Pepsi Amphitheater

I struggled with my star rating on this one.  I LOVE the amphitheater and seeing artists there, and that's why I ultimately gave it the stars I did.  Grass lawn on a hillside above a lovely amphitheater - good acoustics, beautiful isolated setting, no outside sounds creep in.

I've been to a number of shows when it was  "Pine Mountain Amphitheater".  I went to Prairie Home Companion there yesterday.  First big performance under new management & new name, and they missed the mark.  I think they just haven't figured out the Flagstaff audience yet.  And Flag folks love their identify and hate being pigeon-holed with Phoenix!

Pros:
- No parking fee (at least yesterday. There have been parking fees at previous performances).
- Friendly, smiling staff (even as food ran out and folks got grumpy)
- Local food options (add local beer too!)
- Large selection of beers, and beer vendors (canned) scattered around the edges
- Extra port-a-potties (clean! even at end of show) for the sold out crowd (just add a few more & hand sanitizer)
- Mixed drink options.  Although I mainly saw folks drinking beer (this is summer in Flag after all)
- Tables on the edges to sit and eat.  Although not many people did.

Cons:
- Steep extra fees for a ticket, and no local ticket outlets.
- Can't bring in our own food.  Bringing my own picnic was one of the fun parts of previous shows.  And helps keep shows affordable.
- Very limited food options, and they ran out of food.  They are trying to cater each menu to the anticipated crowd.  But only 1 "real" food option and it's an overpriced smoked salmon plate?  Everything else was a dessert.  I think they definitely overestimated the tastes of Flagstaff NPR listeners.  How about a bag of salty chips  to go with my beer on a hot sunny day?  (maybe mid-70s is cool in Phoenix but it was one of our first warm summer days in Flag and we were sitting in the sun for a few hours)
- Big list of things that can/can't be brought in - and then no one checked bags.   That, combined with the lack of food, was really frustrating and there was lots of grumbling in the crowd when we all realized we could have gotten away with bringing in our own food.
- Draft beer only at 1 window with 1 person taking orders, filling cups, and taking the cash.  Long line there!
- The previous reviewer brought up some good points about the summer's line up.  Don't loose the small bands that make this place special, and fit Flagstaff.

Tips
- Follow the guidelines for what you can/can't bring in.  They've checked bags every other time I've gone there.  I'm assuming yesterday was an anomaly because it was a live radio show and everyone had to be seated on time.
- Save the $ and environmental footprint of bringing in sealed bottles of water.  Just take an empty bottle and fill it from the water fountain.
- Low chairs allowed.  But please consider the height of your chair back too.  High-backed chairs block the view of those behind you.

But at the end of the day, the Amphitheater is a fabulous venue, especially on a lovely summer day.  I've thoroughly enjoyed every show I've seen there.  Kinks with the new management will be worked out.

Such a shame that the former and glorious, Pine Mountain Amphitheater is now under management from a Phoenix company that has no concept of how to run a venue that was built by local funding to begin with!  The sad bit is if you really want to see something here you have no choice but to deal with the problems.  

Went to Prairie Home Companion today and while the show itself was amazing, the venue aspects were pitiful!  Over half the beer list sold out before the show started.  Trash overflowing at every turn, whereas previous management would walk the park continuously to make sure this didn't happen; no recycle bins for empty beer cans.  The food was dismal-poor and limited choices at such an exorbitant fees it was unbelievable.  The list of what you can and cannot bring to the park was sad: no blankets and no food.  Previously, this venue allowed for people to bring their own food-awesome for families to picnic on the lawn during shows without spending additional funds.  While the food was local, it was very limited and expensive.

Finally, the base ticket price was $47.50 for the show, but by the time it was all done I paid a total of $63.  Previously, the fee for tickets when managed by the local company was a whopping $1.  They sure are making their money.

This is the sadness, the evidence, of local management losing out to a company who "outbid" them.  Instead of bands like Yonder Mountain String Band, the Indigo Girls, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Xavier Rudd-the fantastic music we once had, we now get names like the Oak Ridge Boys and Weird Al.

Although I realize this was the inaugural show for new management, I'm frustrated with the experience and the fact that former management was so spot on.