The Opera House — Attraction in Toronto

I want to love the Opera House. Visually, it is a wonderful venue to see a show in. The building is lovely, the stage and its surroundings are aesthetically pleasing, and I appreciate the opportunity to see a show from a balcony (even though it is closed a lot of the time I go there).

The management, however, is disastrous. First of all, what is with the no re-entry policy? Why is there someone waiting to search through my tiny little satchel with a flashlight? Why are you patting down my boyfriend but not me? Why are your sound guys spending more time watching pornography than focusing on sound? Why did an audience member have to approach one of your sound guys and tell him that the drums were too loud for the guy to notice? Why are your sound guys blatantly watching pornography DURING bands? And a bright laptop screen in the middle of a darkened room--seriously? Why is it that we had to argue with a bar tender to get a glass of water when the Liquor Licensing Act requires tap water be available to guests in an establishment that serves alcohol? Why did another bar tender tell us she could only give us one glass of water, because she could get in trouble?

Despite the beauty of the venue itself, the way it is run makes me not want to attend shows there. The people running the Opera House blatantly disregard rules and treat their patrons as cash machines who intend to break the law rather than as guests.

I will still attend shows there if I like a band enough, but I will never give this venue business past the...

Another historic performing venue in Toronto opened in 1909. The Opera House serves as a music venue in the Riverdale neighbourhood. It was used in several filming of music videos like Barenaked Ladies' song "Brian Wilson" and The Tragically Hip's song "My Music at Work".

Security checks for ID outside and then body/baggage check between the doors. Also, they double stamp for ID and stamp for tickets. Coat check is available at the front door after two sets of doors. There is an upstairs with coat check as well when open to the public. The bathroom is located in the basement. It has a narrow one-person staircase to go up and down to the washroom which can be a bottleneck. The female washrooms had at least 6 stalls and goes pretty quickly.

The main floor has three bar areas (located on the east, west, and north side that is close to the entrance). They take credit via clover machines at the bar. There are two floors on the main floor. Slightly elevated floor and then 4-5 steps of stairs down to the main dance floor area on both east and west side. There is minimal security for the stairs and could get cluttered with people watching the stage (a slight hazard). On separate occasions, we watched Billy Talent and Dear Rouge perform here and liked the view and sound. Decent concert space and friendly vibes all around!

Fun fact, they have a restaurant called The Opera House Grill & Patio that serves The Shaggy Burger (that is advertised in the...

Accessibility concerns // Ineffective Security

If you're a disabled person with mobility issues and can't stand, this is NOT the venue for You and best to take your money somewhere else, cause their security won't ensure a safe experience or create a respectful atmosphere.

My first question is Why was the area not corded off or guarded by dedicated security personnel?

Why did it take 3 attempts from onlookers to remove a man who was actively harassing and insulting disabled people after they politely asked him to slightly move for personal space?

How were 3 non-disabled people allowed to take up this space for an entire set? (I politely informed them they were in the accessibility seating section which could've been labelled more visibly and was met with hostility)

Why did the bar staff try to de-escalate and intervene before security did? (This is not their job but I appreciate that they at least tried)

Extremely disappointed with how an incident I witnessed at the Motion City Soundtrack show was handled. After security took this man to the side the 1st time he was allowed to return and continued with hostile, disrespectful behaviour. I missed parts of the show just so I could go and find a security person myself who would take care of this because it was making everyone around uncomfortable. Disabled people deserve to enjoy a concert and shouldn't have to deal with entitled people...