Elevation 27 — Attraction in Virginia Beach

TLDR? - I had a great time and enjoyed the professionalism of the staff. Really good venue!

I want to preface my full review by saying that there was a time when I played a lot of live music. I mention that because my past partnerships with venues, and my knowledge of the industry have an impact on my perspective when I'm rating my overall experience at a venue.

One other important mention is that because this was a Sunday show, some people were totally sober. I was one of them.

I went to Elevation 27 last night to see a great show. I was in a small group of vendor partners. The show sold-out, so we were glad to be on the guest list. Unfortunately, when we arrived, our names weren't on the list at all. Their staff worked quickly to figure out what happened while we did the same. Turned out to be a miscommunication on our end. Even though it was totally our fault, the staff at Elevation 27 had us on the dance floor in no time.

It's a smaller music venue, but much larger than most local bars. The music had just started when we got to the floor and there was still room in one of my favorite places, which is right behind the soundboard. Now, I don't know who's sound and lighting systems they were using or if it was a combination of the band and the venue, but last night it all sounded and felt great. The sound quality was excellent and was setup just right for the space.. The lighting system was decent and the large screen behind the bands really added a lot of excellent visual effects. I could go on forever about the sound and lights, but I'll cap it off here by saying that it was a solid, professional setup and the entire crew did a great job.

One of the most impressive things about the venue was the bar service. I was drinking water and had a soda or two. Other members of my group were having adult beverages. Every time we went to the bar, we never waited more than a few minutes for service. Plenty of people were going to the bar. The staff members were just very efficient in moving people in and out. That's often a reflection of a management team that knows what they're doing and understands staffing and training.

Another positive thing I experienced was their staff security. They were very present and very focused on their mission, but I never saw any of them being overly aggressive or giving anyone any grief. If you kept yourself chill and halfway composed, they had no interest in messing with your night. If someone did something really stupid or acted like any kind of a threat to themselves or others, Security didn't mess around when they did what they had to do in removing that problem from the equation. It felt like a very safe place without a lot of hassle. THAT is the way it should always be.

So, even though this was my first visit to Elevation 27, I feel comfortable with giving this venue a 5 star rating. I will definitely be going back for shows in the future. I have a good feeling this rating will remain, but If I have updates from future visits, I'll come back and make them....

We show up 20 minutes early. At about 10 minutes til 7, which is the time it's advertised we're suppose to be given entry, we hear someone say, oh, if you have a reserved table you can actually go in early. Not an employee mind you, but someone else going to the show. So we're seated a bit before 8. For 20 minutes, we seat in FOLDING CHAIRS (with my elderly mother, who's chair we finally have to swap because it's so uncomfortable and wobbly) and wait for someone to even notice us. When a waitress does finally stop, she informs us she's not our waitress, but she'll put in a drink order. This scenario repeats two more times. At 820, our actual waitress takes our orders, including our drinks that never had materialized. Mind you, we've been seated at this point for almost 30 mins and were in the door when there were no more than 20 other people in the place. The tables around us, 3 that were seated after us, have ordered, gotten their food and are finishing up. They attempt to bring food and drink to us 4-5 times that isn't ours, including beers to my niece and daughter who are WEARING the read minor bracelet. We notice another table with dessert that looks good, so we ask for a piece as well. It comes 20 minutes before the food we ordered at 820. At 8, someone who I think is the manager, stops by to I THINK apologize. He states, you're ticket is second in line right now, it will be out in just a minute, but we had a rush of 200 people all at once. Dude.. no you didn't. We were here when the place was still mostly empty. I don't say this, I just point out the tables around us who were there after us and have their food. This PERSON, then looks me in the eye and states in a very nasty, aggressive tone. LIKE I SAID. WE"RE VERY BUSY AND YOUR FOOD WILL BE HERE IN A MINUTE. If I hadn't come to the show (Gaelic Storm) for my daughters birthday, because she absolutely loves them, we would have walked and not paid for the one can (no glass offered) of beer and waters we had gotten at that point. I am a paying customer, your lack of staff and planning are NOT my problem. Your rush is not my problem. Basic management 101 you guys. No offer to give us a free dessert, discount our ticket, nothing, not even an apology. Just rude, aggressive, and in my face. At 810, an hour and 20 minutes after we were seated, our food comes. It was wrong, but we didn't care and ate it anyway. The food was ok, but not worth anything that we paid for. So $110 for tickets. Spent another $140 on dinner for 5 people including tip. Not worth it. Not at all. We will never be back, and I will be sure to let my friends know exactly the treatment and...

Good venue, good bartenders, but man, I have been to HUNDREDS of venues around the world and I have never seen a more disrespectful, disgruntled, dismissive, and arrogant entrance staff in my entire life. Bouncers think they are literal gods and the baddest people on the planet. Ive been to dozens of events at Elevation27 and every single time I greet the “security” (laughable) staff, I either get ignored or a dismissive mumble. I dont know if the management is non-existent or piss poor, but every event I come to at Elevation27, I put off until the last second because I cant STAND dealing with their “security” staff. Bottom of the barrel.

Tonight, as I walk up to the venue, the bouncer outside mumbled under his breath “inside” without checking a single thing in my pockets. I didnt even know what he said at first so I said “what?” And he angrily mumbled “inside!” As if he is a prison guard and I'm an inmate. I then get to the ticket scanning lady and she mumbles “ID” under her breath as she is watching a football game at full volume on her phone. Doesnt even check the ID, and proceeds to sloppily put on my wristband as she watches a sports game on her phone. She is so focused on her phone, she takes 5 or 6 tries to scan my ticket because she isnt even looking at the scanner… I couldn’t make this up if I tried. The unprofessionalism is truly like no other.

I do recommend this venue but BEWARE of the “security” and front of house staff. They are a different breed here. Im a local and it makes me not want to attend events...