Kalamazoo State Theatre — Attraction in Kalamazoo

Awful. The inside of the venue is beautiful and the staff is great, but the seats are so close together it is absolutely ridiculous. I went in to a concert to find that 10% of my seat was already taken up by the person sitting next to me. He was not the leaning over or being a jerk, there is just not enough room in the seats to sit or stand anywhere near comfortably. And this was at a metal concert, so naturally we wanted to stand up, fist pump, give standing ovations, etc. It was so bad that I was unable to lift my arms over my head without bumping them into the two people standing next to me. It was unacceptable on every conceivable level. Imagine trying to enjoy your favorite artist while being unable to move to the left or right a matter of 1 to 2 inches before bumping into someone. Thank heavens that there were empty seats next to us that we were able to stand in front of, but even with the extra room, it was cramped.

To add insult to injury, the floor underneath our chairs was sloped downward, making standing for several hours during the concert a significantly worse experience than it would normally be. This is 2018 people, I expect an architect to be capable of making a floor that is flat, or at least not sloped to the point that it is absolutely bizarre.

Another insulting part of this venue was the “VIP pit”, an area where people stand in front of the stage. There appeared to be no enforcement after the concert started as to who could enter the pit, so people who spent $40 to $70 on a ticket, were simply walking up to the VIP pit, where tickets cost over $100 and enjoying the same experience as people who bought the most expensive tickets. Finally, the front row seats of this place are a joke, at least during concerts. They are not elevated above the “VIP pit” at all, at least not to a discernible level. You're effectively just standing behind the VIP pit having to look over multiple rows of heads that are at eye level in an attempt to see the band. A seat further back would almost certainly provide a better viewing experience.

By far my biggest problem was how crowded everything was. If we had not had extra seats to stand in front of, a luxury that the vast majority of people did not have, this would have easily been the worst concert of my life.

I cannot recommend going to this venue, in fact if you have the option to avoid it, I would strongly advise...

Went there to see Tommy Castro. They had us going in through the out door. Out through the in door. Had two singns that said you have to have a stamp to get back in after smoking of course the signs are on the opposite Dam door than there giving stamps. They knew we had been in there. They have us on video. There poor management and there uneducated pathetic employees And there smart mouth punk a** little security boys would not let us back in. They care nothing about there customers. It's no wonder they don't make any money and proly will not be around very much longer. They worst management i ever saw and i will never go back again. The place is beautiful it's a crying shame the place has to be run by a bunch of brain less pathetic hillbillys.

I have to say the what i believe to be the owner called us and made my wife feel much better. she was very professional and did the best you could do and I really appreciate that we do feel better about the State Theater now. I still believe the management that they have there is not very good and I believe that the security is rude but I've owned a business myself and I know how hard it is to get good people. but Stephanie we do appreciate the phone call and your effort to make it right thank...

I have always loved this theater but my last experience was during a gospel concert. I had no idea that my purse was too big to bring into the building so I had to trust the staff to lock it up. The staff explain that the stipulation on bags and purses coming into the building is clearly stated on their website. However the ticket I received for this concert came to me as a gift and I didn't buy it online there for not giving any notice about the size of the purse I was bringing in. I did take a bus to the theater and when they told me to take my purse back to my car and lock it in there I thought I was going to explode. Please Kalamazoo State Theater do not assume that everyone owns a car and that everyone gets on your website to buy tickets. Since my purse was locked up my wallet was removed from my purse somehow and I lost some belongings including my state ID. If I ever go back to the Kalamazoo State Theater if I can't fit it in my pocket it won't go in. Can the State Theater needs to really think about making the stipulation about purses and bags coming in loud and proudly. Like on the first page of the...