McMenamins Crystal Ballroom

1332 W Burnside St, Portland, OR 97209, USA

Address:	1332 W Burnside St, Portland, OR 97209, USA
Phone:	+1 503-225-0047
Site:	crystalballroompdx.com
Rating:	4

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

A Private User

Unless you can be happily on your feet for 3+ hours, wait for your favorite act to appear somewhere else where you can SIT DOWN because you wont be able to sit, EVER, at the Crystal Ballroom. Im a big fan of McMenamins and all their locations, but heres what happens at the Crystal Ballroom: You get a ticket a long time in advance and pay a lot of money for it, plus high service fees. Then you go 45 to 60 minutes early to stand in line, only to discover that people who went into the Ringlers restaurant, maybe only buying a soft drink, have been put in line ahead of you and they take all the seats. There are only about 80 seats in the whole place (and they are in the balcony with chandeliers blocking the view of the stage for at least 25% of the seats, plus a few seats on wooden benches around the edges of the ballroom, from which you will not be able to see the stage at all), and the capacity is about 1000. So if a popular act sells out, over 900 people have to stand up the entire time. The lucky ones might get a spot on two railings separating the alcohol serving area from the rest of the ballroom. If youve paid over $50 for a ticket and fees, you should expect that youll have a chair. We went to concerts recently by Carolina Chocolate Drops and Esperanza Spalding. After seeing what it was like at the Carolina Chocolate Drops concert, I considered giving away my Esperanza Spalding tickets, but decided to go anyway. Shes wonderful; the venue is awful for anyone who actually wants to listen. There were older people who looked like they were ready to cry when they realized they would have to stand up without any support, The room gets too hot with that many people, and if you leave your spot to get water, youll never get back to it. Also, there was nothing in the advertising or on the printed ticket about any opening act--it just said Esperanza at 8 p.m. Well, I should have known better. The opening act was fine--it just wasnt advertised and I foolishly expected Esperanza at 8 p.m. It was past 9 p.m. when she finally took the stage. By the end of her third song, we gave up out of exhaustion and left. McMenamins should get some truth in advertising and make it clear for every ticket sold for the Crystal Ballroom--YOU WILL HAVE TO STAND THE ENTIRE TIME.

michael brooks

Im not the large venue pro by any means... Im kind of one of those rare young old men who eats dinner at 4 and is in bed well before 9. That said, I have been to two different events in this building. One was a small local awesome punk show by Hot Wont Quit in the intimate venue on the lower floor and the other Gaylabration in the main event hall. I also volunteered for the event so I feel I have even a behind the scenes outlook now! Bonus! Overall Ive realized this is a well re purposed building not just from the spectators view point but from the back of house perspective as well. Theres lots of great routes around spaces and through the building to make getting where you need to go an adventure and generally navigable. Always helpful and friendly staff to answer any questions or direct you to who can. Quaint and quirky spaces abound. There are plenty of bars and wells to serve a large crowd. The old floors bounce with the crowd in a terrifying yet pleasing pulse motion up and down, they have killer sound systems and elaborate but not distracting light setups available. This is a wonderful slice of both Portland history and current events. Find something you have been wanting to go see and do it when they come here. We may not have as many big shows come through as Seattle or San Francisco but thats part of the charm of this city. Small wonderful shows where you can actually SEE the performers not on a big screen. Thank you McMenamins for saving this amazing downtown gem.

Some Name

This is my favorite venue. The staff and security are extremely accommodating and respectful, the sound was fantastic, the lighting was brilliant, the balcony is amazing for us old weathered punks who are over the pit, and the staff even came around and checked my ticket while I was eating at the restaurant a half hour before the doors were set to open for the show. It was completely painless to come and go, obviously marked 21+ areas making getting grabbed by a security guard for not knowing where you are supposed to be very difficult. This gave a real impression that they respect their customers rather than treating them like a bunch of penned cattle, as is the case at most large venues. Last year I had sworn off large venues due to this sort of experience, but the Crystal Ballroom has changed my mind. I did see one security person run up and grab a girl by the arm, only to let her go a few seconds later, and it made me a bit uncomfortable to know they were also willing to invade peoples space for what seemed to be no reason, but at least they set up the venue and policies in such a way that I was able to make sure no one went around grabbing me by the arm like a child. All in all, very impressed.

Megan Lien

Ive been to many shows/events at the Crystal Ballroom now. Ive seen concerts (Deathcab, Rilo Kiley, more), comedians (Zach Galifianakis, Daniel Tosh), and events (University of Portland dance, halloween party). As a concert venue Ive had mixed experiences. If you go to a strictly 21+ the venue is very open, you can enjoy the show and have a good time. But often they do a weird barricade down the middle separating the youngsters from the 21+ crowd for an all-ages show. I understand that they dont want the youngns getting their hands on some cocktails but it completely ruins the whole setting. It makes it awkward, cramped on both sides, and just overall a worse experience. The sound in the venue is decent, no phenomenal acoustics but shows are generally cheap so youre getting what you pay for. Probably the coolest feature for concerts and events is the bouncy floor. Thats right.. the floor totally bounces! Not sure if this is on purpose or an odd flaw of an old venue but I think it makes everything more fun. Ill always go to the Crystal because they have awesome bands that stop in and shows usually stay at or below $20, a rare find these days.

Xess Dx

Ok, so McMenamins has taken over from Monqui for being one of the main promoters of live music in the Rose City, and the Crystal is the premier medium sized venue for some of the more prominent bans, but really, the place sucks. For more popular bands they sell out, sure, but sell so many tickets that you are really packed in like a sardine. Ventilation is poor, and the bars are always understaffed and slow, really slow, so that in the course of a night youre lucky if you can get more than a couple of drinks, and youll spend a bunch of time in line waiting to order instead of enjoying the show. Its nice that theres Ringlers for before and afters, but really, other than the Crystal exists, and the more popular acts play there, theres nothing to recommend the place.