Empire Live — Attraction in City of Albany

Well, it was our first trip since the owner of Northern Lights relocated to Albany. Both bands were great and it was worth the price of admission to discover the opening band (cool cool cool) who expertly mixed R&B with great singing, dancing, and serious playing. The Talking Heads portion, which included the members of cool cool cool was great too with Adrian Belew sounding like the guitar master he is and smiling ear to ear! While the sound volume was deafening, the overall mix was pretty good. As I note in almost every review, I plead with Empire Live to turn the volume DOWN! It clearly isn't necessary in such a small concert space...

The place looks very similar to the Clifton Park location but there are a few new additions like a coat check, larger bathrooms, more opportunity to get beer, and a nice space for merchandise.

However, still no place to sit, no tables, no chairs, concrete floors to stand on for hours, and for sold out shows as it was last night, being packed in so close to your fellow fans that you can tell if they took a shower that day or not! There appeared to be many drunk people there last night (Wednesday night?!?) and that makes it difficult for those of us who are interested in the music to enjoy the show. The ventilation was minimal and given the packed crowd, it makes an even tougher environment. That doesn't touch the need for venting on the COVID issue. Wearing a mask is an option, and one we will likely need to pursue, but the air was stagnant that makes it tough to keep a mask on for hours.

The fan experience there definitely needs some work. Turn the volume down way down, turn the ventilation way up, stop selling booze after the opening act to reduce the number of trips to the bar and bizarro behavior, move the mixing board to make room for fans, and install a floor/covering that is better to stand on for 4 or 5 hours. I get it that Empire never catered to a sitting crowd but how about a VIP section with bar stools on the second floor balcony or side of the stage (alcohol free?). I would pay more money for a ticket like that as I definitely want to...

We just attended our first show at Empire Live, and not going to lie; I sincerely hope it’s our last.

Pros: very easy to get to. If you get there early enough, there is a parking lot conveniently located across the street, or the parking garage that Empire Live actually exists in. Bathrooms and coat check were conveniently located (and coat check was reasonably priced). Two bars (one along the back and one on stage left). Plenty of space for merch set-ups. Band could easily be seen from the floor, and I’m not super-tall: 5’5” on a good day.

We did not check out the bathrooms, due to the next list, which will be the cons:

Accessibility? Don’t know her. The Accessibility link on their page is a page not found (literally) and emails to the venue went unanswered. I was going to ask at the door when I saw another concert goer with a mobility aid… in a folding chair along the back wall by the cost check. Seriously? Nah, I’ll tough it out.

We found a decent spot against the stage right wall with an alcove, where I sat on the floor for part of the show. Yay, I guess, but at least I could see the band. However, that leads us to…

The sound. I can tolerate a host of things if the show sounds good but as someone on Reddit noted: this place is built into a parking garage and it shows. The sound was abysmal. Some of it I am chalking up to mixing but honestly, terrible. Horrible. If I didn’t love the band so much I’d probably have peaced out early. I can’t believe so many people have given this place high marks. Everything else can be perfect but if the sound is bad for a live show, what is the point?

I do need to add that the staff were lovely. But I hope to never attend another show...

So, I want to start by saying I’ve been going to Empire Live for events; for the better part of my adult life, even when they were back in Clifton Park (Upstate Concert Hall), and it’s gone considerably downhill just recently I’ve noticed. Allow me to explain:

Yesterday my girlfriend and I went to the Dayseeker show as we are huge fans, and we noticed it was a sold-out show from the ads, and the sign in front of the building; anticipating it to be busier than usual. We get in line, and are ushered in by some of the rudest staff/security I’ve seen in a while. They barked orders for ID check, and screamed “RIGHT HAND” for wristbands, when they could be a bit nicer; but it’s security, I guess.

It’s important to note, security never checked any bags. When we attended Emo Nite here a few months ago, they did, but oddly enough, not for a band concert. There was one security guard that noticed a patron went past the barrier, and snuck back in, and was at the bar. He was scolded, but not kicked out, which was strange. Something could have happened that could’ve made things that much worse.

Lastly to note; the AC. There were 4 patrons that passed out, and this venue is too small for some bands to attend to. One AC unit on the roof for a venue this size, no way. I wanted to rush to get us water, but you’d have to wade through a sea of people just to get it, and come back; not worth it. Event organizers should know better than for a band that size, Albany offers other venue alternatives; I.e. the Egg, Palace, MVP, etc.

Maybe I’m getting old, but I’ve lost the interest to go to shows here. This will be the last. Parking is convenient, but be weary of events sold out in the...