Patriot Center

I'm sure it's fine for basketball games, but not Cirque du Soleil.  Definitely not Cirque du Soleil.

We went to see Quidam today.  My previous experience with Cirque du Soleil is that once the show starts, people are not seated until there is a break between acts.  Definitely not the case here.  We were seated in Section 107, seats 13 and 14, which were adjacent to the stairs.  Problem was, our sight of the stage was blocked every time a latecomer came up the stairs to go to their seats, or look for their seats in the dark.  We missed most of the first half of the show in this manner.  The seats were also high enough for nosebleeds, and we were in the sight line of a blinding spotlight.

I did go to guest services, and they did relocate us to much better seats, the only bright spot of the afternoon.  Parking was good.  Getting in and out: not bad.  Lesson learned.  If you want to see a Cirque du Soleil show, hold out for the Grand Chapiteau.

Ah, I attended my first concert here back in 2010. It was Muse and it was a sold out crowd. The stage was decked out with lights and lasers. But there was the small issue of sound quality...

The Patriot Center has a fair number of shops for food and drinks, however as all larger venues, they are overpriced. The staff is a hit or miss. I distinctly remember seeing one member rocking out to Soundgarden along with the crowd so props to him.

I also had my graduation here. So the Patriot Center does hold many fond memories, but I think its organization (in parking, cleanliness) paired with its audio system should be changed to ensure a better experience for all future concerts or events.

I could not describe this venue better than the rating description: "Meh. I've experienced better."  There is just very little about the Patriot Center that is special or memorable.  Not that I was surprised by that, since at the end of the day it is really designed for sporting events, but for my money it just doesn't offer much magic for experiencing a concert.  

To be fair, it probably didn't help that the band I saw here was Sigur Ros, so being transported is a really critical element of the show, but I can't imagine I would have loved it had I been seeing anyone else either.  It also didn't help that there was some kind of major technical malfunction that was infuriating the lead singer all night that nobody seemed capable of fixing, which really affected the mood of the evening.  The concert was still absolutely beautiful, but the tone was certainly a bit off.

So, some positive things: the venue is a good size for concerts that are big but not quite Verizon Center big. The General Admission area is sizable and you can get a great spot even if you come pretty much at the last minute.  There is ample parking available included with your tickets and it is generally pretty easy to find.  The venue is clean and well-maintained.

But that's where the good stuff kind of ends.  The venue is a good size and the fact that it's indoors is comfortable, but since it's a stadium, the acoustics are less than amazing.  Also, it obviously looks like a stadium, and that vibe just kind of turns me off. Any space that's not on the floor seems really far away when they have the stages set up, so I would never go without GA tickets. The parking is available in plenty, but getting out of there after the concert is another story.  They try to handle the crowd with traffic cops, but it still ends up a total mess....and more of one even than other concert venues out in the MD/VA 'burbs. And yes, the venue is clean, but it's almost too clean.  It feels sterilized.  Even the food and drink available is insipid and insanely overpriced.  

In short, would I go back? Probably, but only if someone I absolutely could not miss was going to be there and only there in the local area.  It's just not worth the trip for such a vanilla venue.