Giles

Of the few times I've been to Nissan Pavilion, I find the traffic/parking absolutely a nightmare. Just to get in for the Coldplay 2005 show, my friend and I literally missed half the show... not looking forward to August' Dave Matthew show.

Black Cat - I can't stand how late the headliners start.... some of us have to work in the morning. Granted the club isn't really near a metro stop they really don't make an effort to cater those fans who rely on metro so there really isn't a push to start music on a timely basis. (the 9:30 Club for the most part does do this ) I have to always factor in a cab trip whenever I see a band at the Black Cat to get back home.

9:30 - the only thing negative I find about the club is the sound system. I don't know if it's the speakers or with the soundmixers but the shows I've been too - mix/bury the vocals way too low.

Daytripper

As a fellow D.C. resident, I feel your pain buddy. I want to meet the idiot who designed the Nissan Pavillion. The ONLY way I'll go there again is if I'll leave around 3:00 or 4:00, have dinner in Mannassas, then go to the show. And deal with the 60-90 minute wait trying to get out. Or, hire a helicopter to take me to and from.

There is no parking around the Black Cat. The neighborhood is also not all that safe. Same with the 9:30 Club. Which I don't mind. I prefer Ram's Head Live in Baltimore. But talk about traffic nightmares (!)

paulringodaman

Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH (Cleveland)

Let's first start off buy saying that it at leasts LOOKS nice......The bad:

You take the freeway, see the sign, and think you are there right?? ... NO!!!!

It is another 25 minutes of curvy one lane roads in a National Park/Forest.

Parking is over 1 mile from the actual venue, and getting out takes over 30 minutes unless you run during the encore (which I've done)

Also, $8.50 for a 16 oz beer

GoVegan

The Rave in Milwaukee. It's in sort of a crap area, unless you're looking for a prostitute. Parking is fairly bad. The main reason that I hate it, though, is that the sound is terrible. Many times I've seen what would have been a good show ruined by the terrible sound there. I saw one of my favorite bands there once and the vocals were completely inaudible from any position.

cdollaz

Fitzgeralds is a shithole club in Houston. Horrible in every way.

The amphitheater in San Antonio (not sure of the name) is horrible. Layout is horrible and the volume level is way too low.

Randy Miller III

The Tower Theatre in Philly is a good venue, but it was a nightmare to find the first time.

Giantrobo

Blockbuster Pavillion formerly known as Glenn Helen Regional Park in San Bernadino Ca. (The US Festival was held there back in the 80's)

Mondo Kane

Oh shit! Bringing back memories. I didn't attend it (Too young) but I remember all the hooplah about it. Wasn't that somewhere out in the wilderness in Cajon Pass?

mndtrp

Fiddler's Green. Oh, I'm sorry, Coors Ampitheater, whatever.

Parking is over a block away, in business lots.
Faces the West, so the sun is in your eyes through half of the concert.
Sound is terrible, no matter where you sit. Tool normally sounds great live, not here.
Two areas for restrooms, which are only accessable by a long set of stairs, that are right next to the bars. This creates a massive traffic jam.
Beers are outrageously priced, even for a concert.
Noise ordanance for the area, forcing concerts to be quieter and get over earlier.

I will never go to another show there, even for free. I would have checked out a free Ozzfest, but not since they chose this venue.

Ginwen

The Rose Bowl. You have to park like 50 miles away (or park there and wait 6 hours to get out) and the metal seats are terrible. Plus it's not easy to see, and the sound sucks. I haven't been there for about 12 years though, so I suppose the seats might have been improved.

GuessWho

"rose bowl"

easy enough. not exactly a tongue twister.

SmackDaddy

Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion in Houston...no wait....it's 30 minutes outside of Houston...in the Woodlands!!! That's gripe number 1, for me it's nearly and hour away. Gripe number 2...parking sux!! All lots are remote and traffic blows. Gripe 3, it's an outdoor venue. Sorry, but Texas in the summer=major suckage for heat, humidity, rain and mosquitos!!

We have a brand spankin' new indoor arena in Toyota Center. With a great view from anywhere (saw the Dixie Chicks from the floor and Sarah Maclachlan from the upper level) and a nice central location in downtown Houston. Yet, bands still book the craptacular pavilion.

That being said....Rush is playing there this August...and I'll be there!!

leest3

Crobar. 28th street between 10th and 11th in Manhattan. A lot of the DJ's I like used to play there, so I was forced to go there and deal with the ghetto crowd and juiceheads trying to start a fight with anyone. Whoever designed the place is an idiot. They have one tiny tunnel leading to the main dance floor. What happens if there's a fire in there. And this bottle service thing has to to go, it is really ruining the scene in America. One time they had pre-sale tickets for 40 I think, at the door was 50. Once they saw how long the line was the jacked up the price even more.

Michael Corvin

Rupp Arena in Lexington. The acoustics are horrendous, but because it is the largest place in the state all bands/managers see are $$$ for larger seat numbers. I saw Metallica there and I kidd you not, more than once they were halfway through a song before I could even make out what it was. Fucking terrible. That and bleacher seats. Parking blows.

Freedom Hall in Louisville is the Anti-Rupp. Great acoustics, great seats, just an all around great place to see a show. The only negative is that it shares the same parking lot with a Six Flags and the Fair & Exposition Center, so there are always multiple things going on ensuring you a long walk to the arena.

So in the end Rupp holds a few thousand more so that is where the bands go.

That should all change in 2010 when Louisville's new arena is finished.

cdollaz

I'm not a big fan of it either. As long as you get decent seats, it is a wonderful place, but the back of the reserved and the lawn sucks. The last couple of times I sat on the lawn, the volume was so low I could have a conversation with someone speaking in my normal volume. The other problem is the traffic getting there, unless it is on a weekend, when you can go out early and go to the mall or eat dinner.

BDB

Hate all those pavillions, really have no time for them
Foxwoods.
Shoreline amphitehater. Sound is crap, and I don't like lawn seats..

Really hate bill graham civic center here in SF. grrrr.. its a box, living in a cardboard box!@

AndyCleveland

i have a love/hate relationship with blossom.
i HATE the tight security, muddy "parking lots", long distance to walk and drive, and lawn seats
i LOVE going on a beautiful summer night and being right up front in the pit.

i was recently at the Ark in Ann Arbor, MI and it was AWFUL... the concert was Joshua Radin, who most would consider a "standing" act, however it was general admission SEATING only which the tickets failed to mention. who wants to SIT during a show? not i.

John Wielgosz

I have a strrroooonng dislike for the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain - Scranton, PA (or whatever it's being called this year). One road in, that also happens to share traffic with the local baseball stadium and the area's largest movie theater. If either (or God forbid, both) of the other attractions are busy, you'd better plan to arrive at the venue hours in advance. It's so bad I prefer driving to Philadelphia over getting in and out of this mess.

Rypro 525

I've never had any issues with Rams Head in terms of getting out (i park at the garage accross the street from the venue.) Now if you make the wrong turn, then you could be in some trouble. Merrieweather can be a bitch getting out, for the Green Day show about 2 years ago, they blocked off the road i was going to use, so i had to sit in about 90 minutes worth of traffic.

Josh-da-man

One thing I hate is when I go to a club, and their stage is only about a foot high. Especially sucks for metal shows because you can't see the fucking band through the crowd and the moshpit.

SoSpacey

Crobar can not handle a big event. I saw PVD there a month or so ago and trying to get from the main room to the bathroom was a nightmare. I truly though I was going to lose my life at one point when the pack of people stopped moving and people were getting impatient so they started pushing.

Roxy and Twilo will always be my favorite NYC clubs to see DJs at.

Exit was also horrible.

In terms of concert venues...

Randalls Island - Maybe I am just getting old but it is basically a big open venue with terrible sound. It is a dustbowl as well. You cant really drive there, they bus you in,

Last Dave Matthews show I saw there we were bused to 125th street in the Bronx and dropped there to fend for ourselves. It looked like a show on animal planet.

Matthew Chmiel

I saw Of Montreal at a local venue (the Art Bar here in Vegas) about two months ago and I completely agree with the statement. The stage was barely about six inches off the ground (it was more of a step than anything else) and despite being close to the front, I couldn't see shit due to the behemoths in front of me. Funny sidenote to that story, that specific concert was infamous on Pitchfork and other music websites as the lead singer whipped out his junk halfway through the show. Ironically, I didn't see the specific incident, but was told about it from my friends after the show.

The only decent venue here in Vegas happens to be The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel. I've seen a many great shows there (N*E*R*D, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, The Sounds, Muse, Snow Patrol, etc) that other major venues in Vegas (such as House of Blues or the MGM Grand Garden Arena) can't compete with. I've heard some good things about the new venue inside the Palms, but their line-up at the moment currently sucks.

chino77

i didnt know that was a bad neighborhood. im from chicago but i went up there to see disturbed a few years ago. it was a great show IMO. it was in the large room though...there are smaller rooms there i think?
ive been to all the 500+ capacity places in chicago and i havent found one i dont like.

GoVegan

The neighborhood's not terrible, but there's almost as much prostitution around it as there is around the Aragon in Chicago. The larger room is a bit better soundwise, in my experience, but I'm usually in the smaller room, which is very hit-or-miss.

Yeah, no complaints about Chicago. Usually I'll end up driving to Chicago rather than see a show at the Rave. Actually, I used to dislike the Metro when they would drastically oversell shows, but it seems like they've stopped doing that. I remember a Spiritualized show at which I couldn't even get into the same room as the band because they'd sold several hundred extra tickets.

Giantrobo

I didn't go to the US Festival but I did see RUSH there and I hated everything from the cold night to parking.