First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

This place gets a bad rep but it's a decent place to catch a show. It's impossible to get to if you don't have a car. I've seen a few shows here and the sound is great and the lawn area isn't bad. There are a few seats that have an obstructed view so be careful of that when buying a ticket. The concessions are outrageous but when aren't they? I haven't been to a concert venue with decent concession prices in almost ten years. You can bring lawn chairs which is a lot different than most outside venues. I'll only come out here if it's a show I really want to see but First Midwest attracts a lot of country acts so I'll most likely be coming here at least once a summer.

My wife and I just saw the Zac Brown band there on sunday Sept 30.  They were great.  My review is for the venue itself.   45 minutes to get a beer.  30 minutes to take a pee in the nastiest bathroom ever.  The bathrooms are the worst I have ever seen.  The prices for beer and food are super high.  There is vomit everywhere.  Its common knowledge in surrounding communities that under age kids can get drinks when sitting in the lawn.  If I were under the age of 21, that would be awesome.  I am not.  Young kids at this place are soooo drunk.  They are clearly over served.  I saw a young girl by herself throwing up all over the place while 20-30 other people had there cameras out filming it.  As a parent, this bothers me.  They need to have 3 times the amount of security.  Not young kids either.  This venue needs to clean up there act.

Sound is decent dead center in the pavilion, sound is okay on the sides of the pavilion, sound is alright dead center in the lawn, sound sucks everywhere else in the lawn.

The place is clean, got plenty of restrooms if you go off and find them. Don't go to the closest one, walk a bit to the farther ones and you'll have no wait. Drinks and food are expensive. Not worth buying unless you really need it. I don't like seeing shows here, but if it's the only venue within driving distance that a band I like is playing at, I make the trek.

The parking isn't as ridiculous as everyone says. There are more than one exit, but people seem to just follow the huge line and go to the entrance where they came in from. Look around and you'll see the exit closest to your car and you're good to go.