Chameleon Club

Great, initimate venue.  Loved the outside deck area as well.  Would definitely go back!

This place is an absolute hole, in a variety of ways.

I attended for the first time on May 18th, 2013 to see the re-united Five Iron Frenzy, with House of Heroes opening. Purchasing a VIP ticket (perks including a meet and greet with early admission), I expected to be able to go to a separate line, but found myself standing in one line with the rest of the GA patrons. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the door with the awning and "Chameleon Club" neon sign above it is not, in fact, the entrance, but the exit. The only thing signifying that the double doors are the entrance is a small, faded, paper sign saying "enter here," which is probably only about 2 inches tall by 6 inches long. No one could see it, especially with the first people in line standing in front of it, so when the line reached a certain point, people assumed we were in the back of the line, and tried to get in there. Having to tell people that we were the front not only felt rude, but grew old, quickly. No venue staff were seen until ten minutes after the 6:00pm VIP doors time.

There is no external box office, will call, or anything which would be considered standard features for a legitimate concert venue. No security at the doors, or observing the line. I can't imagine how things must be at hardcore shows, there. Any concert venue worth its salt would have people being carded and issued wristbands (or having hands marked for underage/straightedge) while they were waiting in line, not as they walk in and are trying to get to the pit.
The VIP meet and greet was probably the most mis-handled of its kind that I have ever been a part of. The line funneled into a dumpy ground-floor bar through a narrow door, where a few members (not all) of the band lurked around in dark corners of a windowless and seemingly formeless room. Thank God I was near the first VIP ticketholder in line, or else I would have had to wait forever in the godawful line (I believe that VIP tickets were over-sold for this venue, they were still available after GA was sold out, and there were a crazy amount of people let in during the meet and greet), only to get a few words in with one of my favorite bands.

After meeting all the band members who were at the meet and greet, I left while the line was still quite long and headed upstairs to the hall where the show was being held. A friend who purchased VIP had chosen to skip the meet and greet in order to be at the very front, and I easily found a space next to him and his wife at the barricade separating the pit from the stage. This was perfect, I thought.  Got some autographs, and now front row for FiF. Well, when there were about fifty people (which, considering the tiny width of the stage was several rows deep) waiting for the show, security finally decided to show its face and told us all to go back downstairs. Early Admission? Kicking people out who all had VIP tickets isn't exactly my definition of Early Admission. We were sent downstairs to wait in cramped and dark hallways, for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, the meet and greet had wrapped up, so everyone who had previously been occupied with that were trying to make their way upstairs for the show. An absolute nightmare.
After the doors to upstairs were finally opened once again, a mad race up two flights of stairs ensued to get back to the barricade. A miracle no one fell and was trampled to death, in my opinion. And what did we find when we rounded the corner? A small mass of people already there, taking up half of the front row (even more obnoxiously, trying to save even more space for friends who were GA). No explanation was given for these mysterious people who apparently have more of a right to the front row than honest people who waited for hours. The woman beside me constantly loudly complained that I was "trying to elbow her out" when she was leaning (heavily, I might add) on me as I had barely enough space to hang my arms over the barricade, elbows touching. She had plenty of space on the other side of her, and between the rest of her party. Ridiculous.

But I digress, those people are not representative of the Chameleon Club (at least I think). I shall attempt to describe the Chameleon, and let it speak for itself. The club is small, which could be an advantage to create intimacy, but at the Chameleon, smallness only creates cramped people and poor viewing conditions. Having recently moved from Philadelphia, I understand that some venues are small. However, this is the worst venue that I have ever been to in my life. Small venues shouldn't have stages that are only ten-ish people wide. That's insane. The Chameleon's hall is so narrow and long that people much farther than twenty or so rows back couldn't see. Talking to friends after the show, they decided to be content in just hearing the music. While I admire their attitude, as a constant concert-goer, I would have been infuriated with being unable to even see the band which I had paid to attend.

My friends and I love the dubstep on Saturday nights at the Lounge. This place is pretty small but has its own personality and atmosphere. Bartenders are friendly and security isn't overbearing. No cover for the lounge which is nice. Parking nearby is easy to find. Smoking outside only.

I'm not aware of any other clubs around here that offer dubstep/D&B type music. The DJs are good and it's on Saturday nights most of the time.