I have gone to four concerts here, and this past one (Vans Warped Tour) was officially my last. I will NEVER set foot in this venue again.
Why? Because every time there is a concert or all-day festival, there is not enough security or police presence. They are always understaffed, which causes parking to be a complete mess, underage drinking, people DUI-ing, etc. When you have an understaffed security force, they understandably get frustrated dealing with drunk and angry hooligans, but that's not to say they should use physical force against such people unless they are being disorderly.
I bought a ticket for my best friend to come with me to Warped Tour as a surprise for their bday. We were at the main stage, and suddenly I realized my backpack was no longer attached to my shoulders. We were walking up and down the aisles to see if I had left it in a seat, and when doing so my friend was approached for "looking suspicious", put in a chokehold, detained, and then beaten with a baton. My friend didn't provoke the security officer in any way, and I am so frustrated because there is nothing we can do about it and the Comcast staff keep dismissing our claim.
This was by far the worst concert experience of my life.
Sound quality is usually good, but the free parking is a NIGHTMARE and the concession prices are completely absurd ($9.75/beer, $8/fried dough, $6/fries, $5.50/20oz soda, $4.50/water).
This place is starting to fall apart. The bathrooms are disgusting and some of the big screens were broke last last night (sucks if you sat in one of those areas)
They need to get their head on straight and (a) fix their infrastructure and (b) bring back somewhat reasonable prices.
So I went to a concert here not long ago with my parents. First things first parking was impossible, the attendants just stood around. Now on to my main complaint. Me and my parents went to get a beer as people do, but when my mom who is 52 years old goes to get hers, the people behind the counter refused to accept her driving license because it was a duplicate. It was a duplicate because she had lost her original licence some time back and had to get another from the DMV. She is 52 years old and here she has people YOUNGER than her saying she cant have a beer. So I proceded to buy another beer and give it to her right in front of them. This place has the most incompetent people in charge of its alcohol policy. They disrespected my mother and treated her like a child. we WONT be going back here.
Review Source:Pros:
There's not a bad seat in the house; you'll always be able to see the stage, provided that the crowd in front of you stays in their seats.
Huge parking lot! Parking & event staff were on top of things and made sure that getting into a spot was relatively painless.
Cons:
Hard to find, especially at night. We ended up following the crowd (of cars) and that eventually got us to the parking lot.
After the show it's a zoo; good luck navigating your way through the traffic jam, unless you parked all the way in back, in which case lucky you!
The seats are the same as baseball stadium seats; if you have back pain & cannot stand for long periods of time, this is not the venue for you.
This is to supplement my prior review of "Great Woods."
Just saw Florence + the Machine there on 9/14 and the acoustics were awesome as usual.
Like most venues the "Comcast Center," subcontracts their food and beverage services. They are terrible! In order to drink at the venue, allegedly, you must be twenty-five or older. That is insane! My buddy and I went to see the show, he's a veteran (not harking on that) and was denied beer because he's twenty-four. That, on top of the insane prices of food and beverages makes me want to start a petition to call rage on this usurpation of the average joe's wallet. That's right...they be usurping us broke folk who love to support quality entertainers haha.
I do really like this venue but the services are just incredibly disappointing...
I love seeing shows at the Comcast Center and the solution to almost all of the problems that people are expressing is tailgating. Â
Yes, the food inside is overpriced (although I find it comparable to every other venue in New England), yes the merchandise is overpriced (but that is set by the artists), yes it takes forever to get out of the parking lot (but not as long as it takes to get out of Gillette).
However, if you get there early there is no traffic. Bring your own food and drinks, it is so much cheaper. Bring enough to have some for after the show too and the hour wait in the parking lot feels a lot shorter.
Overall, I'm surprised that the comcast center gets such crappy reviews. I think it is a great place to see a show in the summer and I love that parking is free!
Come for a band you're not obsessed with on a day you don't plan to rush home after with cheap grass seats and the Tweetcast Woodcenter or whatever the hell it's named these days will suit your live music needs just fine.
Arbella gave free sodas to DDs and  as I could stave off starvation for a two-hour show, the concession gauging didn't hit me that hard.
Acoustics are solid, and $20 for lawn GA (that has a tendency to bleed over to open air seats) ain't half bad. Security are a bunch of yellow-shirted teddy bears, allowing the gaggle of dankness on our left to "toke 'em if they got 'em" and the amorous couple on our right to publicly fornicate. Now THAT'S eHarmony!
The free parking sucks, and latecomers are greeted with spots so deep in the property, they may as well pack a tent. But, if you're willing to forego the encore from the band you've likely seen 8-13 times before, clear lanes await you and the 1.3% of the concertgoers with practicality sitting front and center.
Is it a shitshow? At times. Have I ever gone for the luxe experience, and found myself frazzled by inefficiencies and a lackluster view/soundline to the stage? Never. While the BoA pavilion is head and shoulders above the logistical hail mary, I wouldn't kick Comcast Center out of bed just yet.
Let me tell you about the Comcast Center; ohhhhh let me tell you about it. My first experience here was a couple months ago for a Rascal Flatts concert, and it was what can only be described as like, the seventh circle of hell. The actual concert experience was GREAT. Nothing else was great. Everything else was horrifying.
The bathroom had 4 inches of overflowed toilet water that some poor girl was attempting to direct SOMEWHERE with a squeegee, although I still haven't figured out what her ultimate goal was. The lights flickered out three times while I was standing in line for the bathroom, causing hysterical screeching each time. Pro tip: Hold it. On a related note, a Bud Light is $10.50. Pro tip: Drink in the parking lot first. On a related note, it took us almost THREE FUCKING HOURS to get out of the parking lot. Seriously, we sat in the exact same spot for almost 2.5 hours. Pro tip: Bring a tent and go home in the morning.
When a friend invited me to see Poison and Def Leppard, I just realllly couldn't pass it up, even though the show was at the dreaded Comcast Center. This time I heeded some of my own tips. I got drunk in the parking lot. I talked everyone in to springing for the $40 VIP parking which is worth every single penny, seriously guys. You even get a designated exit lane; it's perfect. Even the bathrooms weren't as sketchy this time, although that could be due to the older crowd. I did see one guy whip it out and relieve himself on the path next to the lawn, so keep an eye out for suspicious puddles.
Verdict? Follow my tips, and you'll have a much better time. Don't follow my tips? You're better off staying home.
THIS REVIEW IS STRICTLY FOR THE VENUE ITSELF
The concert I was at (Honda Civic Tour 2012) gets ***** stars
I like the fact that is the venue is open air especially during the summer months but i'm honestly not really a fan of the amphitheater type venues like this one. It's either hit or miss for different concerts.
One of the things about this venue that I like is that  it's huge and that's a plus if your there for festivals that utilize more than one stage. Regular concerts are alright but you need to have your tickets in hand once you get in especially in the reserved seating areas because they do check tickets like hawks and are pretty strict if you decide to look for somewhere else to sit.
The views and sightlines are good so you can see the stage even if there is a buff guy and his trophy wife sitting in front of you. Even with or without the screens it's still a good view.
Water and food is expensive so definitely eat before you go or plan on maybe bring a cooler if it's in venue policies. I bought a water and some nachos which totaled to $13.00 which seems rather ridiculous since water should retail for $1.00 and the nachos should have been under $5 but hey, you got to make money somehow nowadays AND DON'T GET ME STARTED WITH THE PRICE OF BOOZE it's ridiculous that it even costs so much, it honestly makes me not want to drink.
Another thing since it's an outdoor venue and it has the tendency to get dark after 9 they really need more adequate lighting for the venue. I almost ran into a few people while heading back to my seat just because my nightvision wasn't adjusting to the lighting/lack of lighting.
Another thing, Lines for the restrooms can be long so once one of the bands (the second to last band before the headlining one) plays the last or or says "This is the last song" or something to that extent, Make a trek there to avoid the lines.
And finally, To avoid the horrendous traffic setup we pre-arranged to be picked up outside the venue near one of the local office buildings so we could get home fast. If you know someone who lives close to  the venue or the area surrounding it definitely take advantage of this opportunity, Just know when the concert is going to end (All Concerts are required to end no later than 11PM) and be at a specific meeting area outside of the venue and WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING IF YOU HAVE TO CROSS THE ROAD since it get's busy. The cops surrounding the venue and directing traffic can help you if you need to cross.
Basically, it's not a bad venue there are just some inadequacies with it. I know that the promoter really doesn't do  justice to this venue but it could be worse. The venue gets 3 stars for all things considered.
I recently went to a show here to see SOAD & Deftones. Honestly the last time I will go here regardless of the bands they draw. Nothing can ruin an experience more than the issues this place has going against it. It's corporate greed at it's absolute finest. Actually at a level I truly have never experience.
I know how everyone feels about SOAD getting back together and honestly it was a great time seeing them but that's not the whole experience. I have been going to shows for a long time and regardless whether or not any of this is in their control it still affects whether or not I had a good time. The comcast center is hands down the worst place to see a show unless you have money to burn and don't care about how badly you're being taken advantage of. The water is 4.50, the food is even more ridiculous, the beer is 9.75 for a bud light or 12 for a craft beer, it's insanity. You want a shirt to remember the occasion? That will be $40 dollars please, this is becoming a joke. Again, if you're thinking what does this have to do with the band I remind you this is about the event and the host, not the bands. I can't get over all the rest of this stuff trying to enjoy a show when this is the way things have become. C'mon, let's be honest, there was no opening act??? You're telling me you couldn't get a local act or something to at least warm up the stage and the crowd? Half the people at the show weren't even ready when deftones came on, it was a sad sight to see such a great band play in that condition.
The sound is nothing special, at a large venue like this anything can happen. Â I would much rather see these bands inside as the screens they have outside aren't even in HD, I've seen better screens in a living room.
Everyone complains about the parking, if you saw how many people "working" at this you would understand. Granted you're not going to just slide out of there but they have an insane amount of people supposedly "controlling" traffic flow. These people which are obviously one of the reason the ticket prices and standard fare at the events are up so high basically stand around with a cone in their hands and drive traffic into one another. Bring a cooler and sit there for an hour and just relax, it will save you time and frustration from trying to be in a line for the same amount of time going an inch at a time.
But again, corporate greed and utter lack of respect for the fans has nothing to do with the bands. Which neither had the decency to play an encore? Fans shouting, blood pumping, couldn't come out for one more? I am just done with all of this, older or not I know what a show should be, and I also know who I will never give another dime to. There was not a single moment of this show that I was happy to be at this venue. The bands showed upm that's about it. But the venue, one of the worst ever establishments.
I really love going here for concerts despite some cons which I will talk about in a minute. Â The place is huge and you have a decent view of the stage from pretty much anywhere that you sit. Â There are also huge screens that project the show for people sitting in the farther back sections (although you can still see the stage from most points). Â The sound system and lighting system are both really great. Â As far as the actual concert goes, I have had a really positive experience each time I have been here for a show. Â That said, I agree with a lot of the negative reviews on here about other aspects of the venue, and I'm going to offer some suggestions of solutions to the grievances many people seem to experience going here.
Ticket prices: There are huge fees tacked onto the purchase price of tickets. Â These fees can be avoided by purchasing tickets in person at the box office. Â I know this is an impossibility for a lot of people who don't live close by, and I know sometimes the good seats get sold out really fast for big shows due to online ticketing, but it's just a suggestion to think about if this is doable and a big concern for you. Â I haven't ever actually put this suggestion to use, but my brother has successfully on many occasions.
Expensive merchandise: Merchandise can be really pricey at this venue. Â If this is a concern for you, you might want to check and see if you can find concert merch elsewhere, from reliable sellers, such as the band's website. Â Livenation keeps a huge chunk of the sales from the band's merch sold at their venues, which is why the prices are jacked up at the concert and you can find the same concert t-shirts for almost half the price on the band's own website a lot of the time.
Expensive food and drink: Â It's true that food and drink prices are outrageous at this place. Â I was here for the Iron Maiden concert on Tuesday and it was more than 9 dollars for a small domestic light beer. Â Bottles of water were $4.50, and food was crazily priced too. Â Thankfully, the Comcast Center lets you bring in one factory-sealed bottle of water per person, and one gallon-sized bag of food per-person. Â I would suggest taking advantage of this policy to avoid paying an arm and a leg for sustenance. Â Tailgating before the show is also a great way of avoiding purchasing food and drink inside the venue.
Parking situation: Â Unfortunately, this is the one problem that I don't have a solution for (other than take a motorcycle, which was suggested by my friend when we were there on Tuesday...), and I will say that it is indeed ridiculous. Â Parking upon arrival to the venue has never been an issue for me. Â However, depending on how many people are at the show, and how many parking attendants are actually doing their job, leaving the parking lots at the end of the night can be an absolute nightmare. Â Just plan your night with the fact in mind that you might have to wait around 1-1.5 hours to exit the lot after the show, or pay $40 for premium parking. Â That said, it is nice that at least most of the parking is free at this venue, vs. the high prices for big concerts that take place within Boston's actual city limits.
Despite all of that, I have been going to this venue since childhood (back when it was Great Woods - I saw the B-52's here when I was four years old) and I can't see myself ever turning down the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands here in the future.
I have to agree with many previous yelpers--the venue itself is fine, even pleasant ($10 beers aside). Â We saw Radiohead here last night, and so of course the show itself was amazing. Â
The parking lot, however, is a nightmare. Â A nightmare. Â There seemed to be about 400 people directing traffic INTO the place, but no one seemed to care about how to organize the cars leaving. Â When we FINALLY got out of just our individual lot (after an hour) the sixteen year old directing traffic was simply randomly waving his light stick around. Â Wicked helpful. Â We were waiting so long I finally had to use one of the delightful Mr. Cesspool port-a-potties they have stationed around. Â Luckily, it was easy to find my boyfriend, as his car had not moved a single inch, even though by that point we had made it to the exit driveway. Â All-in-all, it took us an hour and a half to finally escape.
Come on, Comcast Center. Â There must be a better way to organize this. Â I'm definitely going to think twice about returning. Â Hopefully next time Radiohead's in town they'll go to the Bank of America Pavilion, which was a FAR more pleasant experience.
Don't be befuddled by the melodious strains of your favorite bands, shimmying and waggling and shaking their emo bangs just so. Â This place is the 9th circle of hell.
Once upon a time, when it was Great Woods and I a prepubescent feminist-in-training, I came with my sister and her friends to spread ourselves across the lawn and soak in Indigo Girls. Â My first boyfriend and I packed a picnic and snuggled into the grass at Ani DiFranco's Little Plastic Castle tour.
Then Live Nation came along.
"Whatever could be missing from this charming pastoral?" it asked. Â "Oh! Â Of course! Â NOT ENOUGH ^&*@% GOUGING."
This is the place where you spend 2 hours in stop-and-go traffic to get into the parking lot, a ticket with a $16.50 tacked-on service charge clutched in your sweaty little hand. Â This is place where you're offered a chance to park in their corporate-sponsored VIP lot for an additional $40, so that you don't have the leave the show early to avoid sitting in said parking lot for another 2 hours waiting to leave. Â This is the place where two shitty, meager sausages and a 16 oz Sprite cost us $22.50. Â Like, even the guy behind the grill seemed a little apologetic.
On the plus side, you can get high from just breathing air, so I guess that saves on herbal purchases.
There's a certain kind of grandma that one becomes when they actually consider the merits, both fiscal and psychological, of staying at home, turning on a Radiohead album, and ordering in sushi. Â Congratulations, Comcast Center. Â You've not only turned me into a grandma, you've subsequently stolen my purse.
No. No, no. No, no, no. NO!
As in: Â There is NO band that I want to see badly enough to go here ever again.
As in: There is no way I will ever call this place anything other than Great Woods.
Porta-potty nightmares. Parking lot, er, parking field hell! Inconsistent tailgating rules.
Although, I do have to say, all in all, "Comcast Center" lives up to its evil namesake.
You got me ol' Great woods, with your new fancy name and your tricky VIP tickets. Like a jackass I wasted $20 because online it said they serve liqueur in there, they don't!!!! good one.
Do not buy this option! I openly share my shame with you so to prevent you from making the same mistake. Drink the lousy $10 beers and like it.
So why am I a fan? Because with the changes in the music industry, venues are stuck trying to make their money off F&B not ticket sales. I hate being nickle'd and dime'd  as much as the next person but this is the reality of the economy. I'm just grateful that this place is still kicking.
The fact of the matter is that this place really delivers where it counts.
1.Your OUT SIDE! for top national talent, and tours, with out having to deal with major city traffic.
2.There is great cheep lodging / awesome lodging all around  the venue (the holiday inn is as much fun as the concert)
3. The lawn section (though butchered years ago) is still there, and makes almost any concert financially assessable, and worth while, It's always more fun in the cheep seat. Â Â
4. The $10 beers are a blessing in disguise, lets face it 90% of us are slammed when we walk in there, the high price of alcohol keeps the crowd from tearing the place apart.
The venue (seating, stage, look/feel) is fine. It's good enough. It does what it should do. And parking is free - that's kinda cool.
Everything else is AWFUL. The lack of clean restrooms is atrocious. And the parking situation is the worst I've ever experienced. 2 hours to leave the parking lot. 2 hours!
I now understand why there's a $40 VIP lot and some $30 lots outside the center.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Comcast Center (aka Great Woods). I love seeing shows here. I love being outdoors. I love the lawn (although I hate that they keep making it smaller and smaller). I love the acoustics and the video screens. I love that parking is free. It's a beautiful spot to hear some music in the summer, and the parking lot is prime for tailgating.
With all this love, what is there to hate? Oh, plenty, my friends. Topping the list is leaving a concert. There is only one way in and one way out for ALL those people -- all those slightly intoxicated people. It is like armageddon, and the evacuation takes forever. Par for the course is about 90 minutes from when the concert ends to when you can finally pull out of your parking spot. Yuck.
I'm also not a fan of the outrageously priced concessions. $9.50 for a beer? Are you kidding me? $5.50 for soda and water? You're out of your mind.
I will keep coming back because it's so close and mostly convenient. I'd recommen entering and exiting from 140 South to cut down on traffic.
Do you like overpriced messes, an impossible-to-maneuver commute, and overpriced food/beverages/etc? Â
Well if you do, the Comcast Center is your Valhalla. Â When it's not clogging up 495, it's doing its best to gouge customers and provide crappy service for oversized concerts. Â
Everything else has already been said, but this place is no fun :(
Horrible venue.
Inside the pavilion, it's fine. Sound it good, and generally not a bad seat under the roof, which is the case for most of these sheds.
But the good stuff ends there.
I cannot stress this enough: WORST PARKING LOT IN THE HISTORY OF PARKING LOTS. If you park in their free lot, and you leave at the end of the show with everyone else, you're looking at between 1 and 2.5 HOURS to get out - no exaggeration. Happened to me the first time I went, and I'll never let it happen again. You either have to make an early exit (which is what I do), or you can pay $40 (FORTY DOLLARS) to park next door in an "easy-out" private lot. Those are your options.
Sure alcohol is overpriced, but that pretty much goes without saying at places like this. But something that should be noted is that you have to be *25* years old to buy beer here (MAY be only for out-of-staters, not certain), despite what the actual LAW is. And be careful - they have staff hired specifically just to stand away from the beer stands and watch you like a hawk. I bought a beer for my 24-year old cousin, since he couldn't buy it himself, and when we walked away from the stand and he grabbed it, we were immediately confronted by the staff, and forced to DUMP the $10 beer (I wasn't allowed to take it to drink, at 31 years old, and I couldn't get my money back). Not right.
And I personally don't like to be on the lawn for shows, but it should also be noted that this place has "open air pavilion" seats, which are nothing more than seats that they installed on the lawn so they could charge more money and trick people into thinking they're actually "real" seats. Beware of sections 9+!
The first time I ever visited this place it was called Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts. Â What was it I saw, you ask? Â A performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. . . I was quite young. Â This thought runs through my mind almost every time I find myself here for a concert. Â Not sure if they still use this gigantic amphitheater for these types of events, but. . . concerts for sure.
I've seen a multitude of bands here. . . The Who, Ozzy Osbourne, Tom Petty, Tool, and Phish most recently to name a small portion. Â I actually don't mind the venue itself. Â I am usually satisfied with the sound quality, seating is plentiful, and yes. . . you can occasionally have a pillar in the way but, if you've been here before, you know what you are in for if you are purchasing tickets for a specific section. Â This is pretty much where my satisfaction ends with this location though.
LiveNation appears to be dead set on draining its customers of large sums of money. Â Ticket prices/service fees? Â Outrageous. Â A bottle of light beer? Â A whopping $9.50 this season! Â Unbelievable! Â I can certainly make it through a 3 hour concert without a swig at this price. Â A pretzel? Â Almost $5. Â I give up. Â Eating and drinking will be done in the parking lot before and after shows.
As I'm sure they've discovered this fact, police/staff has been increased in the parking lots beforehand. Â Thankfully they still offer free parking here. Â Police on bikes, staff in go-carts. . . their eyes scanning the crowds looking for red cup-less drinks and other such activities. Â Be smart and you too, can have a great time tailgating and filling up before heading into the show.
The bathrooms are disgusting and always a challenge for women to see how few things they can touch and still successfully relieve themselves. Â Be sure to bring extra TP with you as it often runs out early in the evening. Â
I'm sure I'll be here again in the future, as I probably won't give up a chance to see an awesome band, just cause they chose a poor venue. Â I will certainly put to use the strategies I've learned these past few years to save a pretty penny. Â Definitely not my first choice for venues though.
Comcast Center gets 1 star. Why? Because it is owned by Livenation. Livenation has taken something we all enjoy (live music, outdoors) and used it to bend us all over and rape us in the ass.
$20 lawn ticket, sounds great right? Well, that's going to have a $16.50 service charge on Ticketmaster! Why you ask? Because the veue in question is owned by the parent company, and they charge irrational and extreme fees because they own the venues and ticket vendors and the consumer can not shop anywhere else.
Too bad the US government doesn't believe in the free market....
I've seen Phish here 6 times, including this last Tuesday. Great Woods will never change, but Live Nation seems ready, willing, and able to rape you twelve times over in order to get your hard-earned cash. Screw VIP anything (except maybe the parking) and steer clear of security. The seats are pretty good and there's no bad view or bad sound. $7.50 for a Red Bull? $9 for Michelob? $4.50 for fucking WATER? I'm glad I only have to deal with this pace once a year. And after this last time I'm starting to think I'm too old for this concert shit anymore.
Props to Ligaya's review...some great tips for Great Woods survival.
I've been here twice already. Once for a Paramore/No Doubt concert and recently for a sold out Coldplay concert. The stadium is HUMONGOUS. If you're in the lawn area, don't expect to really see much of anything --even with the screens. I was under the cover for the Coldplay concert, so the view was pretty sweet. You  can always expect the concerts to be great because dude...they charge people about 15-40 bucks LAWN SEATS! Just to stand on grass with no view! There's so many seats that of course they make a profit. With the extra money, they can invest in terrific stage effects.
The really sucky side of going to Comcast Center is the overpriced drinks/foods, the yucky bathrooms, and the HORRIBLE TRAFFIC AFTERWARDS. Unless you want to miss a good part of the concert, the wait will be a good hour...AND YOU'RE STILL IN THE PARKING LOT. Ugh.
Great show, but all of the bigscreens lag behind the audio. Â The prices are ridiculous for food and drink, as to be expected. Â The parking, though... Oh dear.
I would rather go stick my head in the oven than park here. Â Actually, I'm writing this review as I'm sitting in line waiting to get out. Â It has now been... hold on... yes 45 minutes and I haven't moved an inch. Â Actually the car has been turned off and in park the entire time. Â It's fucking ridiculous. Â There is one, yes, ONE entrance and exit to the venue. Â A fucking drunk monkey with no hands and half a brain could design a better system than this. Â It's the worst piece of engineering I have ever witnessed.
Don't see a show here, and if you do, park ANYWHERE else.
Terrible ownership, terrible employees (minus the food staff/alcohol servers.)
311 concert was just canceled. Â No refunds, concert was rescheduled Monday. Â The girlfriend can't make it, I spent over $40 in food and alcohol and people who paid for VIP parking get NO refunds.
This is bullshit. Â Live nation has ruined the concert scene and Comcast Center has ruined the concerts in Massachusetts for summer time events.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Â Drive out of your way to New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island or whatever. Â Don't deal with this overpriced corporate sham of a location. I hope someone burns this place down so I can piss on the ashes. Â That would grant me one last beautiful wish.
I love 311 but will never, ever watch them again at this place. Â I guess it will be a long while before I see them again.
The No Doubt/Paramore/Janelle Monae show I saw here yesterday gets 5 stars. Â Comcast Center? Â You get two. Â Let's describe why.
First of all, you're way in the middle of bumfrak nowhere. Â Hint to bands and LiveNation - Mansfield (an hour outside of Boston) |= Boston! Â Not having a car for the summer meant I needed to rent one to get down there, which of course only adds to the real cost of the ticket. Â A special -1 for not having good public transport options available.
Second, randomly/at whim changing policies. Â According to the website, you're allowed to bring in unopened bottled water. Â I bought some and tried to bring it in with me, only to be stopped by the pimply security guard. Â Didn't matter that it was new and unopened. Â I mentioned that the website said otherwise, to which he replied, "Well, we changed that" and threw the bottle in the trash. Â Not the recycling, which was right next to the trash and designed for plastic bottles. :(
The venue itself is pretty, which provides for at least one of its stars. Â It's very woodsy and the stage itself is decent and big. Â The food and beer is not so pretty. Â When I pay $9 for a chicken finger combo, I want more than three limp pieces of chicken KFC would be ashamed to serve on top of a pile of fries. Â Oh, and bottled water? $4. Â Yeah, so that's why you changed your policies.... Â Drove myself, so no beer for me, but their prices are also outrageous. Â Pro-tip: if you're going to pay $9 for a beer anyway, find the booths that serve the good stuff, like Shock Top. Â Same price, better beer, usually less lines.
As I said, the concert stage is big and impressive. Â Also big and impressive was the cement pillar blocking about 30-40% of the stage from view from where I was sitting. Â Admittedly, the ticket did say "limited view," but I assumed that meant "far" as opposed to "blocked." Â And it was likewise blocking for the two girls I met who had seats one over from me, who paid full-price for their tickets.
Lastly, getting out once the concert was over. Â I was "cheap" and didn't pay $40 for VIP parking, so I hurried out as soon as they took their bows. Â I was sitting on the edge of a section, near the exit. Â It still took 45 minutes to get out, which is not horrible but not exactly great either. Â Luckily, I had entertainment not 10 feet from my car in the form of drunk girls fighting each other, which the security guy directing traffic made no attempt to interrupt. Â Hey, he gets paid minimum wage, whadya expect him to do?
All in all, I had a good time at the concert, but that was much more due to the outstanding music of the bands and far less to do with the venue. Â I was tempted to see Depeche Mode here this summer as well, but I think I'll pass on (hopefully ever) going back to the Comcast Center again.
Went & saw my first show at the Comcast last night- everyone said the facility sucks but I thought it was kinda cool. Â Now I haven't been to many of these types of big centers mind you but I was impressed at how well even the very top row can see. Â (& by all the venders=no lines)They have big TVs set up and I rather liked being in General Admission so I wasn't all crammed in like a sardine and could easily go run and get another $9 beer quickly. Â People smoking kinda suck but its all part of the experience of a motha effin rock show. Man up you big wossies and take your girl to a show!
p.s. bring a towel or blanket if your GA and there is even a chance of sprinkles. Â Sitting on a wet chair blows goats.
* * * *
This place is absolutely the worst concert venue in Massachusetts.
First off, access to the place is severely limited. Â There is one road in, one road out. Â The police detail there slow traffic into the place off I-495 to a crawl when they start up, about an hour and a half before the show.
If you want to get there via the MBTA, you have to take the commuter rail out of South Station to the Mansfield stop, then take a cab from the station to the Comcast Center (aka, Tweeter Center, Great Woods). Â Cab ride costs you $14. Â If you want to take the MBTA back, you will have to hail a cab after walking about a half mile back out of the place and it will cost you about $50 to get to the Stoughton or Canton commuter rail stations as the last train that picks up in Mansfield is around 9:15PM, right as the show gets started. Â Ticket for the commuter rail are about $8 each way.
The tailgate experience is non-existent. Â Once you get into the venue, you have entered a militarized zone. Â No tailgating is allowed. Â No drinking beers out of solo cups or anything. Â They want you inside the venue drinking their $8 dollar beers and will stop at nothing to enforce this. Â If you don't bring an ID (Mass. DL, Mass ID or Passport) forget about drinking here. Â Any foreign visitors must bring their passport.
I befriend a guy named Ricardo from Columbia who was in his 40s at The Police show and attempted to purchase him a beer as he was not allowed to purchase beer because he didn't have his passport and was subsequently interrogated and almost shut off (not even having had a beer yet) for this gross indiscretion. Â
The seats themselves suck unless you are in section 2 and down front. Â The "lawn" no longer exists as it used to. Â There is now "pavilion" seating which basically means you watch the concert on a video monitor outside of the main pavilion. Â There is a scant piece of lawn left but from where I was sitting in section 3 I would need binoculars to see it.
Getting out of the place is a total nightmare, you should plan on skipping the encore if you don't want to wait over an hour just to get out of the lot. Â One road in, one road out. Â Oh, you can pay $45 for premium parking if you want and walk half a mile each way to this lot then spend a half an hour getting out of this lot. Â
If by some unfortunate turn of fate, your favorite band is playing here, plan on getting there early, spending a LOT of money if you want to have a few drinks and basically making a day and night of it. Â If you have the means, a limo would be the way to go so the Gestapo can't peer into your limo to see you drinking and try to confiscate your alcohol.
I honestly think people should boycott this place to show them customers who spend good money will simply not be harassed for having paid for the "privilege" of seeing a show at this hastily planned, never updated and poorly run venue.
Let's start with the good.
Plenty of seating and many windy stairways to bring you to the different levels.
Walkways that are wide enough so the masses of people can move through (albeit at a snail's pace).
Some big music venue's so you want to go there.
A "garden" area that is pretty chill.
Some huge TVs for your viewing pleasure.
Solid acoustics and accommodating speakers.
Need in state ID for beer or must be over 25 - fail
$8 for beer - fail
having to wait 20 minutes in line for one of the few portapottys that they have (to get rid of said beer) - fail
the "garden" area is so far back you are really just watching the giant screens - fail
waiting 1 1/2 hours in the parking lot while jackasses try to cut you off every time you move 1/2 a foot so you can try to get the hell home (even though there are all sorts of fees from the tickets that you bought)
FAIL
tip - plan on being home 4 hours after the concert ends and do some post concert tailgating while all of the rest of the cars are waiting to get out.
I used to be that guy to swear I'd never call this place anything but Great Woods. But that was when I was younger. That was when it didn't take the amount of time you could spend watching the Lord Of The Rings trilogy to get back to 495. That was before I became a bitter old man at the age of 29. I'd almost prefer calling it by its corporate sell out name now. The magic is almost gone from this place anyway. For some reason this year in particular, a bunch of acts that I needed to see (yes, needed) decided to make this place a stop on their respective tours thus testing my fanhood. I'm looking at you Radiohead.
I remember the lawn being a cool place to catch a show from. That was before they tore half of it out to put more $70 seats there. I only caught one show from the actual lawn and thankfully that was nearly empty. I guess ticket/beer/gas prices scared people away from even a guy like Stevie Wonder. Go figure.
I kinda wish I didn't drink beer since it's probably cheaper to get caught bringing in drugs, getting arrested and posting bail than it is to grab some Bud Light for your pals.
The food is edible. If you're a trash compactor. Funny thing is, that's now my nickname. What's a hungry boy to do?
The sound isn't all that great but it's not horrible. There are obvious dead spots around the place but if you're into the music and know most of the stuff being played it's not bad.
"Security" is okay once you're in the venue. It's the clusterfak as you're coming in that has me wondering what's going on. At one show in particular it took us 45 minutes to get past security. Those are the lines that they pat you down in before you even show your ticket. Well, first of all there's only about 8 of them to begin with and when one woman, for whatever reason, decided to walk away and stop checking girls in, we had a massive cluster of very angry people trying to get through. No order, no competence and an overall lack of giving a damn.
My last point is similar to the security/flow of pedestrian traffic. It's, well, traffic. Do yourself a favor. Unless you plan on leaving before an encore or just staying for that one hit song you wanted to see from hundreds of feet away, pay for parking. Especially if you're carpooling with a bunch of people it's well worth it. The "official" VIP parking works just fine as does the private lots just outside of the venue. Sure, you've already paid a serious amount of money for the experience but an extra $10-$20 per person is well worth it. If even that will hurt your wallet too much, start walking during the encore and by the time you're down to the front, wander around a little more to catch the end or start walking back to the car if you've seen/heard enough. Otherwise, be prepared to sit for another couple of hours.
Bring snacks, friends and patience and make sure the show is worth it. Both time and money need to be well spent in a place like this.
Great Woods/Tweeter/Comcast Center -- ten buck ticket fees, ridiculous beer and food prices ($7 for a Bud?!), interminable lines, grody restrooms and mediocre sound -- this gargantuan outdoor venue hasn't changed much aside from names and rising costs. Instead of uncathartic, fruitless bemoaning let's try to improve our experience the next time around, shall we?
To make the best of your time:
- bring along some nips in a toiletries bag
- tote an unopened bottle of water (this will be much appreciated for the car ride home too)
- pack a one hitter (cigarette-looking ones work well)
- stash a chocolate bar, dried fruit and/or a bag of Gardetto's. who knows when the munchies or your friends sugar low will hit.
- stick in wet wipes
- include mini-binoculars if you're on the grass
- be prepared to drink shitty beer. the lines for the "good" stuff is always longer. save time by downing Bud w/lime
- be prepared to see some dicks if the concert ends and the girls line is wicked long. boys go faster and they're always empty stalls
To avoid a two hour drive home:
- before encore head towards the handicap ramp (stage left) and watch from there. (sound isn't as good, but it's worth saving some time)
- dash to the car as soon as the lights go down
- pay heed to the traffic directors as they'll make life miserable and never let your lane go if they don't like you
Most importantly, if the performer warrants that you and thousands of other people make the trek, you're bound to see a tremendous performance.
Pain in the ass to get here - and if you don't pay $40, good luck getting out of the parking lot in under 2 hours. Â Venue is ok, if you get good seats - if you get lawn seats, it's only good if you are at a HORDE fest or some other 'wander around hoping on a second hand high' type of event.
Food options suck - ATMs rip you off - beer selection is good, but never thought somewhere could charge more than Fenway.
Essentially I flat out refuse to come here unless it's an absolute MUST SEE show - if there's any hesitation about if I want to go, I just don't.
Maybe I am a city snob (maybe??) but if you can't be near reasonable transportation options for the show, I am just too old to deal with you anymore.
(I think the big word that will end up sticking out in this review is 'old' - and I guess I am ok with that too)
Mmm, nothing new to say here.
Good acts, huge parking, long waits, bummer for tailgating, strictest alcohol policy ever. (For a taste: If you're over 21, under 25 and from out of state, they will NOT serve you.)
The lawn area is smaller than in the past. But 'tis good for dancing. The only thing that irks me everytime is how winding the path is to get from point A to point B but eh, I'll deal with it I guess.
Wait, I also wish that Bud Light wasn't $8..
I despise this twitty Tweeter Center. Why do Mass people (or maybe just Tweeter Center people) believe they rule above and beyond all other people from other states??? What kind of RIDICULOUS rule is it that you have to be 25+ if you're NOT a Mass resident to buy alcohol???? I'm 24, turning 25 in LESS than a MONTH and they refused. WOW. I just gawked at them in awe... "ARE YOU FOR REAL???!?!" Apparently my New York State license just doesn't cut it. It's discrimination!!! If one of those people were to go to NYC, buy tickets for a show at MSG... when they got there wouldnt they expect a VALID, LEGIT MASS license to be accepted?? I THINK SO! But NYers would never do that. We're just nice, trusting people. The rule is flippin' absurd.
They also forbade the entry of cameras and any photo taking. This made me more sad than mad. I had some kick-ass seats for the Glow in the Dark tour and no hard evidence to brag to friends with and no captured memories to look back upon years from now. LE SIGH....................
Sorry for such an angry rant, but....... Tweeter Center: 2 thumbs DOWN
This place could be so much better. And it used to be.
The parking lot is ideal for tailgaiting. Unfortunately, the authorities do their best to make it hard to do so.
Also, it is an absolute disgrace what they did to the lawn a few years ago. It used to be a nice wide open expanse of grass. It was really nice to just hang out back there...until they dug up most of it and put in seats. I still can't understand what possessed them to do that. It makes me cringe every time I go back.
I've given up going to see some of my favorite bands after finding out they were performing at the Tweeter Center. I went once to see Tool. Tool was great. Tweeter Center sucked.
Unless you get sections 1-3, you're stuck with shitty seats. Anything that's not under the roof sucks. The lawn? I can't even imagine the lawn. I got some "real" seats (no roof) The lawn people must have thought "Hey! Those seats in front of this section are so much better!"
No, not really. You can't see a thing. There's a 40% chance a big stupid beam will be in your way, or a big stupid woman. Again, most of the seats are absolute crap. I'd hesitate to get tickets even if Jimi Hendrix came back to life and decided to have a concert at the Tweeter Center. Yeah. Really.
The seats are EXTREMELY overpriced for what  you get. And the bathrooms are nasty.  Like, ribbons of wet toilet paper strewn across the bottom of your stall nasty.
The parking is fricking awful. Free, but awful, and a good chance of a collision. Great for tailgating, since you pretty much get locked in with no re-admission.
Save your money. Giant toilet, in more ways than one.
I, too, went to Download Festival as well. I was kind of pissed since initially I paid $43 for lawn tickets...then a couple days for the show some "complimentary" tickets opened up...and I ended up getting 4 seat tickets for $10. I should've argued for a refund, but whatever. I hate Ticketmaster with a passion. (Wtf is with facility/service fees?)
This was probably the second time I had ever gone to Tweeter Center. Holy shit, they will rape you for every dollar they can. Granted, most people don't realize this but you can bring a Shaw's bag full of food as long as it's still sealed as well as water, they didn't even check my bag when I went in. But, lordy, two .5 liter size bottles of water won't last you long. Then you are forced to shell out $8 for a plastic bottle of beer, $5 for a 20 oz soda or water, $6.50 for a high school cafeteria quality burger...hrm. And then when you reach your seats you're a football field away, even if you're in the middle section!
The bathrooms are gross, plus some douche made me throw out my drink after paying $8 for it. Is all the extra money going to the legions of really useless employees or something? Do you really need 8 people to point you into a parking space?
Either way, the bands were great and I had a good time. This venue sucks though.
Club shows only from now on for me, thanks.
Now, first of all, I got free tickets to the Download Festival here. FREE. So my expectations were not high. But man, what a lousy joint.
My biggest problem with this place? NO READMISSION. My girlfriend and I didn't know the festival schedule when we went in, nor did we see the signs for no readmission. The first segment of the festival was on the second stage from 1-5, and was a bunch of bands we weren't really interested in. This really sucked because we thought we'd go in, check things out, go out for a bite to eat, come back for the top bill. But instead, the Tweeter Center held us hostage.
So what kind of amenities did the TC have for its prisoners? American fried food (not really an option for a vegetarian except some really expensive lackluster fries) and $8 beer. Yes. $8 for one house party sized cup of beer. We're not talking Belgian monk brewed Chimay either, but tap Harpoon and Budweiser. C'mon.
On the plus side, they didn't check our bags on the way in, so had we thought ahead adequately, we easily could've brought our own stock in again.
So alright, alright, I hate being trapped and robbed for shitty food and beer. But the show was great, right? No. No it wasn't. Don't get me wrong, the bands were great. Neko Case was beautiful despite the mediocre sound system, but this was utterly the wrong crowd for them.
The crowd? Mostly 18 and under. Part of this may have been the bill, but I do not really want to go to a rock show with a bunch of kids who do not understand what to do at a rock show. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were on after Neko Case, and karen O came out wearing a Bjork-style oversized cloak, leopard leotard, face paint, a mask, and reams of tinsel. Her outfit and general attitude let you know: this is a rock show!! We are here to rock, goddamnit!!
The pit got adequately into it, but for the most part everyone sat in their seats and barely moved to the music. I could count the people dancing or standing on one hand. Even despite this ambivalence, karen O rocked amazingly well.
So, let's review:
1. No Readmission
2. No Vegetarian food, only shitty grill stuff
3. 2.6 miles from the commuter rails, the last train leaves too early for you to stay for a whole concert. so you MUST have a car to stay for the whole show.
4. Full of young jerks
5. Nobody dances!!!
6. Nobody!!
What the hell Tweeter Center?? Also: holy crap there is a lot of advertising going on in there. VW, Old Spice, Nokia, 5 Gum, and others all attempted to give us knick-knacks and other crap and had ads and their own tents. Uuugh. Soulless.
So glad this place is going out of business. I've been to a bunch of outdoor shows/festivals at the Tweeter Center (most recently the Warped Tour) and the space is always poorly utilized. Â The staff are the worst though--they are AGGRESSIVELY unfriendly and never know anything about the show playing or even the venue itself (I always have to resist the urge to say: "hello, you work here.")
Generally this place leaves a bad taste in my mouth--and they price gouge so badly on the concessions too.
PS--they took my parasol away at Warped Tour--when I went in to the show there were girls carrying their own parasols around and a stand selling them--WTF?! Â I tried to get my precious back during the show and each supervisor I spoke to passed the buck off on someone else. Â After the show I did some searching right by the gate where I entered and happily recovered my baby...fellow yelper Katherine T, however, was not so lucky.
This venue is good for tailgating. Â I came here for an OAR concert and although we had VIP tickets, the line for the VIP parking lot was still really long and the wait was a bit of a mood killer. Â
The VIP status is a joke. Â They have a tent with overpriced, gross food and the only upside is that you get VIP restrooms which are actual restrooms and not porter-potties. Â We had our own box which was cool but kinda lonely since there was only us two. Â Great view but the bouncers who monitored the section were kind of distracting. Â I understand it's annoying to babysit a bunch of drunk, unruly teenagers but they were kind of nasty to a bunch of patrons like this one dude who's ticket was in shreds because it was pouring out. Â
I have no idea how much tickets were because my friend asked me to go with him but I can't imagine that they were worth it.
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