Aura — Restaurant in Portland

Overall not a bad venue for a show. If you eat there before the show, you get seated first when the doors open. Good beer selection, typical pub fare, good presentation, fairly priced. My waitress Ashley was awesome, and my burger was just right. They had a Banded Horn Porter on special for Happy Hour. Carrying a variety of local brews is a huge plus. Also, they have a lot of healthy options as well for those who like a fresh salad with their rock n roll.

The staff was mostly friendly. Mostly. They have metal detectors at the entrance. I had a small utility knife that I use for work, and had to hike back to the parking garage to put it away. I would have been perfectly fine with it, except for the attitude I received about it. Overall not a big deal, just frustrating.

I posted a few pictures from different angles to give you some idea on the seating.

The floor and balcony general admission was not seated. Standing for 4 hours and constantly having people squeezing by to get drinks, come back with drinks, spill drinks on the floor, go to the bathroom, come back from the bathroom, etc ... It definitely detracts from the concert experience.

To be fair, I'm big on show etiquette. Get there early, and find your seat, or place to stand. Once the show begins shut up and stay put. If I'm paying good money to enjoy a show, that's what I plan to do.

They have a coat check room, the lady there was very cool. It's $2 cash only. She also sells earplugs for $1 if you want them.

Personally I thought the sound was just right. Loud enough to be a concert, but not so loud that it becomes problematic. My ears weren't ringing like the old CCCC shows back in the day.

It's a huge improvement over the Asylum. The aesthetic is pleasant, and the venue looks great. It's really well done, and most of the vantage points give you a decent view of the stage. If you're vertically challenged, you might not agree with me, especially if you have to stand.

A huge credit to the venue, they have been bringing a steady stream of varied acts to town on a consistent basis. Portland is a better destination with this venue.

The picture is standing at the back of the floor general admission area. The show was Jason Bonham's Led...

I am of two minds about this venue. On one hand, this is a brand new performance space, with a tremendous sound system, and great sight lines. The only marginal seats are on the aisles in the balconies, where the support members interfere with seeing the full stage. It is relatively small, and balcony seats are amazing. And Aura brings great people to Portland.

On the other hand, the people who run the place seem in some ways to be utterly indifferent to their customers. I called for three straight days, and left messages on several extensions. No one ever answered the phone, and nobody bothered to return a call. This says something to me. I ended up driving downtown on a beatly hot day, paying to park, and going to Aura’s sports pub to get a question answered.

And the business caters to younger people. Not surprising, as I am sure that that is where most of their business comes from. If you have not been there before, you may not know that general admission means that roughly 60% of attendees are going to stand. And you may not know that doors open at 8, the first act starts at 9, and the main act may not be on stage til 10:30 or 11:00. For the Pink Martini show, an older crowd showed up, and learned the painful lesson that most of them would be on their feet for two and a half or three hours BEFORE THE MAIN SHOW STARTED.

A lot of them left feeling pretty much disrespected, and vowing never, ever to return.

As marginal to Aura’s revenue is the $$ from people in their sixties might seems, a ton of baby boomers came to consciousness in the 1960’s, and music is part of our identity. Don’t expect us to be there at 1 in the morning, and especially don’t expect us to stand for three or four hours.

And hey, answer...

I had a mixed experience at this venue. While I faced significant issues, there were a few positive moments that deserve recognition.

First, the negatives: I traveled over 15 hours to attend this event and had major accessibility concerns. I left a voicemail in advance to confirm arrangements but received no response via call or email. When I arrived, I waited over 30 minutes to be seated in the accessible section, which soon became overcrowded with able-bodied individuals standing and spilling drinks on those seated. The area wasn’t properly monitored or enforced.

When I stepped out to smoke, I was told I couldn’t re-enter because I didn’t have an alcohol wristband—something staff never communicated beforehand. This added to an already frustrating situation.

That said, there were a few bright spots. While waiting in line, a kind young staff member worked to ensure I had a seat in the accessible section and sincerely apologized for the inconvenience. At the end of the show, staff also went out of their way to clear a safe route for me to leave despite the super long merch lines.

While I appreciate these efforts, the venue still has a lot to improve in terms of accessibility, crowd management, and...