for the course. -No coat check? -- I went to a sold out show a random Friday in December and due to it being a sellout there was no coat check! Eek. -AXS App required. -- I'm all for putting tickets in my wallet. Having a separate app was another hoop to jump through but now that I have it, no complaints. Wooly's has been a DSM staple for over a decade. Peep their calendar and go to a show.

First time coming here. I accidentally stumbled into this place late at night wanting to find…read moresomething new to discover. I saw a band was playing here. Very talented music, I would say it's a solid venue for live bands and having some mosh pits in. Sound quality was also good. Great bands featured on the ceiling. The drinks were unfortunately overpriced, charging ridiculous prices for an angry Orchard, service was okay. Friendly people.

Went to see a musician perform last night, and the bartender was heckling the musician playing. I…read morehave never witnessed anything like this in my life. It was extremely unprofessional. I will NEVER go to Lefty's again. ZERO STARS.

Good vibes, I heard of the place and decided to check it out. I'm from Texas so always looking for…read moresomething to do, it was real cool..

really cool and laid back Blues Bar in east des moines. The people here are so friendly.. The…read moredrinks are cheap and very strong... and the live music is great. Whats also cool is the murals on the front and side of the building... there are also photos of all the legends that have played in the space throughout the years. When we were there they featured a live blues band that was directly from Mississippi. They sounded great. They played covers of many classics as well as original songs.

New venue in Waukee woooot wooooot! We saw Phil Rosenthal here and here was our experience:…read more PARKING: We paid $15 for premier parking and that got us access to the main lot - a few steps from the entrance. My mom said the regular parking lot is a few blocks away, so might be worth paying extra for a good spot! ENTRANCE: For our show, it was easy! We arrived an hour prior to the start and got in within 5 minutes. Staff was quick in checking our tickets and getting us in. SPACE: This space is stunning and clearly brand new! Cool local mural on the wall, fun designs and decor, great bar lighting and ambiance. DRINKS: Priceyyyy haha pregame elsewhere! A simple cocktail was $20+. But the amount of bars is a LOT - like 5+? - so you'll not have to wait in line long. FOOD: They had a corn dog or popcorn available at our show - not much for concessions. Again, I'd pregame elsewhere! BATHROOMS: Great facilities! Very clean, tons of stalls and sinks. And a cool vibe in there - hats off to the designer. MAIN FLOOR: On the main floor, it's usually GA/standing room only for concerts I'm sure. But for ours - a more interview style show, we had fold out chairs. The stage was high enough we never had any issue seeing! UPPER SEATING: The seats up here are super comfy looking - maybe quite a bit further back and I'm not sure how the view compares, but so comfy! The best seats are the company-bought "box seats" similar to at a baseball game. There is a row of seats right along the rail but I think you'd have to look out through the railing if seated.

This venue looks new! From an initial first impression it looks very clean…read more I'm not sure about the service but there's a bar as soon as you walk in the lobby. A coat check next to the bathrooms. And bars in the concert area. The parking people were pretty nice. Premier parking is way closer than how the map makes it look. Kinda recommended it since it made getting to the venue and then leaving pretty smooth!

We went to the Barnstormer's game last night at the arena and were treated to a fun night of…read moreaction. It wasn't packed but it was a decent crowd. They do a good job here hosting events and providing a good atmosphere where you can enjoy your time and feel safe! The seats could be cleaner and the prices of all the concessions are higher than expected, but I guess they have to keep the lights on! Good job to all the workers who make it enjoyable!

If you or loved one has sensory sensitivity, they have a calming room on the main concourse near…read more119.

The Talk Shop is an amazing place. Great people, fun atmosphere, awesome quality food that is…read moredescribed as elevated bar food, and a staff that is downhome and extremely friendly. They are famous for their Italian dishes, burgers, and they are creating one of the most exciting menus in America. I am a celebrity Chef with a presence in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and soon to be Des Moines / St. Charles because I fell in love with this place, the people, and of course ... the food. Jason and Renatta epitomize family owned and operated.

The place is awesome. Small farm town community with great personalities. There's always so much…read moregoing on here. Live music, slip and slide kick ball, bonfires... the list goes on.

We had never attended this event so we decided to give a 1 day pass a try. I really liked that they…read morehad multiple stages, a wide variety of food and craft vendors, and bleachers where we could sit because we didn't bring our own chairs. And it wasn't overly crowded so you could easily see the stages/bands. Conveniently located off a bike trail, we rode in to avoid any potential parking and traffic issues. Bike valet was available for free so we didn't have to worry about our bikes at all. The event was well run as the sound was good and bands stayed on schedule. Plus the lineup was full of talent. A little spendy in our opinion, but not as bad as some other local options and what doesn't feel spendy right now.

I've never been one of those to say "if I could give 0 stars; I would" but I've been to hundreds of…read moreshows in my life and never been a witness to such an atrocious event. Let me start with the good: clean bathrooms with no wait and the drink vendors were friendly. Acoustics were ok for it just being a warehouse. I drove 4 and a half hours to see my favorite band because why not? They're awesome and always worth the drive. I drove 8 hours last year to see them in Nashville and it was worth it. I wish I had never step foot in Clive, Iowa. I wish I had never heard of it. I wish I didn't just give this venue $70 of my hard earned money. Let me start with the cons that pissed me off the least. Cash drinks? I really don't think you guys wanted anyone to drink. There was one ATM near the front that had an outrageous line that would have sobered me up had I chose to wait. Oh well you only got the money in my pocket. The UV cost the same price as the Goose Island ($6) so drinks weren't outrageous for a venue. File that one under a pro too. Your asshole bouncer. "Well it's not our fault you guys all put your name on will call. Never do will call." As I've mentioned I've gone to shows in a lot of different cities and always put my name on the list. There's never been an issue. Let me teach you a bit about project management. If you sold 2000 tickets (guessing) for a sold out show. 1500 of those put their names on the list (again, just guessing) maybe we should have more than one person with a clipboard waiting at the door. I felt terrible for the nice girl checking names because by the time I'd waited almost 2 hours to get in the door, I wanted to yell at her. So the show was great. we missed the opener but saw Circa Survive. I haven't seen them in years and they rocked out. It was a great time. At this point, it was 9 pm. Both openers have played, doors have been open for two hours and there's still at least 50 people in line outside. Circa Survive has a decent size following and I'm sure some of those people were incredibly bummed they weren't allowed to see the band. At this point, I check their Facebook page to see if they're mentioning what's going on. Someone in line mentioned that she called and they said she should get through the line halfway through the main act. My jaw dropped. How could you pay $40 for a ticket and get to see maybe 15 minutes of the show? It's unacceptable. We watched brand new and tried to enjoy it the best we could. I was incredibly pissed for every Brand New fan in line because it was almost me. We ended up showing up early last night but were usually the type to show up an hour after it starts. Had we done that last night, we probably would have missed BN's set and wasted a four hour drive for nothing. After the show, we just hopped in a cab instead of doing our usual Uber because we just wanted to get out of here and forget this place exists. Our cabbie was so insightful. He said they do this for every single sold out show and that is typical 7 Flags behavior. I was stunned. I figured that maybe someone quit, they were short staffed blah blah Blah but nope. They ALWAYS do this. He also stated that he's pretty sure they oversell the tickets then don't let people in the door because everyone wouldn't fit. Hello Fire Marshall, are you listening???? If you were one of those that didn't get in last night until the show was over, please hound them until you get your money back or dispute the charges with your bank (step 3- better business bureau.) this is absolutely no way to run a business or treat your paying customers. They're standing on the leg that they don't offer refunds but I wouldn't take that as an answer if you missed the show. So you read my review, your favorite band is playing there and you still wanna go? I get that feeling but whatever you do: don't do will call. I don't care if the print at home cost is the same price as the ticket--DO It. You will save yourself 2+ hours on the day of the show. If the concert is sold out, prepare for an overpacked show and poorly handled customer service. Also, if you're over 21 make sure to bring cash for drinks. If you're under 21, bring cash for nachos. Jesse Lacey and Brand New are typically worth the expense, the miles on my car, and everything I go through just to see them but it wasn't worth it to me last night. Part of me wishes I never bought tickets for this event.

This is not a great venue for live music... it does not have great acoustics. They also do not…read morehave seating so it is a standing room only situation... They charge $10 for parking and there is no other place to park. It is silly, really! I will make sure that I don't attend another event knowing there is no seating and the parking isn't free. All I can say is yuck. It was definitely not what I expected.... the only good this was that the bathrooms were very plentiful and clean.

The Val Air Ballroom is such a trip. It literally feels like you are walking back into the '70s in…read morethe venue's lime green color palette and style. They also have some far out features like an old school box office (which didn't seem to be in use when we were at our show), a phone booth, and a cute mural of retro musicians. The venue itself was pretty good as far as lighting, seating, and audio go. The event we attended was a comedy show (Jay and Silent Bob), and it was in late June. Being in late June/almost July, it was HOT outside and the venue didn't seem to have very good or any air conditioning that we could feel. Very sticky night. The show we were at was a seated event, so luckily not a lot of movement, but we were still sweating! I could not imagine a concert or show that people are dancing and moving around all night. I think if you see a show posted at the Val Air Ballroom that interests you, definitely consider checking it out. Just be sure to pay attention to the weather that day and dress accordingly (shorts/tanks would have been great for my show!)

Great venue for a show in this once upon a time ballroom that gives roller rink vibes without the…read moreblacklight decor. Some limited seating is available but expect to show up early to grab it. Not sure if it is a typical policy but the show we went to didn't have reentry, so once you are in you can't go back out until you are ready to leave. My only gripe today was I was on the floor standing by a group who apparently hadn't seen each other in a while because they were really excited about talking and catching up during the show. I get this happens but I haven't experienced something inside this bad. But sound and lighting was great. Beers were more than we were used to ($10/domestic tallboy) but I guess that's just life anymore.