Seattlest Pix 09Nov24
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Thanksgiving Pairing Suggestion: Sides with a Pint
When entertainment giant AEG Live announced plans to create a new and innovative music venue inside Quest Field Events Center, we imagine a big to do with all the local press in a large room packed with music lovers on one side and bankers on the other. Wonder which side was clapping more wildly...
We haven't been to WaMu Theater yet, but with the kind of high-profile shows the place has been booking (Deftones, Daft Punk, Arctic Monkeys, Interpol), we imagine it won't be long before we check it out for ourselves. Though, we're not excited about the notion. The place seems better suited for a political convention or an Evangelical miracle-fest.
So, what should we expect? An exciting new kind of music venue as this press release from AEG would like us to believe?
WaMu Theater is bound to be one of the most unique and busiest venues in the country," said Randy Phillips, president & CEO, AEG Live. "There is clearly a need for a world-class theater in the Pacific Northwest and working with our partners at FGI, we have located an ideal setting to create a theater that artists will respect and that our guests will love going to. The technology and overall designs we are developing for WaMu Theater will be something that the industry has not seen and will likely be the model for future venues.
Or a mammoth concrete and steel coffin with crappy sound as Yelper Lauren D. points out?
Do NOT go see a concert here. It is like a concrete cave, echoing sound around without letting you really hear any of it. Going to a concert at WaMu Theater is like going to a business conference. Rows of uncomfortable folding chairs with pretty bad sightlines and really uninspired surroundings! I don't think it would matter who was on stage - I just don't see myself going back to this venue for anything.
What say you, Seattle music lovers? Worth it to pay a visit? Or would we be better off putting our heads in a bucket and beating it with a hammer?
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anything Lauren says. i believe.
I've been in WaMu theater not for a concert but a Rat City Rollergirls bout. Basically you could call it a big old concrete cave, every wall, every piller, it's all concrete. There are REALLY thick curtains surrounding the entire audience/stage area which you can somewhat see in the picture above. Almost no sound passes through these, I imagine that leaves the celling and floor for echo. So not the worst place, but far from the best.
It's like being at a corporate event. They just set up a temporary stage and bring in chairs. I can't believe they have the gall to call it a "theatre" (or "theater"). Acoustics are terrible, atmosphere is horrible and the view is ridiculous.
I saw a show there and the previous day, there had been a car show on the same space. Nuff said.
The WaMu is not a music venue any more than putting some sheets up to cover the shit in my garage and charging people admission is a music venue. They took the same old Qwest Events Center, hung some curtains from the ceiling, put some theatrical lighting around, a stage, SUPER-crappy sound system and some bleachers. It just appears so cheaply done and insincere, purely a money-making venture.
I saw Daft Punk there. I had a number of complaints about the place. The two major ones were the sound and the drinks/staff. The sound was HORRENDOUS. Electronic music is built on bass. The skimpy sound system they had was distorting for the pre-show music. When Daft Punk came on, the bass was one non-stop distorted buzz (but you could still enjoy Daft Punk); it was even worse for Kavinsky and Sebastien, you could hardly hear them over the distorted bass. Second, the beer garden was awful. They had 4 terribly overpriced beverages: Budweiser ($6 & gross), cheap white wine ($7 or 8, I forget), cheap red wine (same), bottled water ($4). At one point, we went to get a glass of wine. The first counter we approached was out of wine. The second counter we approached, 5 feet from the last, had wine but was out of glasses. We asked if they could go grab some glasses from the next bar, and the short "NO!" and confused look was just despicable. We were ready to pay for their overpriced wine, but they completely refused to take 2 steps to accommodate our apparently absurd request. And that, in general, was the same attitude I got from the entire staff (except for the kind lady who translated the "Re-entry allowed" sign for me as meaning I'd have to buy a brand new ticket...to a sold out show).
I don't really know what WaMu is trying to do with the place. They fail in every manner they possibly could in creating and running the place. The sound, staff, vending, venue and experience all suck. Never,since Neumo's, have I been so repulsed by a venue. Basically, in my world, if it's not at the Tractor, Paramount, Moore or Showbox, it's getting so I don't want to go out to shows in Seattle.
saxtor, you prefer the paramount? ugh, that is the one venue in this city that gets my ire. they've ruined too many shows for me with their craptastic sound. they're dead to me (unless the tickets are free, and even then, they're at most at a zombie-state).
i agree with the person you quoted. the place is a huge concrete floor no doubt designed for business conferences or RV shows. they're just trying to squeeze some more revenue out of the place by turning it into concert venue. it's huge, character-less and uninviting. i saw the white stripes/yeah yeah yeahs here a few years ago before it was christened the WaMu Theater and was just the exhibition center. it was just as bad then as it is now; the only difference now is the addition of some stage curtains, bleacher seating and tons of hyperbole from the promoters.