The Civic Theatre — Attraction in New Orleans

I’m incredibly conflicted on my review. While the show was amazing and I had a good time, I likely won’t attend another show at the Civic Theatre. We missed highly suspect when they came through Destin, so we decided to drive over to NOLA and spend a few days. We frequently travel between 3-6 hours for shows across FL, MS, AL, GA and have attended larger venues like the smoothie king and coliseum and weekend rock festivals with thousands of people. Until this show, I’ve never come across a venue I’ve said I’ll never return to.

While some of the issues are things outside managements control, I’ll break down why it was a bad experience.

Security- clearly this wasn’t a professional security firm. It was like they grabbed 4 people off the street and gave them jackets that said “Security” The lady in charge of the line was handing out alcohol bands like they were candy. She never once checked an ID. She just asked if people were drinking and gave them a band. The group in front of us barely looked out of high school and every one of them received a band. This one shows my age because I drank underage. These days, I just see the issues with a venue who doesn’t even check for ID.

Overcrowded- there’s nothing better than a rock concert when you’re shoulder to shoulder. But this was a whole new level. You couldn’t even lift your arms without elbowing someone in the face...which started numerous fights that took away from the show itself. Security inside the venue was non-existent, except 2 guys on the front row between the band and the crowd. The stairs were packed with people who wanted a better view and constantly got into arguments when people tried to get by. You were trapped on the floor. We couldn’t leave to get a drink at all and watched the show stone cold sober. Was a good show but I’d like to be able to go to the bathroom or get a drink if needed. I think part of the issue is that it wasn’t enforced who had floor tickets and who had balcony tickets so everyone ended up on the floor. I’ve never really paid attention to how well other venues are run until I ended up with one that has no crowd management. This makes me appreciate my local venues quite a bit more!

Beer Selection- not very good. While there were several local IPAs, the only light beer offered was bud light.

Lastly, the Crowd. As previously stated, we have traveled all over for concerts and I’ve never encountered a more obnoxious crowd than I did at the Civic. This is obviously outside management control but I do feel if there would have been more security present (who were real concert security and not just wearing the shirt without a clue of what to do) the crowd wouldn’t have been so crazy. Fights popped up constantly. One girl put hands on a guy because he touched her arm trying to get past us. They fought the entire show. Her boy friendly consistently bowed up to him. There was another couple who argued with eachother the entire show. She hit him repeatedly. Another girl in front of us live-streamed herself at the concert...not the concert, but herself dancing with the camera flash on the entire time with the flash facing the people behind her. A group in the side balcony was pouring beer on the people below them on the floor. This was just in my immediate area. I’m sure there were issues elsewhere.

It wasn’t a good experience at all. We love rock concerts and attend several monthly, but I don’t see us returning to the Civic Theatre anytime soon. Maybe it was an off night, but this is the experience we had.

Highly Suspect put on a great show and I’d love to catch them at another venue where I can enjoy the...

The Civic Theatre is a really good place to see a concert. There is open floor general admission or two balconies with seating, and two side viewing areas. It’s a really neat layout because there isn’t a bad seat in the place. The acoustics were great and the bands I saw all sounded fantastic. I sat in the back row of the first balcony and felt like I was right there with the band. They had plenty to drink but were no serving any food (they may serve food sometimes but it didn’t appear that way). It was pretty tight getting around the lobby area and to the bathroom and bar, but not unbearable. Overall it is kind of bare bones, but to me that was part of the appeal. The seating was roomy, the view and sound were great, so I was alright with it not being really fancy. I have them bookmarked now so I can go back when another good show pops up. I would have rated another star if they served food, I like to eat while I...

I experienced this venue for the first and only time on New Year's Eve. I attended DJ Soul Sister's 17th Annual New Year's Eve Soul Train event. It was a good crowd of people and the venue was roomy enough to accommodate the crowd comfortably. I had purchased my ticket in advance online but received information from the the personnel at the ticket window who were friendly and informative. The ladies who scanned the tickets at the entrance were also personable as we held a brief conversation. Inside the music had a good volume and I enjoyed the 2nd level stages where the DJ worked as well as the other side where there were dancers which were easily seen from the first level where I was. I mixed and mingled without incident especially for such a celebratory night. There was still standing room, however I did not see the 2nd level to know what took place up there. All in all I...