The Historic El Rey Theater — Attraction in Albuquerque

Update one year later.... In the past year we've come here about five more times and my opinion about the venue has dramatically gone down. Like other comments say, they are bringing in great acts, but they over sell so much it's not enjoyable at all. On top of this their doors haven't been opening on time and the general atmosphere is poor. I'm at the point where I don't want to attend anything at the venue anymore because I know it's going to be miserable. Their bathrooms have gotten really bad too. They are like Sunshine Theater bad. It's really unfortunate. Rating changed from 4 to 2.

Original review: We are so happy another venue in Albuquerque is getting metal shows! This place is pretty cool. There is a mezzanine, but we have been here when it's not open or when you have to have VIP tickets to access it. The view is good if it's not packed and there are bathrooms and a bar up there. There is also a second, open air bar to the east that is usually accessible. They have a lot more beer there, but spirits are better downstairs inside. There are also tables and benches and heaters when it's cold. This is where merch usually is, but the area is 21 and over. Those younger should tell door staff they want to see merch and you will be escorted. When this area isn't open, merch is on the floor next to the little food area.

If you have will call tickets don't stand in line at the box office. They can scan them in the normal line. There are pat downs and bag searches, so be prepared.

Four stars because sometimes the acoustics in the mezzanine aren't great and the last time we went it was so packed it was impossible to see the stage. They weren't even allowing people to get to the floor so people had to stay by the...

Absolute worst sound in any theater or nightclub I've ever heard. Saw Purity Ring and you couldn't even discern the vocals from the high notes being played. Other times, the high notes were shrill and unlistenable. Also no middle notes to speak of. We listened from the 18+ section, 21+ section, and the VIP section and the VIP section was the only marginally better area sound quality wise. We traveled to see Purity Ring because my wife loves their music, but will never travel to see a show again at this venue. Besides that, the 21+ section where you could actually buy a drink was way too small for the amount of people, meaning you could not see anything while you had a drink. The VIP section upstairs felt oversold which meant you could also not see anything. Security inside was annoying as they were walking around shining flashlights on people during the middle of the show. We spent 45 minutes in line. You would think a venue of this size would have entry expedited for large shows. We were directed to the 18+ line after the 21+ line backed up, but then sent back to the 21+ line shortly after because the two doors could not communicate effectively. Got in line at 9:30, inside by 10:15, with actual music from 10:45 ish to 12:00. Would have been nice to have been notified prior to the show that it was only going to go on until 12:00. I would not return to this venue even for my...

They book the best shows, and for the most part I’ve had an excellent time here. But last night was completely oversold and it was miserable. The music sounded great and the artists killed it, but it was so hot and there was no room to move. There were only 2 bartenders working downstairs in a sold out show. We stood at the bar for about 30 minutes to get drinks, but decided to try and get somewhere where we could see the stage because we couldn’t see anything at the bar and we didn’t want to miss the show. We tried to go around to the under age area to get to a spot to see, but it was so packed we couldn’t get through. We went back to the 21+ side, but they told us we couldn’t get through that way (we had just gone that way before) we had to go all the way around through the beer garden, which wasn’t selling beer or anything, and go down the the entrance by the bathrooms. It was so crowded people were just shoving their way through to get in, which he what we ended up doing. It was a mess, and I was just waiting for a fire or something to happen in that place. Getting out was just as bad, took us around 45 minutes just to get out of the venue. I’ve been to a lot of crowded concerts, but I’ve never not been able to get a drink or even be able to move because of how oversold it was. The El Rey has good shows, and I’ve been to several there, but the new owners suck and don’t know what...