Universal Preservation Hall — Attraction in City of Saratoga Springs

The crowd here skews older and the programming is mellow, and not contemporary at all, which is fine, as that crowd is a significant demo in Saratoga and entitled to their entertainment. I guess the idea is this ain't Putnam Place. But it is clear that while the targeted demo may be good for attracting committed benefactors, the programming is currently also limiting the attendance, utilization, and interest in the space. I know they are involved tangentially, but if it were up to me Caffe Lena would take over programming for a better mix. Physically this is a very nice restoration of a venue that is unfortunately just not well setup for music (high ceilings that go way above the audio setup and hollow it out, odd lines and a stage that seems to never be well setup relative to the former apse which was filled with seats). The sound overall is sent from high quality speakers and sounds crisp IF you are in line with a speaker, but was setup for events presented "in the round" and not all are. Collectively the speakers don't blend well for those between the direct lines to them. Unfortunately, for example, the result is you can pay the highest price to sit in the middle of the floor where you will not have any speakers pointed at you and find yourself in an awful sound hole. This happened to me and I moved up to the top right balcony in line with a speaker where the sound was of a better quality, but still not very loud. I let the director of the venue know of this experience (as she was sitting next to me briefly) and she smirked, looked rudely at me, and moved away. Yikes take the constructive medicine and improve please, I was not trying to be a troll! And this was after she begged the crowd for money before the show with quite a desperate sounding tone. I won't be back unless the programming changes to acts I cannot miss and efforts are made to improve sound. Ideally book some higher energy acts and make the floor standing room GA with sound...

This was our first time attending a show at UPH. It was a little difficult to find parking on a Sunday night, which was surprising. The most confusing thing about walking to the venue was trying to find the entrance. We entered into the foyer bar area after going through a metal detector. Several people were enjoying wine and cocktails. We got into a line that wound itself around the foyer area. It went relatively fast to get to the ticket scanners. We purchased a water bottle before the concert. They did not accept cash. We had good seats. It was nice to have the performers in the round. It was interesting to see that they had 3 different sound areas. The sound was good. At times, it was difficult to hear the musicians when they were speaking between numbers. The ushers were very pleasant and knowledgeable about how to direct you to your seat. I would like to attend another concert at Universal Preservation Hall for another genre of music. It would be interesting to hear how the sound would be different. When exiting the theatre, it was a little bit congested. We almost left out the wrong door. We would have been totally lost if...

This church-turned-music-venue is a super setting for live music. Flexible floor seating gets one right up close to performers in chairs. Stadium seating with flip down base-level seats behind that ensures clear views, no matter how tall the person in front of you. Around the sides in balconies are a couple-few rows of cushioned pews. Every seat in the house is close enough to see performers faces, and their fingers flying as the band plays. First floor bathroom has what seems to be a good ratio of ladies' room stalls per capacity of the venue. Building access is around the right side (not up the grand outdoor steps in front). Check local maps for parking, as it's not on-site, or arrive early enough to find street parking. Nice acoustics. Full lighting system. Beverages sold. Interior lobby may have merchandise related to the performance. Metal detector entrance past box office into interior lobby. Bag searching was not required when this writer attended. Four stars only for lack of on-site parking.

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