The National — Attraction in Richmond

STAFF/SECURITY IS TERRIBLE. Out of all the years I have gone to concerts, I have never had such a terrible experience. Had no problems until the end of the show, when a group of three females tried to make their way to the front of the stage. They were told to get behind the yellow line, mind you, behind the yellow line is where myself, my family, and other individuals stood the entire concert, WITH NO ISSUES (we ended up befriending each other). There was NO ROOM FOR THESE THREE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE BELLIGERENTLY DRUNK. They proceeded to FORCEFULLY PUSH THEMSELVES IN, not only shoving me out of the way, but also a younger girl who couldn't have been older that thirteen, and her mom! The staff was ABSOLUTLY TERRIBLE, PROBLEMATIC, CONDESCENDING AND BARBARIC. After watching me MIND MY BUSINESS ALL NIGHT, causing absolutely NO ISSUES, they decided to BARK AND SCREAM at me instead of HANDELING THE TROUBLEMAKERS WHO CAUSED THE CHAOS! Other individuals who witnessed the encounter vouched that I in fact did not do anything, and was minding my business. The staff also decided to GET INTO AN ARGURMENT with me, and my family (who were defending me), PUTTING THEIR HANDS ON ME AND MY BROTHER trying to PUSH US out. There was one staff member in particular (long dirty blonde hair) who had a NASTY ATTIDUTDE (rolling her eyes the entire night who didn't want to work to begin with) WHO STARTED the argument. The staff is TRASH! Point blank period. Nothing but a BUNCH OF THUGS AND GOONS IN RAGGEDY ASHY BLACK UNIFROMS! This venue needs to DO BETTER!

In the end being a NASTY person never gets you anywhere. The mom of the little girl who had to witness this unfortunate event ended up blessing me with a gift for being "nice and sweet" to them during the show. Now, who really had...

Was expecting so much more out of this place. I'm going here again tomorrow, so I'll hope it's a better experience and I'll have a better idea of what is the venue's fault, etc. If it doesn't go well I suspect I won't be back, which would be a huge, huge disappointment b/c it hosts some great names.

My gf got a single double-shot rail cocktail and the total came out to $31 pre-tip. Never seen something like that in my life. I've got top shelf doubles at other venues for under $20.

Feedback during an intimate set and poor volume control led to an awkward experience. Everyone was chatting during the opener and people were clearly incredibly restless- probably onset by the poor tech, but I also suspect the combination of an intimate opener w/ a bluegrass headliner was not the venue's fault and partially the reason for a restless crowd.

My gf and I were so disappointed by the chatter that we could hardly focus. During quiet string solos my foot would be stepped on, yelling out of turn, etc. I'm all for that stuff but wow there's a time and place. It was just a weird limbo: no one dancing to hoedown tunes but also no one quiet during solos and intimate songs- just restless blabbering the entire set. Ended up a leaving a few songs early.

I also noticed the only handicapped section is right by the bar and a few kids in wheelchairs were surrounded by loud drunks and laughing. Looked like a horrible horrible horrible experience. They're relegated to a tiny little section of the way-back- maybe they have...

I drove an hour from Hampton to Richmond on a work day to go buy several tickets to Smart, Funny, and Black. I told the box office attendant exactly what seats I wanted. The lady tells me that one of the seats I selected (Row F, seats 1, 2, & 3) was not available but Row G seats 1, 2, & 3 were open. So I proceeded with Orchestra A, Row G seats 1, 2, & 3 knowing that I needed to be on an aisle seat. When asking for a name to put the tickets under, I told her my name and then HANDED HER MY ID so that she can spell it properly. When it got to my email address, I told her it's my first and last name and she proceeds to spell it wrong WITH MY ID STILL IN HER POSSESSION. We complete the transaction and she gives me my tickets and ID back. I should have listened to my gut and looked at the tickets right that second. SHE GAVE ME THE WRONG SEATS. We're like 5, 6, and 7. I called to see what our options were to get it corrected and everyone is just like "Whatever". It's the principle of the matter. I drove all this way, missing work, to be able to choose my seats since you can't do it on the website and you have to pay $15 per ticket in convenience fees and I got treated like I don't matter. I don't matter enough to spell my name correctly and I don't matter enough to get the seats that I asked for. Just be warned if you're buying your tickets in person. Record your conversation and check your tickets to make sure you're sitting where...