Roseland Theater

Reviews 3

MA

Maggie Allen

I went to Roseland to see Circa Survive, Rx Bandits and Citizen on November 7, 2015. This is hands down the worst venue Ive ever been to. My boyfriend and I arrived about 20 minutes before the first band was to start playing and there was a huge line out the door and around the corner. We already bought tickets and had the actual ticket. We asked security if we still had to wait in the long line and they said yes. Ok, fine. 10 minutes later another security guy comes out and announces if you have tickets you dont have to wait, this is the will call line, and to go ahead and go up. Thats great, but why did we have to stand in line for 10 minutes when we already had tickets. I feel so bad for anyone that did will call, the whole time we were standing in that line it didnt move. I cant imagine how long it took for them to get in. Were finally in, only to find out that they only serve alcohol on the small balcony, and its cash only. I dont mind a cash only bar, except our tickets didnt say it would be cash only and nowhere on their website does it say the bar is cash only. If youre going to have a cash only bar you need to tell people before they get there. After paying a fee to use their only ATM, we then waited in line for another 10 minutes to have our IDs checked so we could go up to the balcony. Once upstairs we got our drinks very quickly from the polite bartenders. Whew, I think, we finally made it. Now we can enjoy the show. I was wrong. For being a smaller venue, Roseland has some good lighting. The only bad part is they continually shine their extremely bright lights into the crowd, blinding everyone in its path. Half way through Rx Bandits a light mosh pit breaks out. Nothing crazy, just some people jumping around. I mean, what do you expect when you go to a post hardcore/alternative rock show? Immediately a security guy is shinning his flashlight on the moshers faces and threatening to kick them out. (Disclaimer, I was not on the floor but saw this happening from the balcony and thought it was pretty messed up. I later talked to one of the guys who was on the edge of this group and was being threatened). After this a security guy entered into the middle of the floor and stood behind this group for the remainder of Rx Bandits set. Just seeing this happen felt invasive and controlling. Dont have too much fun, big brother is watching you. When I go to a show like this I expect there to be moshing. I expect jumping around and people getting into the music. I expect a communal, visceral experience that is shared between everyone who loves the music just as much as I do. I dont expect, or want, to feel like every move is being scrutinized. Like we are 5 year olds incapable of behaving properly. Just seeing this happen completely killed the mood for me. After having a couple of drinks and listening to the openers, I now have to use the restroom. You cant take any drinks down onto the main floor with you, and there arent bathrooms upstairs on the tiny balcony. My boyfriend and I both have drinks, so we take turns. I go down and use the restroom. The only good thing I can say about this place is there was no line at the bathroom, and it seemed rather clean for a venue. I go back upstairs, my partner then takes his turn. When he tries to come back up to join me in our seats, he is told they are at capacity upstairs and he cant go back up. I understand safety rules. I understand why there are capacity limits. I dont understand how you can only serve alcohol and allow it to be consumed on an extremely tiny balcony with no bathrooms, and then stop people from being able to easily move back and forth. I had our drinks and couldnt go downstairs to join him, and he couldnt come back up to his open seat and beer. He was finally able to convince a staff member to let him back up after 15 minutes. This place was horrible. Rx Bandits and Circa put on a great show, its just too bad that the staff and management of this venue had to create a controlling, stifling atmosphere. I will never come back here.

A

A Private User

This is the worst venue I have ever attended a show at, hands down. I really have no idea why people are giving it positive reviews, unless they have never been to a good venue (really any other venue in the world) or are being paid. I have attended exactly one show at the Roseland. At the front gate, you will be greeted by six or seven meatheads who are completely jacked on steroids and most likely meth. Picture the dumbest linebacker on your highschool football team, crossed with the meanest cop you have ever seen, and add a pinch of "Im the most important person who has ever lived and you are dirt" and you have a pretty good idea of the guys working the door. They pass you through a metal detector, they pat you down, search your bag, shove you if you question them at all, and generally they treat you like cattle. Also they stink like trailer. The next thing you will notice is that the sound quality at the Roseland completely sucks. Ive heard better sound at dive bars that hold 28 people. The acoustics are terrible thanks to the bizarre layout of the building, and the speakers are cheap. I dont even know if there was a sound guy. Next in line are the drinks. You want a beer? Thats 6 bucks, and naturally it comes in an 11 ounce plastic cup. You can guess what the mixed drinks are like. Lastly let me share a brief incident from the show. It was a reggae band called Midnite. Horror of horrors, people were smoking mj at the show!! So the promoter, some white dude calling himself Ras Steve or something, takes the initiative STOPPING THE BAND IN THE MIDDLE OF A SONG to announce, "Families are being kicked out for smoking marijuana maaaan, we need you all to not smoke here maaaaaaaaaan, this is a faaamily shoow-" at which point he was forced off the stage by extremely loud booing. By the way, it was a 21+ show. Talk to anyone in Portland, they will tell you that the Roseland is an awful venue. They clearly dont care about anything but making money. If you are a band or a promoter, PLEASE dont play there!! (Unless you are top 40 or Creed, then its cool)

XA

Xan Gordon

Its horribly run with zero communication on events. Ive seen two VIP shows here now with similar experiences. The first was Coheed and Cambria. The VIP event was supposed to start at 5pm sharp. People had to wait outside until almost 7pm with no explanation. No staff could be found anywhere. The number listed for the venue is someones cell phone with a disconnected mailbox. When people were finally allowed in we were quickly herded into a rushed performance by aggressive security and were then herded back out. The band was great about everything but it CLEARLY wasnt their ideal. As I write this review, Im outside waiting for a Circa Survive VIP show. It was supposed to start promptly at 4:30pm despite doors being at 7. As of 5:30, Nobody from the venue is anywhere to be found, the number is still a cell phone with a full mailbox. Its 40° outside and rainy, theres kids out here, a lady on crutches, and nobody knows whats going on. We finally get allowed in at 6:00, and then "advance doors" start at 7:00. We are told no re-entry after 7:00 and we will have time to go to our vehicles after the Q&A, which also came with free merch that people didnt want to carry around. Q&A ends at 6:45 and we are told we cannot leave without getting our will-call tickets, which we wait another 30+ minutes for. I finally asked one of the security guards if I could go to my car to put my posters/t-shirts away and he said "youd better hurry, the doors just opened." I told him that we had been told in leaving the Q&A that we couldnt go to our cars and re-entry wasnt allowed. He said "Who the f**k told you that? Dont you f**king lie to me." I finally made it out the door after he bellowed "get the f**k out of my face, and hurry up." And that was pretty much the tenor of the evening. This is really unacceptable for this to be the norm at a venue that charges so much, especially given that the staff is rude, unhelpful, and disrespectful at every turn. Ive had better experiences at house shows in college that were run by crust punks.

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