Medina Entertainment Center — Restaurant in Medina

This isn’t a review of Medina Entertainment Center but the band Leonid & Friends who appeared there Friday, October 4, 2024.

I’ll give Medina three stars. For a big bar it’s clean. But $12 domestic beers is a little high.

Leonid & Friends got a lot of hype. One Star. Read on.

I’ve seen their videos online and was impressed with their Chicago covers. When a friend had an extra ticket I was excited to go.

I guess it’s all relative and about expectations. If I’d walked into a random bar with a $10 cover charge and $5 beers, the band would have been fine. But our general admission tickets were $50 (others were over $100) and $12 beers, the show was, at times, comically bad.

The band mixes Chicago songs with 70s songs - some that aren’t huge hits. Going from Chicago to the Carpenters, or Marvin Gaye totally kills the momentum. They did two sets. One should be a pure Chicago set and then a 70s hit set.

Audience rapport is important, but they stop and talk way too much. More curious is why their manager, who really sounds like Baron Sacha Cohen’s Borat, comes on to talk and play games often - another momentum killer.

As for the band, the brass section is competent, but have they ever seen Chicago play? I don’t expect to see James Pankow but at least learn a few of his moves. More importantly look at the way the horns move together and try to get it down.

The keyboard and guitar players are also competent but not outstanding. The best musician on the stage is the bass player who may be an accomplished studio musician.

The drummer is steady and a good metronome but Chicago travels with a drummer an extra percussionist. So, the percussion doesn’t come close to matching what Chicago does even now.

Now, the vocals. There are four members who sign. Two can and two are embarrassingly bad. The woman is quite good and so is the shorter dark hair guy who stands next to the bass player (at least in Medina) can truly sing and with little detectable accent.

There’s another guy who handles a few lead vocals who I believe also has dark hair and is a bulkier guy. At the Medina show he was wearing a doo-rag). Most memorable was his lead on Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” It was comically bad because of the guy’s accent. He sounds nothing like Donald Fagen.

Most of the vocals are handled a very tall guy, dirty blond or light brown hair (we were pretty far from the stage) who is in the middle of the stage - (Danny ?). Again, comically bad because his accent is so thick. There were times where it could have been an SNL bit (in the mode of Bill Murray’s Star Wars lounge act).

These two guys don’t appear to play any instruments - just do vocals. The band could lose them and they would be better off with the one guy and woman who can sing without vocalists with accents that are so distracting.

If I saw this guy singing on a cruise ship out of Europe, it would make sense, but not with all the hype I’ve heard on this band.

At the very least, move the two that can sing to the middle of the stage and give them the bulk of the vocals. The one guy handled Peter Cetera’s parts well, and Phillip Bailey’s parts on Earth, Wind & Fire songs (he did better on the Maurice White parts than the main guy). He also did justice to a Marvin Gaye tune.

The woman did a nice version of the Carpenters “Superstar.”

Again, it’s all about expectations and everything is relative. Wonder into a random bar on a Saturday night, pay a $10 cover with $5 beers and a dance floor in the middle instead of tables with tickets over $100, and Leonid & Friends would be fine. See them on a cruise ship as the entertainment and free drinks, great.

But between manager, Borat, continuing to appear on stage to talk to the audience, and the main singer with such a thick action, and no ability to sound like the people whose songs the group was covering, there were times where the act was closer to a Saturday Night Live bit than a serious music act.

There are people who love this act and actually follow them. People were videoing them. I do not...

Great Experience watching the Tribute Bands Zed Lepplelin and The Rolling Stoners. This is a big venue for a fantastic experience and small enough so there's no huge crowds. Three types of tickets for the bands that we saw to purchase. First was the Gold to be right down in front of the two bands, but would have been two loud for us. The Gold had linen covered tables. The Silver which we purchased at $31.90 a ticket were tables still located on the dance floor behind the Gold and had no linen covers on the table. Our seating were guaranteed but only within the the large table assigned, not individual seats. Great location for seeing and hearing the band. Still a bit loud for myself because I'm very hard of hearing. I used musicians ear plugs to help with the loudness. The third tickets, which is a General Seating located all around the dance floor and these seats are on a first come basis. All of these seats have a good view of the band and have limited seating. Come early if you want a guaranteed seat for that area. There is a area behind all the assigned Gold tables that is partitioned off for those that want to stand and watch the band or dance.

Medina Ballroom is a awesome place to go for family entertainment. It offers bands on a regular basis and has a full service restaurant. It also has a bowling alley located in the lower level. For those that need to stay the night, the Medina Inn is located right next door to the Medina Ballroom. Call ahead to make your reservations for the bowling and for the Medina Inn for a fun packed family weekend!!

During the summertime on Sundays they have a Flea Market in their parking lot. This is sponsored by the Hamel, MN Lions Club and runs from May until the end of September and is weather permitting. Check it out for next year you possibly can find some fabulous...

My family recently attended the Michael Jackson impersonator event at Medina Entertainment Center, and they had a great time. From everything they told me, the impersonator was full of energy, had great stage presence, and really captured the spirit of Michael Jackson’s music and performance style. The production value sounded impressive, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy the experience.

It was something I had really been looking forward to, especially since my whole family was planning to go together. My aunt had bought all the tickets in advance, and we were all excited to spend the evening enjoying the show. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize until later that the event was 21+, and I was only 13 at the time.

The age restriction was clearly stated, so it was an honest mistake on our part. Still, it was really disappointing when I found out I couldn’t attend — especially since my grandma, cousin, and both of my aunts still got to go. I ended up missing out on what sounded like a really fun and memorable night for the rest of my family.

I completely understand why some events are limited to adults, especially in a venue that also includes a bar and live music setting. However, it would be nice if similar entertainment options were offered for younger audiences or families as well. Tribute shows like that have wide appeal, and I know a lot of younger fans — like me — would love the chance to experience them too.

Medina Entertainment Center seems like a great place for live events, and based on what my family shared, the staff and atmosphere added to the positive experience. I just hope there will be more all-ages events in the future so no one gets left...