Masquerade

For the love of glitter and cookies!!  This place kicks arse!!  It's old, dark, and full of texture.  As I walked up the steps I said to a friend, "I want my house to look like this place!" The show I saw was in the appropriately named Heaven room. The bass is unbelievable! Literally a rumble in my tummy for 2hours.  *cliché comparison approaching* I was truly in heaven!! (Heh, get it? See what I did there?) I closed my eyes and thought there could be no better way to listen to this music.  The lights were pretty fantastic too!  It was a great time.

Alright now the downside.  You see my name? Helena "Why are you touching me?" W?  Yeah, that pretty much sums up my reaction to people in general.  It was moist, hot, grimy and uncomfortable. Trying to maintain my comfort bubble was challenge with people looking to cram themselves in whatever pocket they could find.  

I say give this place a try and if you're like me then find a spot in the back.

Masquerade is so old, but it's another classic. In my experience, it has been a bit on the smelly and steamy side.. It's an old cotton mill with subpar ventilation. However, last time I went, a week ago, it had either been slightly improved or I just managed to stay away from too many sweaty smelly people, because it wasn't the worst it's been in the 10+ years I've been going.

The bartenders are fast, fair and hot, plus they make pretty acceptable drinks. At this point in my life, I've probably made it to the Masquerade for a show once every 6-9 months over the last couple years, and I still recognize bartenders.

Heaven is where most big shows play, and honestly, I can't believe it is still in one piece. The scariest show I've ever been to was in Heaven.. and it was Flogging Molly probably 2002.. if you've seen them or heard their music, you know it requires a bit of jumping and stomping. When the whole place did that in unison, I definitely felt the floor moving up and down. Thankfully, I have not felt that since.

I've been to Hell less than Heaven.. but I've had some good times.. Saw Toadies, The Draft and Lifetime.. also done the ol' 80s night once or twice. This is a cool spot when you can get there because there's a big door they can open to cool the place off.

For whatever reason, I almost never spend time in purgatory.. I guess there's not often a ton going on there, but there's a cool deck off the side of this bar.

Now, the new outside park and stage is pretty cool. Love how they took advantage of that space.. and it is on an incline so you can see the stage pretty well wherever you stand. It's grassy so you can even try to find a bit of a spot to sit off to the side if the show permits. I have been there just once or twice.. Saw M83 and it was delightful.

I'm not sure what their plan for parking is now.. The lot they used to use is now filled with a grassy area with sidewalks, which under other circumstances would be lovely, but where the hell does everyone park now? Last week, I parked on a side street that used to be probably an abandoned fenced in dirt lot that I would have never walked from alone. Now the area is sort of pretty.. or it looks like it's supposed to be pretty.. with new apartment buildings and paved, well-lit roads.. but there's no clear parking lot at this time. Friends I met up with parked in a nearby neighborhood.

Overall, I'm glad the Masquerade is still around.. there was a selling scare a couple years ago and we were afraid our dear venue itself would be turned into apartments. No one wants that!

I went here for a Trevor Hall concert yesterday and I absolutely loved it.
From the outside it looks like a dump due to the fact that the place is so old but the inside is in better shape. It looks like they've done some improvements. I only got to experience the Hell section so I am only familiar with this level. Stage is set up in the back which gives a lot of room for concert goers. Pretty much no matter where you stand it seems as though you have a great view. I on the other hand was front row which was amazing!!
Anyway, security, security was okay. Always there keeping an eye on things but one particular guy seemed very rude. Other than that the staff was on point.
So when it comes to The Masquerade, I recommend you go!