This was my first visit to the theatre, and it was great! Â It's so easy to park, and such a short walk to the building. Â Although it was over 100 degrees outside, the theatre was a cool 68 at least! Â It doesn't matter what the show is, all of the seats have a great view. Â The restrooms are a decent size, and very clean, although you can expect to wait in line during intermission. Â I guess that's the same in any theatre. Â Ticket prices are much less than most theatres, so it is a cheaper alternative than going into Hollywood. Â Albeit, the production may not be of the same quality, but well worth the conveniance.
Review Source:I'm glad COC has this Performing Arts Center (PAC). Its not the biggest place in the world, but it does give Santa Clarita another place to see plays other than the Canyon Theater Guild. They also have great student performances that only cost you about 5 bucks.
My favorite things to go to are COC's Jazz Concerts. I just love how the music sounds in the PAC and all the performers look like they're having a good time, and that's always a plus. I used to play in this place for the COC Youth Orchestra and it reminds me that you don't necessarily have to drive down to the Disney Concert Hall to find some great performances. My favorite performance here was when our orchestra played live music for The Nutcracker.
Its not just music though, they offer some cool guest speakers as well! I've only been to one but that was enough impression on me as it was one of the last living survivors of the Holocaust. Great lady, great speaker. The PAC also, occasionally has some well-known bands perform from the likes of Blake Shelton to Kool and the Gang.
Come on out and support your local arts!
I have only been here for smaller events, such as COC choir performances and SCRT's production of "RENT!" Â I think that it is a really nice venue. Â It is always clean, and the volunteers who help at the performances are really friendly and efficient.
As far as the shows go, I have never seen a bigger name. Â I always forget that this is an actual concert venue, but I will definitely have to keep this spot in mind for future shows.
Everything is always easy when I come here. Â Easy parking, easy ticket purchasing, and there isn't a bad seat in the place.
Feb 21 2008 - Concert
Blake Shelton performed tonight and it was fantastic! Â I didnt know what seats I will be getting since my friend Jon at Marks Brothers hooked me up. We were in section O which was pretty far up. Â And guess what, the seats were great! Â Really cannot get a bad seat in the place. Â Usually I would love to be front row center, but tonights show there was a huge crowd of gawking women up at the stage and that would have blocked my view if I was that close. Â Blake did a great job, the lighting was incredible which I believe was his tours own rigging. Â The sound was spot on, loud but clear. This was my first Country Concert and I was having a blast. Blake is a funny guy and based on his performance, I know this guy will go far in his career.
Based on this show and the previous I bump up my score from a 4 star to a 5 star rating.
Jan 22 2008 - Concert
Kool & the Gang is still Kool after all these years!
This show Rocked Santa Clarita Valley! It has been almost 20 years since an act came to this town that I really enjoyed. Â The last acts that I remember played at Magic Mountain ie. Quiet Riot, Night Ranger, Cheap Trick and Kiss back in the mid 70's. Â With the Marks Brothers, Gold Feather Realty, and the City of Santa Clarita there will be more great shows to come to this venue! Â As for the performance of Kool and The Gang, it was great! Â Opened up with "Fresh" which was one of my favorite opening songs when I used to DJ. Â Played other favorites like JoAnna, Too Hot (which I want to figure out the guitar licks), Jungle Boogie, Ladies Night, and ended the evening with Celebrate. Â The music sounded flawless. Â Each Kool member was right on! Â This was also my first R&B show and it was great! Â 4 Stars
KOOL AND THE GANG ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!
First impression of the venue... "wow, can it be that Santa Clarita has some culture?" They did a very beautiful job building this theater. The venue seats 924. Architecture is modern and simple. I felt special leaving the limo and walking up to the front door.
And then I realize, um they don't serve alcohol in this place. You can buy Cracker Jacks or Lays Potato Chips and bottled water. UH. Well, I guess it is a good start that SCV now has "Performing Arts Center"
I saw Kool and the Gang last night. They are still so cool. Almost 90 minutes long, the gang performed "Hollywood, Ladies Night, Cherish, of course Celebration" They did a lot of solos and funky no lyric pieces, which were featured in movies like Rocky and something else. Even after performing some 4 decades, they still had a lot of energy. Yeah, they did replace some of the Gang with clearly younger guys. But given that the originals are probably in their late 50s and mid 60s, they were still awesome.
Agreeing with Mike D. the Center needs to bring in more bigger acts, this is a good start. (I'm not sure about the rest of the season though) I would love to see some jazz, maybe David Sedaris or even Tom Jones.
Who knew that SCV could possibly be slightly cultured?
4 stars went to Kool and the Gang.
This used to be called the Vital Express Center, named after a less-than-reputable company that managed to snag over a year of choice advertising for the cost of a few newspaper ads. Â I'm glad that era has passed, because I think their sponsorship cheapened what is a very modern and beautiful place. Â I would come here all the time if they booked better acts and booked with a less cynical view of the community (e.g. Mike Ditka, Lee Greenwood, Wayne Newton). Â The big name last year was Berlin, and 1 1/2 hit wonder that wouldn't have been worthy of this place in their prime. Â This was aimed squarely at the 34-35 year old demo. Â
I'd like to see more jazz, some lectures, some comedians and the big bucks spent on stuff with a wider appeal. Â That being said, I'm warming up to the new season and it seems stronger across the board than any prior season. Â What still needs improvement are the big name, big money acts. Â I like older music much more than the next guy, but this is a relatively young city, so throw the rest of us a bone, won't you? Â The big names thus far have generally predated my parents. (not joking, but it's funny)
A friend of mine makes cellos and violins for a living and after attending a concert put on by an owner of one of his instruments, he remarked that this venue has among the worst acoustics he's heard. Â It could be that it's ill suited for classical music or that something was off that night, but his remark deserves mention. Â The acoustics sound fine to me, but I haven't been lucky enough to attend a concert of music that I like just yet, so I'll withhold judgement.
Why four stars? Â The fourth star was earned by the dramatic productions. Â The one night stands and homegrown COC productions have been great, same for the occasional Canyon Theater Guild show.
An exquisite new venue with great acoustics and sightlines. Â The only problem is the first few rows are WAY too close to the stage, as in you can see up the conductor's pants! Â Eeks! Â If you have the choice, Row D is the closest you want to get.
It would be great if they got more name artists in. Â So far they've only had Berlin and some country acts. Â We're seeing a number of youth orchestras and holiday performances there this month. Â Looking forward to the rest of them.