Roseland Theater — Attraction in Portland

Little late to post about the Dirty Honey show on 25 November, because I was waiting on an email reply from The Roseland, but nothing there, so I'll now post: [This may be a small novel]:

First will say: The sound & guys were amazing! Great energy! IF you haven't seen them before, I highly suggest checking them out! Seen them 3 times now & will see them every time they're in town! Just an old school, R 'n' R sound from these guys!

No onto my comments:

In my 20+ years of attending shows at The Roseland, I have never seen the mixing board dead center in front of the stairs leading to the upstairs, nor have I EVER seen the upstairs EMPTY! Had asked a Security Guard about this & since I could barely hear him, I 'think' he said: "Lack of Ticket Sales", which is too bad because this band is awesome! I suppose I get why the venue does this to it makes it look 'full' from the bands point of view, but they know! They can see that the upstairs is empty!

It would have been nice if Roseland management had posted something on the website about the upstairs being closed off or if it was a last minute decision, based on ticket sales, then maybe post a sign on the door leading into the venue to let patrons know. I just like the option of being able to sit due to my bad knee & lower back pain & if I want to stand, then I just make my way back downstairs. No harm, No foul. Heck it could have been a Security Staffing issue too, but I saw Security making the rounds up there.

So the layout was that 21+ were funneled into the middle of the floor & the under 21 areas were off to each side with an empty isle, separating both 21 over/under sections on both sides for Security.

I was near the front, Stage Left & I even got there just as the opener started. One thing that was odd to me was that there was some poor guy in a scooter in front of me & couldn't understand why, because I know he couldn't see past the people standing in front of him. I get ones desire to attend shows, but maybe Security could have let him hang out in the isle so that he could see? Maybe he didn't even ask?

Everything else was fine...Security, getting through Security Check very quickly, didn't get any drinks because I didn't want to vacate my spot even though I got to say [at least this Dirty Honey crowd], if one was carrying a drink, everyone seemed to just move & let that person through. This amazes me because I've been to many shows at other venues & in another Country & once a spot is vacated on the floor, it's like a suction & the void is AUTOMATICALLY filled by someone right next/behind you! You move from your spot, EXPECT it to be filled & not get that spot...

TL;DR Management is a steaming pile of horse manure.

Roseland instituted a drastic policy change after I made a purchase and failed to effectively communicate said policy change or have anything in place on site to help folks comply with said policy change thus causing me to be unable to use my purchase.

I paid $137 for balcony seats and $48 for transportation. I bought my tickets in February. There was no warning of a "No large bag" policy. In March, I attended Ministry/Numan with the same purse with no issue. I attended Dethklok in May with the same purse with no issue.

I went back and looked at the email to download my tickets for Front 242. Buried below several lines of text is a blurb about the "No large bag" policy and size limitation of 9"x6". Seriously?! That's more stringent than Moda and it was not readily apparent when opening the email. That should have been at the top of that email, because like most people, I didn't see anything out of the norm and fast scrolled to download my tickets.

This is a drastic policy change. You don't do something like that and not "yell it from the top of the mountain" so it is very clear and have something in place while acclimating ticket holders who purchased before the policy change. Placing a blurb below normal text to inform attendees of something so major is, at best, slipshod execution. I've talked to other folks who cited the bag policy was jamming up the line. No doubt, many women walked away.

I emptied the contents of my purse into my pockets, held it open and upside down, and shook it vigorously to demonstrate I wasn't hiding anything and asked if that would be okay. I was told I could leave my purse on the street and come in. That is not the answer. At the very least, Roseland should have had something in place, on site, to help folks comply with the policy change while acclimating to it.

And Roseland continues to advertise shows without calling any attention to said policy change -unless you go to their website. Why would anyone do that if they purchased tickets on another platform? The policy isn't even referenced on tickets either. THAT seems like an effective way to do a money grab.

This isn't the first time I've had an issue with Roseland. I've been manhandled by security because he "thought" I might have a weed pen in my hand -it was a normal atomizer and I wasn't even using it. I paid $70 to see Thievery Corporation not too long ago and it was over capacity. I have a birth defect causing a compromised spine. I can't have people literally using my body as leverage to get through the crowd in a walkway. I tried to get a refund immediately, but was denied. Roseland will cite their capacity being higher than the number of people in attendance, but when it's so packed people are jammed in every walkway, that's over capacity and the fire marshal should revisit...

Went to see closing daily bread back to back nights recently first night was amazing definitely packed house hard to move around in once everyone's there but the sound was epic the first night* HOWEVER** THE SECOND NIGHT THEY HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SOUND PERSON A GRUMPY OLDER WOMAN WHO LIKE MOST SOUND ENGINEERS, WOULD RATHER GET UPSET WHEN YOU TELL HER THAT THE VOLUME COULD COME UP AND THAT THE BASS ISN'T REALLY THERE, luckily clozee had her own sound person, so it was great when she went on. But daily breads set was horribly low the second night. Rest of Staff, was pretty cool tho. Now...

Let's get down to The real nitty gritty people are talking and it's become the rumor that places like the Roseland theater are doing everything they can to hate on other venues and cause them trouble example : The North Warehouse, which is pretty petty for a venue That seems successful enough as it is. So if you really are throwing shade and sending over inspectors to your competition that's the lame as s* ever. North Warehouse has more space It's more comfortable to be there has an outside area that is highly accommodating to many people tons of exits everywhere you look and a super high ceiling,

If you're worried about getting trampled in an emergency or being boxed in during an active shooter situation or an earthquake fire any of those potential hazards the Roseland theater were more than likely cost of your life It's impossible to get through the crowds it's way too packed on nights that sell out the upstairs balcony has one way and one way out and people are oblivious there You will slip and fall you will have to climb stairs and if you can't get to an exit then I hope you believe in a higher power.

I enjoyed my time at Roseland theater because I chose to make the best of it but I will not be...