Upstate Concert Hall

Went there last weekend for a trio of amazing metal bands: Katatonia, Steven Wilson Band and Opeth. The venue was pretty easy to find and is located in a strip mall... pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There's plenty of parking and getting through security and inside was a breeze.

Upon walking in, we noticed that the stage was all the way down this weirdly shaped room, slightly at an angle and separating us from it was a crowd of a few thousand people. The place was hot, and the A/C helped a bit was only one for a few minutes at a time every hour or so. It was pretty painful.

We eventually inched our way up and got closer to the stage and made it until we were near dead center, about 15-20 people deep from the front which wasn't bad and mostly thanks to the moshpits that broke out.

That being said, the techs there took 40+ minutes to do soundchecks in between the acts. Extremely long. The stage isn't elevated enough so getting a good vantage point, especially since it's already at an angle is horrible and all in all, my experience with the venue wasn't all that great. Security had a lot of issues dealing with the drunks and idiots and it took them 4 songs to clear this one guy that was bothering everyone and who was clearly high on something despite everyone pointing and trying to help them get him out.

The only redeeming factor are there bar which doesn't seem to serve extremely ovepriced beer which was nice to see. It was about $4 for a Yuengling if I recall correctly. In comparison to venues that I'm used to, in Boston, that's a bargain.

All in all, the venue sucks. It's not a good place to watch a show and probably is the single worst venue I've been to for any show ever. Or just about. The accoustics aren't even all that great. It would make for a decent bar if they re-arranged it but making it a "premier" music venue is a mistake.

This place really needs to be shut down! I attempted to see DMX last night. I was held hostage until 12:30 am when I could not tolerate the extraordinary lack of talent they forced upon us. Don't know if DMX ever showed up. Security is beyond inadequate and they continued to serve OBVIOUS drunk and beligerant trolls who made the event unbearable. I do plan on filing a complaint with the NYS Attorney General. This entire event was fraudulent and was in no way what was advertised.

They now claim to be "Upstate Music Hall", premier nightlife. Yeah right! Premier clubs would not have allowed 2/3 of that crowd anywhere near the place. Dollar General flip flops and outfits are NOT allowed in "premier clubs". I actually brush my hair AND teeth and have a proper suit of clothing when I attend a concert. I LOOK like I am going out. "Premier Clubs" don't let in hood rats with yarn on their heads. "Premier Clubs" don't allow persons dressed like last night even into the parking lot. If these people want to make any money, I suggest you start having some standards of dress and appropriate footwear. Rubber flip flops, really?? This place is worse than Saratoga Winners at its heyday.

Classless trolls should be their dress code! You people really suck! Thanks for ruining my birthday.