Waterloo Park — Attraction in Austin

I recently saw a show at this venue for the 1st time. They sent an email a couple days prior with helpful tips including parking tips, prohibited/allowed items, etc, which details can also be found on their website. As of recently, they allowed in a factory-sealed water bottle and a small towel or blanket to sit on. It said they also allowed a small sandwich bag with food or snacks in it, then one of the staff at the security entrance tried to tell me it wasn't allowed, but when I protested and offered to show her the email saying it was allowed, she asked a security guard nearby and he said it was okay. So you might need to be prepared to advocate for yourself a bit if you don't want to just trash your food. Apart from that minor misunderstanding, the event staff were really friendly and helpful. They do sell some food and drinks inside the venue, which are on the pricey side, which is to be expected at events like this but they seemed to cost a bit more than I'm used to. You can park nearby in one of several state parking garages, which cost me $10 for the night, or try to find a meter or arrive via rideshare. I got a General Admission lawn ticket and sat on the grass, which was comfy and laid back. I enjoyed being able to enjoy the evening/night sky above. My only beef is the music itself was not very loud. Normally I have to wear headphones at concerts because the volume is so loud, but I prefer it that way - you can literally feel the vibration of the music. The quieter sound this time definitely put a damper on my experience... it's just...

We went to The Used/A Day to Remember show on 10/18. This was our first time at this outdoor venue, and it was a perfect afternoon/evening for it. There's a garage near by, just feet away from the back entrance, but we parked off of 7th St about 0.8 miles away. Since it was after 6pm on a Tuesday, parking was free (plus we didn't know about the garage). The merch tables were outside the main entrance, but we were allowed to take everything inside, even though the venue did have some bag-size limitations. Security was light and quick. No vapes or large bags were allowed, but there were plenty of both. Drinks were outrageous @ $14 per; I didn't price the food. The entire bar staff was stupid friendly, maybe because the lowest preset tip amount on plastic was 18% (which you can adjust). The bathroom lines were a bit long and I was told there were only two (2×2), which seems really low for a place this size. The pit was small for the crowd, but looked fun from where we were. The foldable seats are brought in and placed directly on the grass; which is fine, if they, too, weren't also small, not that anyone sat for long. We shuffled out around 10pm without any hassle from anyone. Even though I was a little worried walking back to the car at that hour/distance without the company of my concert-goers, surrounded by the homeless, Austin is a pretty chill town, even at that...

The venue itself is nice. It's easy to access, and has large signs indicating the sections. So far, none of them have been sold to big corporations, unlike the Moody Center.

The seating is all folding chairs, with the seat numbers scrawled in chalk on the underside, which works well enough, though none of the aisles were marked. Thankfully, the volunteers are all very helpful, and guided us to our row.

The problems of the venue were all safety related. The show started in the early evening, and the direct sunlight was brutal. The heat index was around 109°, and there was absolutely no water provided, though you could stand in line and pay $5-6 to avoid heatstroke. There were a couple of fans with misters around, but not nearly enough, and so those were crowded.

For a venue of this size not to have adequate safety measures in place during a serious heatwave is unacceptable.

In better weather, I can see this being a very enjoyable place to see a show. If you're susceptible to the heat,...