Webster Hall

Certainly not my favorite venue, but I suppose I can understand the iconic status that this place holds. Book the right artist, and I'll definitely be willing to make a return visit. As a resident of NYC, via the outer borough of Queens, I suppose I've been putting off my obligation to visit this venue for far too long. After being a denizen of the greater NYC area for the better part of 6 years, I finally rectified my failure to visit this place.

Getting in was a nightmare. Yellow Claw was headlining the night I attended, so my group got in line with the rest of the ratchets (who were all very friendly while we were all in queue). The halal cart wasn't very much appreciated being so close a vicinity to the line... not only was food of any kind a tantalizing prospect at that moment in time... but we all know that the smell of charred BBQ-ed meats is a scent that does a very good job of latching onto one's apparel and hair (which does not make for a very good dance floor scent). Having to endure a number of minutes (20-30) in the midst of wafting meaty smoke was not ideal.

Finally, the line started to move and myself + crew were finally able to hit up the showroom floor. The place was packed, and the crowd was hyped... so the environment and the vibe already evidenced the makings of a good night. I will say that the venue was a lot smaller than I anticipated, and with everyone wanting to get as close to the front as humanly possible, this easily resulted in a sardine can effect, to which one could expect a number of small skirmishes to commence as substance induced tempers flared up. It was with this in mind that my group and I were content to hang to the side and let the ratchets pick each other to pieces (although even the sides had their own fair share of elbows and rudeness occurring... but I suppose that's always to be expected, unfortunately).

The artists that were booked, however, played great sets; the dark classic aesthetics of the showroom added a lot of character to the place, which I happened to appreciate... it was almost jarring. The light show and LED screen did a good enough job of adding enough visual substance to the show (albeit, nothing mind-blowing). The sound was well balanced... as I didn't notice too much bass (it was a trap happy night, so lots of that weird clang-y noise that we all know and love).

Certainly not my favorite venue, but I suppose I can understand the iconic status that this place holds. Book the right artist, and I'll definitely be willing to make a...

Beautiful venue, my show that I went in to see was fantastic! Getting in was challenging and staff were very rude. I admit that I didn’t read my (what I assumed was just a receipt) email which directed the customer to then have to download an app. I didn’t know this until I was checking in (staff going up and down the line could of clued me in I was standing outside pre show for an hour) so I was trying to download it, got locked out of my apple account trying to remember my password while walking and failing- so I am directed to the will call booth. You might think it would be simple to get checked in or find my name easily with showing them my email receipt. Nooooo. The girl at the booth was very rude and pointed out AGAIN that I “needed” to download the app. I try to explain I’m locked out from downloading a new app. She tells me again that I’m supposed to read and download the app. I was like I am locked out from doing that and cannot. So I got quippy, I admit because it was clear that she was annoyed about having to do her job at the willcall booth. And I said something in response to her repeated attempts to tell me I was dumb for not reading this email (BTW last nights venue in DC emailed me a pdf copy of the QR code of my ticket a few days before the concert to remind me of the show, that was nice! No app I had to download) I was like “or you could just do your job, you know at the will call booth, where people pick up tickets.” And then she came at ME for being rude. Like lady, I am trying to get to my concert and you are mad you are here but you could just quit and let someone else have a job if you hate it so much. The security guy standing around was super nice though and complimenting my friends attire while we waited for the slowest ticket pick up ever where she got locked out of my phone 3 times while trying to get one ticket out. No one wants to download your garbage app. Send the QR code out in an email. It’s not hard. Tell your staff to be kinder if they don’t want to catch attitude from people who traveled 5+ hours to be...

The staff were amazing, efficient, friendly, and organized (except for the mass exodus when the concert was over, when directions were a bit unclear, but I think signage would help with that) Our event was a Kpop concert, so the stage was just big enough to accommodate the group and their backup dancers, and the lights and sound were great. But the stage was a bit too low to clearly see all of the choreography past the heads of the people in front of us during a standing room only event. It's a small space, not surprising since it is a concert hall wedged into the East Village, but they managed it well and there seemed to be good access for folks with disabilities. The lineup outside waiting to get into the building was well managed but ended up wrapping almost entirely around the block, which put us somewhat in the way of NYU students and other pedestrians just making their way downtown. People were pretty chill, and some of them asked what we were in line for, but it did feel like we were a bit in the way. Again, just an unavoidable consequence of the tight quarters of the 11th street block. Overall a great experience, even though standing room is not the most comfortable for an entire show. It would have been nice if the venue's website had indicated it was SRO so we would know what to expect ahead of time. All I could find was information about the capacity for SRO versus seated, but nothing that specified which it would be for this particular event. The restoration is beautiful, and the giant disco ball was a good time :) The balcony was used only for a small number of attendees, and I couldn't tell if that was a separate ticket purchase or an accommodation for folks with conditions that prevent them from standing in a...